The impression that we are undisturbed while using a smartphone (and mobile communication through it) is wrong. And although this fact about privacy intrusion is presented to us as a warning by experts in information and communication technologies (ICT) and responsible media, we often ignore it. Ján Markoš, a critical thinking lecturer, who led a lecture in early October for members of CASD and ADRA Slovakia on the topic of disinformation on the internet and the need for critical thinking, mentioned this fact several times — so that we truly realize that we are never alone when communicating via mobile phone or a personal computer connected to the internet.
Internet applications store too much information about us
Whether we like it or not, all the information we search for and share with our acquaintances is being recorded. The battle between message creators and recipients is always very unequal. Few people read the various notices that pop up when we open new web pages. Usually, without much thought and without reading the entire notice, we click to give consent (for example, to the processing of personal data or the use of so-called "cookies"). We don't want to be unnecessarily paranoid and we believe that our actions won't be closely monitored and exploited to our disadvantage. But we are mistaken.
In 2017, a certain journalist requested data from the company operating a popular dating application — data they had collected and stored about her. She has this right under data protection law, as does every citizen of the European Union. To her surprise, she received eight hundred pages densely printed with her sensitive information, secrets, and intimate details that she had exchanged with potential partners through "online" dating and matching. Throughout the entire period the journalist was active on this dating app, the application stored every single detail of her activity and communication.
People can open up too easily in the seemingly anonymous environment of the internet and entrust their sensitive data, desires, or photographs — in the interest of finding common ground and attracting a soulmate. Dating applications exploit this phenomenon of easily surrendering information about oneself, because data cannot be felt. We imagine that everything we type into the keyboard will eventually fade away somewhere, and that it's really not that much in the first place. But when it appears before you in printed form, it scares you more easily. And perhaps it teaches you: to better guard your privacy.
However, other things are happening in the virtual world as well — not only the collection of sensitive data about all of us. In the anonymous virtual space, we are bolder, we participate in various discussions (often escalating to cyberbullying) and express ourselves more aggressively — because we think it's nothing serious, that it's not real, and that we can't hurt anyone through the internet. Last but not least, facts and information are increasingly being manipulated on web pages, which then lead, for example, to influencing the course and results of elections.
In 2016, a student from the small Macedonian town of Veles, marked by high unemployment and mass emigration, was enriching himself by spreading altered and false information, that is, disinformation, on the web and in Facebook groups dedicated to American politics. A post was shared eight hundred times, and the boy earned his first significant money through so-called "clickbaiting." He dropped out of school, and the prospect of easily earned money (from clicks and subsequent advertising) lured him down the path of producing and spreading falsehoods. With a high probability, this also influenced the results of the 45th presidential election of the United States of America, as he edited and adapted data in dozens of articles published on right-wing American websites. As he later admitted, it didn't bother him that he was writing lies and thus influencing the thinking and actions of ordinary people who believed the manipulated information he spread (and voted accordingly). He simply wanted to make money.
Similar things happen not only in the USA, but also in Europe. During the pre-election period, we are also hit by similarly, completely fabricated articles about specific candidates, containing catchy headlines — supposedly "shocking revelations" — with graphically altered photos, published on conspiracy websites and then spread on social networks. Whether we want to or not, we all encounter them, and not only because we spend eight, ten, or more hours a day online.
Let's approach the internet as a public space
How can we defend ourselves against such manipulation and tracking of our activities on the internet? During the lecture, Ján Markoš mentioned several steps. We need to take the internet seriously and approach it as a public space where we increasingly meet and communicate. We also need to distinguish between entertainment and self-education and searching for real information and news in reputable media. We should also set up sufficient privacy protection in our browser by blocking advertising and so-called "tracking" of online activity. We need to stand up for the dignity of every person and every group of people — not to watch passively or contribute to their lynching, whether it concerns a subculture, an ethnic minority, a discriminated group on the margins of society, or investigative journalists and activists from the non-governmental sector. If you come across a message that is internally contradictory and clearly insults some person or group, it is almost certainly a conspiracy theory.
In addition to these five steps, it is also important to remain master of your own time — to be able to manage correctly and keep within reasonable limits the time spent on "online" activities. It is equally important, though increasingly difficult, to limit this time connected to the network and instead devote time to other, more meaningful activities in the "off-line" space. Reading books, hiking, running, swimming, or practicing yoga are pursued only by the most self-disciplined. Yet leisure activities (that strengthen both body and spirit), community volunteering, and time spent talking with loved ones or in the family circle should not be exceptional, but rather regular and a good habit.
In the virtual world, we seek more entertainment and less knowledge
The most important thing, however, is to admit our dependence on communication in the virtual environment. Internet access through data and ubiquitous "Wi-Fi" tempts us to check the status of our social media accounts almost continuously and to handle emails or (often trivial) messages almost instantly. We spend time on the internet searching for entertainment, not knowledge. Instead of sporting activities or face-to-face communication, we turn to playing computer games, watching "influencer" videos on the internet, and chatting with acquaintances (and strangers) on social networks.
We are overwhelmed by information that we cannot sort in time. We give dozens to hundreds of likes daily under photos of so-called friends, and we need to regularly document our lives on Instagram or Facebook. But we forget to actually live and experience it in reality. Without a mobile phone, we can no longer take a single step or travel anywhere. In school, we don't pay attention to the lecture — we would rather watch the teacher on the mobile phone screen than live in front of the blackboard... In France, the use of mobile phones during classes has already been banned for children. By the way, did you know that children and young people in the United Kingdom spend more hours a day in front of television screens or tablet displays than sleeping?
Cultivating critical thinking as a lifestyle
The preparation for a so-called detox from "online" life may sound like an overly strong or exaggerated phrase, but the participants of Markoš's lecture agreed with it. We need to build within ourselves the ability to bear the complexity of the world (to bear the awareness that we don't know everything) and the ability to question things in a healthy way; also to be able to ask questions, argue, and find answers in decent discussion. The lecturer emphasized that in the area of critical thinking, it is important to: use mathematics (numbers, data, statistics) and concepts, not impressions; verify the sources of rapidly emerging information and follow only a few meaningful newspapers; be able to connect related contexts.
Ján Markoš encouraged those present not to believe false news and lies, even though these are easier, faster, and cheaper to produce (tailored to specific target groups of recipients) and also spread more easily through networks. He recommended they make critical thinking a habit. Only in this way can one avoid passively accepting half-truths and outright falsehoods and further spreading unverified information, alarming fake news, and disinformation. Markoš lectures about critical thinking as a lifestyle within PDCS courses. Perhaps this is the right path — how not to stray from the (virtual) road and not be tempted by unethical shortcuts in the form of alarming "hoaxes" and fabricated "fake news" on the internet.
This event was helped to be organized by Daniel Kaba, the director of ADRA Slovakia, so that together with his colleagues he could strengthen capacities in the area of media education, ICT literacy, and defending against the spread of lies, myths, and false beliefs. Because precisely these spread rapidly through the internet and have a negative impact on the general public. In the future, we will undoubtedly return again, or focus our lecture planning on similar topics, since increasing public awareness in this area is not a short, one-time activity.
Authors of the article: Veronika Leitmanová and Boba M. Baluchová, ADRA Slovakia Photo: CASD and ADRA team