According to Derakhshan, the current shifts in information and technology have affected the existence, production, consumption and transmission of knowledge. The article states that the culture revolving around collecting information to produce knowledge has gradually declined since the advent of television and the internet (Derakhshan). Presently, Wikipedia, (the modern encyclopedia and a vast source of knowledge), is increasingly becoming obsolete due to the massive use of social media, television and other visual sources of information.
Although Wikipedia is a modern web-based innovation, creating a universal encyclopedia has existed for centuries. For instance, during the Islamic Golden Age, numerous Persian scholars travelled worldwide to collect and document information concerning diverse aspects, including war, power, learning, prayer, and food. Such scholars included Ibn Qutaybah, who created the first encyclopedia of 10 distinct books, and Al-Khwarizmi, who invented algebra and developed an encyclopedia constituting indigenous and foreign knowledge. In addition, Chinese and European societies had already developed their encyclopedias between the 7th and 18th centuries. In Europe, Enlightenment philosophers like Francis Bacon compiled their encyclopedias and inspired other European thinkers to produce and edit vast volumes of knowledge. Regardless of the efforts to consolidate knowledge, the religious ruling classes opposed creating an encyclopedia. Such opposition triggered more curiosity to produce encyclopedias and led to the imprisonment of notable Enlightenment scholars and the emergence of secularism in Europe (Derakhshan).
Derakhshan noted that the threat to knowledge had long existed before the internet. In this sense, televisions shifted from typographical to photographic culture, adversely affecting knowledge production, consumption and transmission. As Neil Postman postulated, the emergence of television created a world driven and understood visually (Derakhshan). In this scenario, television led to the decline of rational thinking generalizations, abuse of logic, confusion and lack of common sense. In his work Amusing Ourselves to Death, Postman asserted that television had changed how human beings experience the world across different dimensions like politics, culture, religion and business (Derakhshan). To him, the television replaced conversation and exchange of ideas as arguments became more about appearance.
Derakhshan acknowledges that the internet first seemed to oppose the culture propagated by television. In this sense, the Internet initially emerged as a text-based medium comprising e-magazines, discussion groups, academic forums and blogs. Soon enough, these avenues transformed into informative platforms like Google and Wikipedia. Nonetheless, social media reintroduced the television-inspired culture, shifting people’s attention again to pictures. Facebook and Instagram are among the leading factors behind the increasingly popular and addictive “appearance” culture. On the contrary, essential knowledge resources like Wikipedia are gradually fading. Generally, this trend signifies another revolution (Derakhshan).
- Essay and own reflection
To a large extent, Darekhshan’s argument is valid, considering the increased use of visual media compared to typographical materials. As per his argument, the art of collecting and consolidating information and knowledge remains one of the most critical skills in the world. Unfortunately, visual media like television and social media have adversely affected such art, which has reduced physical human interaction and communication. Postman noted that Americans had started entertaining one another instead of communicating. Similarly, television and social media have significantly eroded the importance of dialogue, conversation and discussion to elevate irrational aspects like likes, followers and so forth (Derakhshan). Alternatively, these factors have contributed to a culture where people seek approval through online social media interactions. Much worse, critical resources like Wikipedia are now threatened by the television and social media-inspired culture. As Derakhshan argues, more entries on Wikipedia concern television series.
Undoubtedly, Wikipedia is more like the ancient encyclopedias created, edited, and compiled by different scholars worldwide. From an ahistorical perspective, Wikipedia is an electronic version of the encyclopedias produced during the Enlightenment and later centuries. Wikipedia is an offshoot of the internet, which was highly knowledgeable before social media. Like television, social media platforms have significantly impacted society (Derakhshan). As per this argument’s context, social media has eroded rationality, knowledge, and balance to promote a false perspective of life based solely on appearance. In this case, more people seek public approval and acceptance instead of collecting and preserving information. Derakhshan’s argument is valid because the portion of the global population on Facebook exceedingly surpasses the number of contributors on Wikipedia. According to Statista, Facebook currently has over one billion active users, while Wikipedia has less than 150,000 active contributors. As Wikipedia struggles with dwindling contributors, more and more people worldwide are joining Facebook and other social networking platforms. Typically, such statistics resonate with Debord’s sentiments that the only crucial aspect would be to appear well in the late stages of capitalism (Derakhshan).
In my view, Derakhshan’s argument is credible as he presents it in a classical technique. Firstly, he introduces his argument by asserting that Wikipedia, one of the last existing foundations of the open web, is facing a crisis. In this sense, he acknowledges that his perceived threat is not financial. After that, Derakhshan provides a brief but profound background about the genesis and development of the information collection and knowledge preservation culture worldwide by identifying various personalities and societies who developed their encyclopedia in early historical periods. Notably, such information enhances understanding and knowledge on the topic, devoid of Derakhshan’s stand.
Again, Darekhshan gives a proposition by restating his claims and providing additional sources of information that resonate with his argument. Such include the quotes from Postman and others concerning the effects of television. After that, Derakshan proves his argument by explaining the effects of social media on knowledge and how far visual culture has interfered with knowledge preservation. Even though Derakhshan hails the internet for initially reducing the television-inspired culture, he afterwards refutes the claim. He asserts that the internet provided the foundation for the emergence of social media platforms, which further colonized society and impaired the efforts to increase and preserve knowledge. Finally, Derakhshan concludes that the present shift stemming from visual culture might be an unfolding revolution.
In my view, I concur with Derakhshan’s argument that social media has endangered knowledge. Even though social media platforms are crucial for seamless information exchange, they have numerous shortcomings. Unlike Wikipedia, which provides broad and unbiased information on diverse aspects, the information provided via social media propagates prejudices and biases. As Derakhshan pointed out, most people nowadays seek approval on social media and thus expect to be rated according to their appearance. Unfortunately, misinformation and misinterpretation of posts can adversely affect one’s career and life. Again, while Wikipedia offers knowledge based on a particular domain, social media has blurred the differences between personal and professional knowledge (Richy et al.). In this case, scholars point out that the interconnectedness of social media promotes the seepage of knowledge across various domains. In such a situation, impressions created by people on social media will negatively affect knowledge.
Works Cited
“Facebook MAU Worldwide 2021 | Statista”. Statista, 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/.
Derakhshan, Hossein. “How Social Media Endangers Knowledge.” (2017).
Richey, Michelle, Aparna Gonibeed, and M. N. Ravishankar. “The perils and promises of self-disclosure on social media.” Information Systems Frontiers 20.3 (2018): 425-437.
