COMPLIMENTARY COPY
Neighborhood Church Recognized for 27 Years of Work at Union Station in Pasadena Page 4
Historical Society Remembers Louise Robertson at 40th Anniversary
Page 2
Go to BelmontBeacon.com for Belmont Specific News THURSDAY, JANUARY 16 - JANUARY 22, 2020
Local. Relevant. Trusted.
Since 1996
VOL. 6, NO. 3
UTOPIA OR DYSTOPIA? YOU DECIDE
Are the side effects of advancements in technology leading us down a road we are unprepared for? – Courtesy photo
Terry MILLER tmiller@beaconmedianews.com
H
ave we perhaps become more celebrity hungry that ever before? Do we really care about people who are famous for being famous and what they name their offspring? Are we so obsessed with other peoples’ lives that we forget our own humanity? Apparently, collectively, we are. I pose these questions at a crucial time in history when the stakes are so high and injustice around the globe seems to be thrust on to the back pages. The British media dubbed the young royals’ recent departure from tradition as “Megxit.” Celebrity cringe-worthy gossip, “must read stories,” permeates what was once called the “superhighway.” Is this information important? Appar-
ently, billions do think this is critical in their lives, perhaps as there is a lack in trust of conventional news gathering. Has a once a noble profession, journalism, sunk to new levels, further than anything imaginable? Facebook (along with other so-called social media) has, without doubt, influenced our profession with a malady quite unlike anything in the history of communication. Who knows what is true or fabricated or even remotely important? I fear we have become jaded in a world where attention span is so very limited. How often do you see people walking, seemingly unaware that there is a giant semi-truck about to run them over, while texting or reading the latest nonsense on their iPhone? We’ve heard of distracted driving, bur now distracted walking is a very real issue. It sounds like something right out of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus.” In England, some cities like London are
putting padding on lampposts to help prevent injuries incurred while texting and walking. Other countries merely fine people for this dangerous habit. England is perhaps a little more polite, proactive and protective of its citizens. The internet has inadvertently added a not-so-new feature — bullying — to its repertoire. The length to which people insult one another online has truly gone viral and is perhaps one of the ugliest side effects of what I call antisocial media. While it is exciting to live in a world where everything happens so rapidly, technology has consequences we have yet to explore and understand. We are clearly not paying attention to what we have created: Perhaps we need to re-examine AI. The decision to let AI control lives is literally out of our hands and could have considerable consequences for mankind in the future perhaps by automatic dissent removal.