Tag Archives: Purpose

@MyDtcAccount – Jonathan Crabtree

As noted by Rushkoff in his 7th command, Social, “digital networks are biased toward social connections, toward contact” (99). People who don’t have access to the internet obviously will not be getting on social networking sites, and instead will have to “settle” for talking to someone in person (gasp!). As a society we have been trained to get a rush of dopamine when we see that little Facebook or Twitter icon pop up at the top of our screen. People without that access have a more organic reaction to connecting with people in real life. Rushkoff’s 8th command, Fact, is that the internet is mostly comprised of truth. While it is true that people can post whatever they want, it won’t last long or get far if it is not a fact. The internet uses its power to crowdsource the information, which leads to a quick validation or dismissal. People without computers are unable to access this information and have to take everything at face value. Openness, Rushkoff’s 9th command, states that the internet is “biased toward openness” and that we should be sharing our creations (121). There is a fine line between generosity and stealing on the internet, and those without access are safe from committing those crimes, but they miss out on all the cool things that people create and share. Finally, Rushkoff talks about Purpose. He posits that everyone should know how to code so that they can create programs with a purpose instead of just accepting whatever the “elite” throw at them to use. People with no access obviously cannot create their own content, and are therefore at the mercy of what everyone else deems “the best.”