The Downside of the Digital Age

The digital revolution has advanced human society in undeniably profound ways. But not all the changes have been improvements. The collateral damage acknowledged as consequences of the Digital Age includes the emboldened threat of invasion of privacy, the development and proliferation of online deception, and the tragedies of cyberbullying and perpetual harassment, among others. And while sexting converts hormonal teenagers into self-pornographers, the world wide web’s permanent memory banks rob young and old users of the chance to erase the scarlet letters of their digital pasts. As for human memory, it has eroded as its technological supplements have become its substitutes.