Intellectual Issues & Technology

The question of the impact of digital technologies and convergence on the intellect, and does technology serve us best in this endeavour is not something I want to spend a great deal of time on, because I do feel that it is a question that is getting a little more exposure in the literature. Potentially owing chiefly to fact there have been a large number of high profile arguments or discussions on the topic, and that many people have taken quite personally comments that material created and posted on the internet is of poor quality. At the forefront of such controversy sits Andrew Keen, who’s book, the ‘The Cult of the Amateur’ discusses how new technology and the apparent ease of online publication is literally destroying culture and there are insufficient means of fact checking the data available on the internet. A recent debate between he, and the executive of wikipedia raised the debate in full.Further to this, arguments regarding media literacy often focus on the question of how we address and access content, the actual matter that is presented and how we critically analyse it, and thus how we build our intellectual skill when dealing with new technologies. This, I feel is where most research is conducted in media literacy, other areas (such as the physical, emotional and spiritual implications) being largely un- or under-explored.To sum up the discussion of the impact of digital technologies on intellect I was pose the question: What is best for the community and have we made adequate provisions for our cultural legacy in the digital age?Can we argue that the intellectual issues of digital technology are adequately dealt with? Absolutely not, the focus of the united nations (under the Grunwald declaration), the repeated calling of academics (such as Buckingham, Livingstone, Hobbs and many others) of the need for further research and increased attention in the educational curriculum and informal learning environments confirms this.