Elon Musk certainly got our attention when he dropped over 45 Billion dollars to purchase the social media platform we know as Twitter.

Most are trying to wrap their heads around the figure 48 Billion! Not to worry! He is worth some $298 Billion.

Beyond those shocking numbers, many are consumed by the question of what he will do with Twitter.

As well we should be, regardless of whether you color him red or blue. (Actually, one respected commentator thinks he should be colored purple.)

He has taken positions that anger both people who identify as red or blue. He himself hopes that 10% of both extremes will be upset with him. If so, he feels he has got it right.

Questions about My/Your use of technology

My point in this Mindwalk is not about Elon Musk or just Twitter. It is whether you and I are getting social media right. And that is the question we must all answer regardless of whether we use Twitter or not. (Full disclosure … I have a Twitter account … which I rarely use.)

 Two articles prompted the question of whether my use (or non-use) of social media is getting it right.

An America article asked, “Is your smartphone making you sin more?”. Also, a few years ago, L. M Sacasa more probingly wrote of “Questions Concerning Technology”.

The America article offered a brief examination of conscience about our use of technology. He begins with just two questions.

• “What sort of person will the use of this technology make of me?”  
• “What habits will the use of this technology instill?

Sacasa, in an earlier article, offered some basic moral perspectives.

He writes

“every choice of our lives, whether it’s what technology we purchase, when we use it or how, has a moral and ethical dimension to be considered. Every action is a moral one.

He later unpacks this statement with 41specific moral questions.  Each of the 41 follow-up questions shows me how much there is to think about.

A dozen questions that made me think…

I was particularly struck by the ones in bold print.

My first half dozen…

• How will the use of this technology affect how I relate to other people?
• How will the use of this technology affect how I relate to the world around me?

• How does this technology empower me? At whose expense?
• What feelings does the use of this technology generate in me toward others?

• How does the use of this technology shape my vision of a good life?
• What limits does the use of this technology impose upon me?

My second half dozen…

• Does using this technology require me to think more or less?
• What would the world be like if everyone used this technology exactly as I use it?

• Can the consequences of my use of this technology be undone? Can I live with those consequences?
• What risks will my use of this technology entail for others? Have they consented?

• Does my use of this technology make it easier to live as if I had no responsibilities toward my neighbor?
• Can I be held responsible for the actions that this technology empowers? Would I feel better if I couldn’t?

Which of these questions have you thought about?

(I encourage you to visit “Questions Concerning Technology”. for the complete list of 41 questions at the end of the article,)

Click below for an early audio version of this Vincentian Mindwalk

Right questions about technology