[yrklai]

I'm not very clear about whether technology has changed our customs or ethics. If so, please present some examples. Thanks.

[volantpanda]

Issue88

[amolu]

I do find this question interesting.

I suppose a starting point is to define ethics. The thesaurus gives this definition:
belief, conduct, conscience, convention, conventionalities, criteria, decency, ethic, ethos, goodness, honesty, honor, ideal, imperative, integrity, moral code, morality, mores, natural law, nature, practice, principles, standard, standards, value

In a business sense technology has totally changed the way we communicate. Quick, easy and short characterises social network sites such as Twitter, Facebook etc. With this, all the polite rules of written communication have gone for a loop. My old English teacher would be shocked at the off-hand way we speak to each other. The word she would use is 'rude'. Does this casual approach carry over into real life relationships? Does the lack of a human face and voice make us less respectful in how we treat people both in business and social interactions?

But what interests me about your question is how it affects the larger issues of our lives.

There's a school of thought that says the advancement of technology is answering questions that used to be answered by religion. We found comfort in certain great and frightening unknowns by looking to a god or gods and many people still do Hand in hand with religion (ideally) goes moral discipline. But why are so many churches in the UK half empty?
Some people feel that technology is replacing the need for faith – the great unknowns supposedly all have scientific answers and those that don't – it's certain that science will catch them up too. So, if (and I say IF) the reliance on faith is declining does moral discipline decline also?

Some may subconsciously way 'Technology provides me with everything I need, so what do I need God for?' but maybe these people are overlooking their spiritual needs. As a teacher, I can definitely see this happening among young people. They are bombarded with advertising that emphasises the need for the latest game, phone, laptop but not the need for meditation, prayer or moral reflection. Does this advertising trend reflect what this society values?

My mother in law believes that in 2012, Western people will abandon technology when they realise that it has failed them. Something to do with the Mayan calendar. According to her, we'll realise that being technological wizards has left us spiritually empty and so we'll never be truly fulfilled. We'll all pull the plug and take up yoga. Please note that I'm not mocking this idea.

However if that does happen I won't be able to use technology to send you long answers to your very interesting question.