Conflicts Due to Increased Digitisation

Conflicts Due to Increased Digitisation
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Conflicts Due to Increased Digitisation
One of the major phenomena that characterises the modern world is increased digitisation. Technology has permeated almost every facet of human life such that one may be tempted to argue that life without it would be unbearable. In the wake of increased digitisation, there have been massive changes in how human beings work, communicate, and interact with one another. Increased digitisation has also opened a new digital economy where corporations offer goods and services to customers through the internet. While increased digitisation has led to positive transformations of the human way of life, it has come with significant shortcomings, creating conflicts. Increased digitisation in relation to privacy, domesticity and community has come with advantages and disadvantages that create conflict in society today.
Increased digitisation has had a massive impact on privacy, creating a major conflict between individuals and governments/corporations. On the one hand, individuals seek to be left alone and limit access to their personal information; on the other, governments and corporations seek to collect personal information for different purposes. In the case of privacy, a key advantage associated with increased digitisation is the efficiency of governments and commercial organisations. As informed by Gibbs (2008), for governments to govern efficiently and effectively, they need accurate information about the members of the population. For example, census data facilitates the government's planning and delivery of services, while details about earnings and assets help collect taxes (Gibbs, 2008). Increased digitisation has made the collection of these pieces of data and information easier, facilitating the delivery of services to citizens. Commercial organisations also need personal information to provide goods and services to their customers. To a great extent, increased digitisation has enhanced the operations of governments and corporate organisations for the benefit of many individuals.
Another advantage of increased digitisation is improved national security and faster detection of infectious diseases. When it comes to national security, increased digitisation is integral to enhancing public safety and security. As informed by Bentotahewa et al. (2021), surveillance aided by advancement in technology plays an important role in incidents that threaten the state's security. Gibbs (2008) also notes that sorting large amounts of data by security agencies helps in the prevention of terrorist attacks. Therefore, increased digitisation can be advantageous because it improves the safety and security of the members of the public. Also, during cases of infectious diseases, as it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is in the public interest to monitor the spread, which requires surveillance.
While increased digitisation may be advantageous in several cases, as seen above, it violates the right to privacy to a great extent. As informed by Gibbs (2008), privacy is characterised by controlling information about oneself, freedom from surveillance, and freedom from the attention of others. With increased digitisation, the right to enjoy privacy is significantly limited, given governments and corporations' enhanced access to personal information. Privacy is lost when others obtain information about one, when others pay attention to one, and when others have access to one's physical location (Gibbs, 2008). With privacy being vital to personal freedom and autonomy, access to personal information, courtesy of increased digitisation, is significantly disadvantageous to the general population. Organisations that are trusted with personal information have failed in numerous instances to protect it, which has generated scepticism from the members of the general public about sharing information online. A major example is Meta, which has, on several occasions, violated its users' right to privacy. The company shared with advertisers that it can identify when teenagers are feeling worthless and insecure (Levin, 2017). Furthermore, the company can predict when one’s relationship is insecure and consequently nudge someone towards dating sites. Such intrusion of privacy by corporations trusted with personal information has created a conflict in the sense that while one would like to enjoy services offered by these companies, they do not want their personal data to be used to influence their behaviours.
Increased digitisation in the sphere of domesticity has advantages and disadvantages that have created conflict in family life. The main benefits of increased digitisation in domesticity relate to communication and the planning and handling of domestic chores. According to Lorenz and Pinsker (2019), families use mobile and internet applications to enhance communication, keep up with chores, and manage children's time. To this extent, increased digitisation has enhanced the family experience because family members can communicate more easily and handle domestic chores better. Increased digitisation has also elevated, to a significant extent, the lives of older adults. The research by Frennert and Östlund (2014) found that seniors were enthusiastic about adopting and utilising robotic vacuum cleaners in their lives because they are useful and functional. In the research, the authors found that 9 out of 10 seniors aged 70 and above still used the vacuum cleaners 13 months after they were given them, with 8 out of 10 giving it a name (Frennert & Östlund, 2014). Furthermore, according to an article by Dunn (2017), one can use Google Home to find their phone, control light bulbs, and start their vacuum cleaner by voice. Therefore, it is evident that in regards to domesticity, increased digitisation has contributed to making work easier at home for many people. However, associated disadvantages can create significant conflict that can make one reconsider how much they digitise their homes.
There are several drawbacks associated with increased digitisation at home that create conflicts with the associated benefits. One of the key disadvantages of increased digitisation in relation to domesticity is that it has dismantled work-life balance. According to Lorenz and Pinsker (2019), almost two-thirds of parents with college degrees struggle to balance work and family life. As a result of digitisation, there is a blur between personal and work time. According to the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association [AMTA] (2016), 30% of Australians check work emails on their devices before going to work while 23% engage in work-related activities while socialising with friends. Furthermore, after work, 44% of Australians carry out work-related activities. From these statistics, it can be inferred that increased digitisation disrupts the social and domestic life of many people. As a result of increased digitisation, many people cannot enjoy social time with friends and family without worrying about work. In sum, individuals now feel time pressure, are more stressed, and are not happy about their work-life balance. Increased digitisation has...