From a lay man’s perspective
I took up this article today to discuss about the risk of digitalisation of every activity.
Case – 1
I received an article as Mr. Ratan Tata’s statement at the early stages of lockdown and was impressed and motivated. Many would have seen such an article in circulation about end March/early April.
When I sent it my near ones in the WhatsApp pat came the reply from my sister that it is fake and she checked it through a website which confirms true or fake news.
A senior TATA employee confirmed that Ratan TATA, will always send his message through his official letter head, signed and never like that on WhatsApp.
Again, today an article came about TCS asking its employees to work from for 2 years from now.
The moment, It was put on the Twitter by my media friend the message came as fake.
At least Twitter have this handle and control to mark as fake.
But, this message have spread by WhatsApp to innumerable people and understood from some of my friends that they have believed it to be true.
Post Covid-19, we all are talking about Digitalisation of every aspect of our business and transactions, and I am alarmed at the risk it carries along with it.
I am a lay man who would not know about the security of these platforms and since everyone is using it, I am also using it. This will be the reply, we will get from many around.
Until 2015, I was against sending business messages through WhatsApp and will ask my people only to send by email.
Recollecting a situation when emails came in, since it was not a expensive way of communication compared to the fax earlier, people used to flood every business opportunity through emails.
Many customers those days, only recognised fax enquiry as genuine as someone have taken interest to spend and send it.
Over the period, fax was gone and emails came in to existence. And now, WhatsApp and WhatsApp groups have become the order of business for huge organisations and within families as well.
Many of us including me are not totally responsible and are controlled by our emotions. We get elated, surprised and shocked at every message and are not wasting a second to pass it on to all our known people.
Without realising the damage, we are doing such acts. Understandably, how do we understand as to which is the right news or fake news.
It is high time, we all stop for a Monet whenever we get any message, understand and take it in properly and understand the facts of it and forward it. This can be helpful in one way and another way is try putting it on The Twitter and it should mark it as Fake.
I tried to find out from the web about the authenticity of a particular message and no one is clear, I suppose.
With some deep search, I was able to get these names as credible news source.
The New York Times (liberal)
The Wall Street Journal (conservative)
Time Magazine (conservative)
Newsweek (liberal)
CBS News (conservative)
ABC News (liberal)
New York Post (conservative)
The Huffington Post (liberal)
Wikipedia (slant varies)
WebMD
Cleveland Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Case – 2
As mentioned earlier until 4-5 years ago, I was not a fan of WhatsApp and last 3 years, I am effectively using it myself. It’s handy and quick to report and get replies and it’s good.
With the lockdown, I am active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and every such platform requires a password and your password stock is increasing.
How many passwords to remember. Email, bank accounts, and social platform at least one person needs 8 password record.
Nowadays, going in to any other new website or search engines they want you to log in through your Facebook, google or Linkedin.
That means your details are password is shared already with another website. How your data is going to be safe and how you are going to be protected and what happens in case, your account gets compromised and someone misused it.
Unanswered questions?
Case – 3
As I have become active in all these platforms during this lockdown period, and the news is out in the web that who is active or not and many connections want to get connected and just by looking at their profile pics, you know who they are and these come in tons along with other contacts for confirmation.
How these can be controlled?
Case – 4
Having spoken about the problems there are very good benefits like many groups and options available to lean towards spiritual and philosophical sites.
For business connection, it is definitely helpful in many ways. And I should endorse that here.
As every good comes with a combination of bad and this has to be taken that way.
I would only suggest that, it will be better to get in to which all social platforms you are in already for a minimum of once a day even post covid-19, to make sure that nothing is compromised.
*Case – 5 *
The news is that, China is already in to digital currency and that will be the new way to deal with the World and internally for all our transactions.
Better that, we all try to gain some knowledge and teach our friends and relatives as much as possible to swim in the Digital Ocean.
Lastly, I would like to recall a speaker in one of the recent webinar’s, who when asked as to in which language he would like to speak either in English, Tamil or Hindi.
He replied that, languages are too many but, the only universal language we all should adopt for the welfare of the mankind is the “language of truth”. (Quoted by Mr. Alagu Alagappan, Chairman, Blossom High School, Thanjavur)
True that we may use any platform/language like Java or any other regional languages, if TRUTH will be the basis of it, there will be no worry.
Over and above all of this, please learn from the Covid-19, the supreme power and nature are watching our movement and our faith in the form we believe and trust; in the path Truth, honesty and Loyalty at every level only can carry us forward.
Let us all safely sail through the Digital Ocean Post Covid-19 peacefully.