How to survive the Information Age

Comparing the world barely half a century ago to this present time, you get to see a massive difference. Even those of the older generation can’t believe their eyes at how rapid things are moving. Indeed things are moving fast and the pace doesn’t seem to slow down any time soon. One of the greatest inventions I view to be created by man is the internet. Who would ever have thought that one day, we would be able to do anything from trade and commerce, banking to learning on a platform we can’t physically see? The internet is gradually eliminating tangible structures and that’s why this era we live in is dubbed the ‘Information Age.’

The cyber space is the hub for the largest volume of information. It’s just a button away thanks to Google.com, the world’s largest search engine. Then there’s Wikipedia, the world’s biggest Encyclopaedia that has over 60 million pieces of information. It’s such that a fellow named Uchendu, whom I’ve mentioned previously once exclaimed that “Wikipedia is the internet in itself.” Certainly the Encyclopaedia Britannica we have known for ages doesn’t have such volume. Another pile driver in this crazy and surreal ‘Information Age’ is social media. The Likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, BBM, WeChat and a host of others have changed how we communicate.

All these advancements in Information Technology are supposed to be to our advantage, making life easier and the world better but for everything that is good, there’s always going to be a bad side. Increased activity in the cyber space has led to cyber crime and even terrorism so much that government and security agencies have a hard time in tracking the culprits. Many people keep being defrauded over the internet by the ‘yahoo boys’ meaning billions of dollars are siphoned yearly from the internet. This has led to fear on the path of internet users from doing business online. Then there are those who delight in spreading rumours. It amazes me how someone will wake up one morning and decide he wants to inflict fear on people by spreading false information of something that doesn’t exist. This is particular when we see broadcasts of one new outbreak of disease, or death of someone that isn’t confirmed. These details spread so fast like wild fire and the danger is many will be misinformed leading people to doing what they are not supposed to do. The bad of the internet is indeed very fatal and you can probably understand why the National Assembly wanted to ban the use of social media in Nigeria but we all need unhindered freedom of information.

Does the terrible evil of the internet mean we shy away from using it? Absolutely not. A day can hardly go by without doing something over the internet, whether we are consciously aware or not. The internet is here to stay and its staying for good. Now how do we survive the craze of the internet and avoid ourselves from being victims of its evil? Firstly because the internet is accessible from any part of the world, whatever is posted can be seen by anyone you don’t know. Therefore we must be careful about the kind of content we post online. It’s best to avoid saying things about your personal life on social media as it could draw unknown attention. Change the privacy settings on who gets to view your content on any social media platform you belong to.  Try as much as possible not to expose your personal details on many websites. Make sure the website you are visiting is verified. Fraudsters use sites that are close to verified ones to draw attention but closer observation and scrutiny will show that fraudsters leave traces behind. Don’t just click any link you see. Many are spam and clicking them exposes your details. Ensure you cross check broadcasts that are sent to you. Before sending it to another person, verify it. Check Google to confirm if it’s correct or not, create a message that the news is false and broadcast it to others before the wrong news creates the wrong impression.

Internet evils will continue to exist but rather than be victims of it we can reduce it by taking the right steps. When we do, we would enjoy the internet without fear and see that the ‘Information Age’ is a blessing and not a curse.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post, kindly leave your comments below. Thanks.

*All photos sourced randomly from Google Images.