Thursday, July 8, 2010
"Technology didn't cause the abuse scandal..."
This quote comes from chapter 6 of the Shirky text (pg. 153). As a Catholic, I found this chapter to be particularly interesting. Shirky says that technology did not cause the abuse scandal, but it did alter the spread, force, and duration of the reaction. This applies to other situations as well. For example, I often hear people saying "there is so much more crime these days". While I think there very well may be more crime now than there was in, say, the 1950s, I also think about how in the 1950s people did not have the technology to hear about crimes that occurred anywhere else besides their local community. This tends to skew the reality of how much crime is really taking place in the country and world.
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I agree about the priest abuse scandal. I seriously doubt Catholic priests make up any significant segment of the pedophile population. But we don't hear about what other professions these predators work in - I would postulate that blue collar workers (mechanics, painters, etc.) are a higher contingency. But that is not news-worthy and 60 minutes doesn't do stories on how those workers move from community to community without reprisal or warnings to the gaining community. But it is easy to throw conspiracy theory mud and blame on a large group like the Church.
ReplyDeleteHave you read the new Freakonomics book? I actually bought it on iTunes and they have a really interesting chapter on the efficacy of a new technology (infant and children carseats). They argue that carseats don't actually save more lives or prevent car crash related injuries in children any more than the common seat belt or shoulder harness. Interesting stuff, but there is no movement by parents to take their findings to the streets. But they do have data to back up their theories.
Ashleigh,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post and you've made some good observations. This illustrates one of the aspects I really like about the Web: It gives people a chance to really connect and correct wrongs that the traditional powers (including the media) don't want to touch (for whatever reasons).
@Tiffany - I think you are exactly right and I appreciated your post! There may be thousands of small Baptist churches, Episcopal churches, Jewish synagogues, etc that have had similar "scandals", but, as you said, this is not as news-worthy. Because the Catholic Church is such a large group, it is definitely easier to place the focus on them.
ReplyDeleteI have not read the Freakonomics book but I will definitely look into it. It sounds really interesting!
@John - Good point! The Web can both help and harm situations like the one I mentioned in my in my post. But, above that, it is a great place to connect with others and discuss controversial issues.
Ashleigh- I particularly agree with the latter part of your post. When my father was a young teen, he and his best friend hitch-hiked from Western Pennsylvania to New York City to attend a baseball game. They were incommunicado for perhaps three days. When I was a young teen, aside from chores I was free from dawn to 10pm as long as I was home for dinner at six. While my parents didn't know exactly where I was, they know that SOMEBODY knew and that with just a few phone calls I could be located. Now I have a young teen and by agreement we know where he is going, when he departs and arrives, and we equip him with a cell phone. It never takes us more than a minute to locate him. I know people who use GPS-enabled phones to track their family members in real-time.
ReplyDeleteIs the world more dangerous now? Or does my knowledge of some frightening occurance in Oregon cause me to fear for the safety of my children in Florida? Sure, knowledge is power, but so is Electricy, and that can ruin your day too.
A few years ago I heard Andrew Weil tell an interviewer that his advice to anyone feeling generally anxious or depressed is to first stop reading the newspaper. You don't need to know the details of a ferry capsizing in Indonesia, and if there is something important happening in your community you will hear about it anyway. W2.0 is god at promoting to wide consciousness things that are interesting, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are all important.
@DD - Thanks for your post! Your generational stories were pefect examples of the point I was trying to illustrate. As far as your Andrew Weil example, I could apply this to myself with Web MD. Now that I have access to all of that information regarding medical issues, I have become a hypochonriac! Am I less healthy now than 10 years ago? Hopefully not. I think it is just easier to self-diagnose (and misdiagnose) illnesses.
ReplyDelete