The Slip of Technology from Our Hands and Ethics of Daily Phone Use limit for Minors and vulnerable Adults

Résumé

The inventions and introduction of mobile phone technology (GSM) further reduced space and time more than it was at the time of internet discovery which made McLuhan in 1960’s to say that ‘the world is now a global village’. The technological advancement in this area was heightened by the manufacturing of Android and Apple phones which made it impossible not to access any form of information on the internet. The internet is engrossed with every type of information; some educative, some cautionary and some even restricted like Pornographic and Betting sites. But unfortunately there is no attached privacy friendly user application to protect the minors (anyone under the age of 18) and vulnerable adults from internet predators that prowl around ‘seeking whom to devour’. Invasion of personal data and personal private internet space is the order of the day. There are cases where minors commit suicide occasioned by blackmail because of internet related sexual abuse or assault. This paper sets out using the method of analysis and exposition to see areas of moral convergence and divergence regarding the daily use of mobile phones by minors. The possibility of installing applications that can regulate hours of usage and sites to be visited by minors and vulnerable adults were considered also. The paper will be of no moral significance if it fails to recommend for parents, how to effectively engage their wards so as to reduce daily contact with mobile phones and also check if we are losing the grip of technology by the way we use it.