Curiouser and Curiouser

          In the persuasive essay "Curiouser and Curiouser", Roger Scruton (2011) argues that technological gadgets and social media sites are changing the way we communicate and how we perceive private and public lives. Scruton supports his opinions through defining the dividing line between intimacy and exposure, outdated laws of libel and defamation, and how technology is transforming the way we communicate with one another. Scruton’s purpose is to identify social media and technological communications that are breaching our rights of privacy. The intended audience are the older generations and parents who entrust their children with such gadgets.

          We find that this persuasive essay is very well written and provides many examples to help the reader identify what problems come with a technologically savvy generation. We also found this persuasive essay a bit scary, as what you put on the internet is shared with the world. Scruton describes an incident in which journalists of the Guardian stole his emails and published them in the newspaper. At the same time, Julian Assange, was considered a hero by some when he released information that others wanted to hide. We believe that overall, the internet is a place where your personal information is not safe. Pictures can be stolen and shared by those who are trying to deface your character and these days, according to Scruton, there is little you can legally do to stop defamation. One of our group members disliked the fact that Scruton failed to provide supporting evidence, as everything Scruton stated was a personal opinion.

          Are the technological gadgets used today worth giving up certain freedoms or competencies that were once considered a necessity? Scruton suggests that “Very little is stored in our heads, and our recollections drift in cyberspace”, leaving only room to depend solely upon these gadgets to alleviate humans of mental exercises (228). Communicating is another factor that is negatively affected by the technological dependencies of this new generation. “Our personalities emerge from our interactions; all that we value and all that we fear has its source in communication”, states Scruton as he discusses the fact that humans are social creatures and communicating is indeed the basis of human life (230). Along with this complete failure in effective communicating is a privacy issue that is becoming less important to those who live within the web of the internet, as Scruton points out through the invasive measures the Guardian took to steal his emails (229). With technology sweeping the world into a technological savvy life, Scruton suggests that we are indeed losing competencies, freedoms, and the ability to communicate through technological gadgets.