Tools of emancipation, or tools of alienation?

Given the focus of my research, which aims to investigate to what extent online networks may become forces for radical collective change, people were often surprised to learn that I was not at all active on any major social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or YouTube. The fact is that I am extremely suspicious about these technologies! I certainly don’t think they are necessarily a force for generative change. In fact, there appears to be much more evidence to the contrary.

There is a lot to say on this topic, and it has all been discussed at length in many books and documentaries, so I will just summarise some of what I consider to be the most concerning aspects of information and communication technologies (ICT).