Me, thinking to myself late last week…“OMG…ConnectSafely’s new podcast, Are We Doing Tech Right? is now officially out! I’ve got to share that with our Ask Trish community!”
Hi there, and welcome back to Ask Trish! I hope you’re all well and having a great week.
This week, I’m thrilled to be spotlighting a new, incredible resource offered by one of Ask Trish’s sponsors/supporters, internet education organization ConnectSafely: a new podcast called Are We Doing Tech Right? Per ConnectSafely, the podcast aims to explore “the benefits and challenges of connected technology, in conversations with experts from education, healthcare, government and the tech industry, along with parents and youth.” How interesting does that sound? (So, so interesting!)
In that vein, rather than our regular content, this week, I’m going to simply encourage y’all to go listen to the podcast’s first episode, a conversation with Vint Cerf, who is widely thought of as one of “fathers of the internet.” The conversation is fascinating – and just the right length, in my opinion, at about 25 minutes. Check it out…you won’t regret it!
To encourage y’all to give the episode a listen, I’m going to briefly share some of my favorite takeaways from the episode:
- In the conversation, Vint notes that, looking back, he thinks that the early internet likely should’ve been created with/studied by anthropologists, social scientists, sociologists, and neuroscientists, to understand how internet harms manifest and how they affect users.
- In discussing the dynamics of online harm, Vint argues that scale is key, and indeed, that because the internet is, in effect, “a large crowd,” its harmful effects can be amplified.
- To tackle social media side effects, Vint suggests relying on both moral persuasion and enforcement/accountability, that is, convincing folks that internet harms are important problems and developing measures that ensure accountability in addressing harms.
Is your interest piqued? Go listen to the episode!
I hope you all enjoy Are We Doing Tech Right?’s first episode – and that you continue to leverage/take advantage of this fantastic resource. (Let me know what you think of the first episode in the comments section of this week’s TikTok video!)
Next week, we’ll take on a new topic – and that topic might just be yours! As always, I want to encourage you to share your Internet-related questions or thoughts – on literally anything and everything! – here. Once again, I can’t emphasize enough: anything goes, so don’t worry about whether your question is “applicable”: whatever you’re experiencing, this community and I want to support you. I can’t wait to hear from you!
And finally, one last shout-out/request that you all give Ask Trish some love (likes, shares, comments) on social media! With your help, we can grow this amazing group. Thanks a ton in advance. 💙
Have a great week, y’all,
Trish