Kinsley Got It Wrong

By Allison Sheedy

The first thing that caught my attention while reading ‘Orwell Got It Wrong’ was that the author works at a computer company. Of course a person who relies on technology to work every day would have the viewpoint that it’s helpful and wonderful. Putting this bias aside, I continued reading to see what more the author had to say about technology in our culture and was amused at the examples he chose to back up his argument. After stating how journalists have kept their right to free speech on the web it was less than inspiring. The problem in the novel was how technology affected everyone, not just the writers and politicians.

It’s interesting that Kinsley failed to mention the other technological devices in Orwell’s book, such as cameras and microphones. These devices are capable of monitoring humans more so than online magazines and fax machines. I guess I just don’t think that Kinsley focused on the more problematic machines to prove his point well. Also, the counter argument about pornography being the growing trouble with the internet was ridiculously silly. Identity theft and computer security is more dangerous to the public than smutty pictures on the web. I believe that technology has not followed the dark path Orwell described in 1984 but definitely not because of this article.