@chrisdtc101
In Daniel Rushkoff’s “Program or be Programmed”, he gives four commands in his last four chapters to us. The commands are, Social: Do Not Sell Your Friends, Fact: Tell The Truth, Openness: Share, Don’t Steal, and Purpose: Program Or Be Programmed. These four commands are very critical to anyone who uses technology on a regular basis, but what about people who don’t have or use a computer? Are these rules still applicable to them? I say they are… in a way. Even if they are not being directly affected by technology themselves by not using it, they are being affected by the people around them who are. Certainly, they are left behind in the digital divide. What’s more, communication is even harder for them than it used to be thanks to the people around them always being plugged into their technology. I have several friends who rarely answer their phones anymore if someone calls them, and those kind of actions – cutting off the means of communication someone in the digital divide may have – are extremely detrimental not just to the individual but to the society. The command of Program Or Be Programmed, to “learn how to make the software, or risk becoming the software” (Page 128), is an incredibly important one. If everybody who uses technology fails to follow this command, where will those in the digital divide be left? They will be isolated from a society that they can no longer communicate with and be left to fend for themselves by themselves.