Use and Misuse of Internet

The transmission of data with the speed of light in digital form on cables and through the air has changed the way we live. We do not send long letters describing our emotions in flowery language, we titter. We do not send our family pictures to friends we put them on the Facebook for every one to admire our cute children and grandchildren. We do not read books or newspapers to expand our knowledge base we google for what we should know but do not. Every thing we wanted to know even the things no one cares about, is on the internet. The event is available to our screens the instant it occurred and anyone in the world can know about it with a few clicks on the mouse. Whatever the information distribution is, it is not a cat and mouse game that it once was when print media barons competed to attract attention and pennies of prospective readers.

I am glad that I can see the latest scientific research, life-saving advances in medicine, deeds and misdeeds of our leaders, great works of art and literature and learn why the knowledgeable experts think these works are worth our study. Internet provides a great service in this respect. But this is not all it provides.

Internet also provides forum for the opinions of any one who cares to express them on any number of ‘sites’ provided by various agencies whose interests are not always above board. There is no need to have any knowledge, leave alone careful research and analysis, before raw thoughts are sent out for others to regurgitate. These unbaked opinions of often ignorant individuals carry the same weight in an internet search as those of scholars who have devoted their lives studying the subject. The ‘reader’ has no way to judge which opinion has merit and which is worthless. He is free to choose what suits his prejudices and then pontificate on it. Moreover, gullible viewers are sometimes persuaded by silly opinions expressed with authority and they either suffer serious harm or waste time and resources of the professional helping them.

If I write an essay on Mahler’s Second Symphony and put it on my blog not much harm can come out of it even if the contents are a baseless rant. If I put my opinion on a politician on the blog, it is acceptable so long as it criticizes his political deeds and does not intrude in his private affairs. But when I express my opinion on a professional engineer, financial consultant, medical practitioner or a lawyer, particularly when my comments include evaluation of the person’s knowledge and competence, my qualifications are crucial in judging the merits of this evaluation. A layman can say that a physician’s office is crowded or his staff rude, but pronouncements on the lack of knowledge or diagnostic skills must be out of bounds. Each profession has a governing body that regulates its members and if there is any reason to doubt someone’s competence, it should be contacted. Calling a professional incompetent or ignorant on a ‘rateprofessional’ website may be good for the ego but it is a disservice not only to the professional but also to the individuals who are dissuaded to benefit from his/her expertise. What makes such websites even more repugnant is how easy it is to misuse them. A disgruntled employee with a vendetta can orchestrate a series of bogus entries on the website to send his victim’s rating to the bottom and cause serious dent in the reputation of an innocent professional who has no recourse and no way to undo the damage. The attitude of the website operators is even more infuriating. They believe that humiliating hardworking people in public service careers is a noble mission and derive vicarious pleasure in inflicting it.

For internet to be a blessing some restrictions are necessary. First, just as the print media has editors and fact-checkers who reject trivial material and maintain reasonable level of quality in what is published, internet must install filters to stop false statements from reaching our screens. Second, media is constrained by legal considerations and the operators of websites need to be subjected to libel laws. Third, the name and qualifications of the blogger, or lack thereof, must be prominently displayed with the material they have produced. A simple action like a general ban on anonymous contributions will improve the utility of internet material considerably.

Let us hope the WikiLeaks fiasco will introduce some restraints on internet sites either voluntary or imposed by the authorities. Current ‘democratic’ system has gone berserk. The situation is not a desirable from any perspective and should not be allowed to continue.