The recent blackout implemented by Wikipedia has brought forth one harsh realization that ordinary surfers of the Internet had completely ignored. We need the websites on the Internet as badly as the websites need us. It is easy to glibly talk about the fact that the customer is the king. However, the truth is that the customer can quickly become a commoner if the website goes off-line. You have probably surfed the Internet without really understanding that the relationship between the website and the web surfer is a symbiotic one.
Do you remember that phase in the 70s and 80s when hard rock and rap music was considered unhealthy for youngsters? Many people use to openly voice their concerns about such rock stars acting as role models for the younger generation. The images of rock stars with their spiked hair and dirty clothes on pop up stands caused the blood pressure of parents to rise to stratospheric levels. Any and every misdemeanor of the youth would usually end up on the doors of these role models.
Technology can be credited for playing a huge role in making the recent revolutions a success. Libya is a classic example of how technology help the rebels realize that the world opinion is on their side and that will succeed if only they could wait the tough time out. Gaddafi made a desperate attempt to destroy the rebels. For a brief period of time, it seemed as if the Libyan army would win the battle. However, the rebels did not lose morale and the traditional infighting that invariably affects such revolutions when things go badly did not occur.
You’re at a cross-roads. Not a metaphorical one, but a real one, and you’re late for work. The problem is, the button on the lamp-post – put there to give pedestrians power to stop traffic at will – isn’t working. You’ll be standing here a long time and there’s not much that can stop the traffic.
Except one thing: a volume of people. And this is just what happens. First as a group of ignorant foreign students cross without looking, and then as others follow. Before long the street is the pedestrians. And you follow.
Really, to my mind, the riots were no different than this: it was follow-the-leader on a grand-scale, and social networking sites like Twitter made it all the easier, made it into one big game. What you really need to do is to take out the human element. Forget the fact that the riots caused damage, and forget the fact that peoples livelihoods were hurt. At the time, as the crowds surged, it was all about the energy.
I pulled one person to the side during the riots to ask him what he thought he was doing
This might sound like an excuse, but believe me, I am not excusing it. Not in any way. I’m young enough that I can still remember my youth, but what these people did was inexcusable. What I am saying is that there are explanations. And if you pay attention to what the youth are saying, the ring loud and clear.
And that’s just the problem. None of us want to hear this stuff. It goes against everything adults believe to trust that the kids have the answers, after all.
I’m also really angry with the youth, many of them I know personally. I pulled one person to the side during the riots to ask him what he thought he was doing. We were standing outside a human resource software shop; I know this because I once went there for a job interview, which led to me not getting the job. Maybe I was biased towards the nice bloke who had interviewed me — because he really was cool with me, and I liked that, despite the fact someone else got the job — but even so, I wanted an explanation.
“Fun, innit,” he said.
“Is it?”
“The power, that’s what this is.”
And there it was: the power. Is it really surprising that power is what the youth want? Watch a Hollywood film and then think about the message it puts across.
The recent controversy involving News Of The World and hacking of private information of thousands of celebrities has created a huge mess. It is not advisable to post any information about your desire to go on a painting holiday on any social networking website using your cell phone or any other electronic device. Chances are high that it is being hacked by somebody who is hell bent on creating sensational news out of this useless bit of trivia of yours.
Internet and digital media has played a major role in the recent agitation against the dictatorship in Egypt and the prevalent corruption in India. The revolution reached its logical end in Egypt but is still ongoing in India. The howl of anger and criticism on social networking web sites has made an impact. Protestors got the government to something that would have been deemed unimaginable five years ago.
These changes and developments are important for the United Kingdom as well. More
You hear all kinds of things on the bus. You learn to block out most of them or laugh at some of them, but every now and again you overhear something that sort of makes sense. In this case it was quite a radical idea, and the man who was saying it was the same guy who I had seen in town handing out leaflets. His idea was this: that the government should ban religion for the youth. His thinking More
Music as we all know is an important aspect of the life of youths. For most of us life without songs will be miserable. Even when the time for partying comes, music is an important ingredient that is used to aid a successful party. Clubs are not complete without music and clubbing is as easy as pole dancing lessons. London clubs serve the youths well in this respect. Some of the most popular clubs among London youths are the More
The young people of this day have many things especially technology at their disposal that makes them ‘cool’. Now, think about this; what do you think the older folks called cool during their time? We are talking about the times when they had no computer, internets, i-pods or even mobile phones. Boring? Well if that is what you think then you are definitely entitled to your opinion. When parents talk about the fun they had while growing up, their children More
Have you ever noticed how things will so often go full circle?
Back in the 1980s when I was a teenager (yes, I really am that old!) there was a horrible Conservative government in power who did not appear to care one iota about school-leavers. This was epitomised with their Y.T.S (Young Tory Slaves) idea and 90% of teenagers were left seething with resentment. More
The hatred of the youth culture for adult society is not a disinterested judgment but a terror-ridden refusal to be hooked into the, if you will, ecological chain of breathing, growing, and dying. It is the demand, in other words, to remain children.
