Mediathink

Politicians, educators, moralists, and others have long complained that electronic media don’t just report on or portray what’s going on in the real world, but actually shape events and the public reaction to them. This is the subject of endless and sometimes fascinating debate, but if that viewpoint has any credibility it will be strengthened immeasurably by the three-screen model of voice-and-video access that fits into the palm of one’s hand. Making phone calls, watching TV, and going online all on the same small device has world-changing potential. Video cameras, for instance, captured the horrors of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia not long ago, and more recently, cell phones documented the genocide in Darfur. Technology generally improves our lives, and sometimes enables us to be witnesses even of atrocities.