Ways Smartphones are Making Us Dumber

Most people have a smartphone or at the very least access to technology and the internet. With the vast amount of information that people have at their fingertips, it has only marginally advanced humans. Here are a couple examples. You are able to stay in contact with anyone around the world through the use of internet phone services and other mobile application but too many people are using it for keep tabs of exes or family members. Even better, you can use it to text the person right next to you. Books, newspapers, magazines — your smartphone has almost anything you'd ever want to read. But there's also Candy Crush. When are they turning that into a novel? On the other hand though, the internet and technology has opened so many more doors for us in terms of databases. We are now more free to analyze and think critically than before. What are your thoughts about these smartphones? Would you ever go back to regular phone?

The Web Needs Independence

Tim Berners-Lee said, "Now, 25 years on, Web users are realizing they need human rights on the Web ... We need independence of the Web for democracy, we need independence of the Web to be able to support the press, we need independence of the Web in general. It's becoming very important to sort out all that." If spying is one threat, Berners Lee believes censorship is another. He recalls the situation in Egypt, where the Internet was cut off at the height of anti-government protests in January 2011. "For a lot of people that was the first time they realized you could turn it off, and they asked themselves, who could turn it off for me?" he says, adding that "turning off the Internet is more or less a signal that the regime does not trust its citizens and that the regime is on the way out." The Web We Want campaign will rely on mass mobilization across industries, nations and activist bodies to succeed, but Berners-Lee is confident of fostering a spirit of cooperation. He has seen it before and considers it the Web's greatest accomplishment. The webs needs to be free for web development, application development, and all the users. On the other hand, this brings up the question of anonymity. Can we really have people having saying whatever without taking responsibility for it? When does it cross a line?

Human Cost of Electronics

Benzene poisoning is not the fault of any one global electronic brand. It is the human cost of electronic sweatshops where profit is prioritized above safety. There are less hazardous chemicals than benzene. But benzene continues to be used because it is the cheapest. Some experts caution if major electronics brands force their suppliers to stop using benzene, they will just substitute it with another chemical that is equally as risky. Nonetheless I believe we should push for a healthier, more just world.
I am not alone. A Ban Benzene campaign was launched in 2013 by non-governmental organizations in Hong Kong trying to help thousands of workers in China. Other groups are pushing for an end to the impunity of factories there. This is an industry-wide problem that will clean itself up faster when all major brands band together and combine resources to put pressure on suppliers. Benzene poisoning is just the tip of the iceberg. Suicides, depression, and worker injuries are commonplace. So the next time you pick up your cell phone or other communication service just remember: there is a human cost to your conversation.