On Saturday Downsides of our newly connected world

Read Martin’s column every week in the Western Morning News

THE phone wakes us early and a woman on a muffled line from India is trying to sell us a boiler because the company she represents noticed we’d been searching for one on the internet. I am irritated, slam down the phone and go back to sleep.

Earlier this week we were online looking for companies which repair solar panels and, instantly, the email inbox was inundated with “unique offers” from dubious sounding operators around the globe. We also happened to talk about certain other household requirements in front of our online connected audio-speaker and suddenly, almost magically, all our social media feeds were filled with adverts for items related to our chat.

This kind of commercial intrusion represents just one of the downsides of our newly connected world. There is no such thing as privacy anymore, and the old saying “an Englishman’s home is his castle” is no longer relevant unless you are one of the few people who live off-grid.

All of which, to some extent at least, came into focus this week as the new Online Safety Bill was presented to parliament. Not that it will prevent any of the above, but it is a good thing anyway because it marks a milestone in what the government calls “the fight for a new digital age which is safer for users and holds tech giants to account...”

The regulator Ofcom will have the power to fine companies up to 10% of their annual global turnover, while forcing them to improve their practices. If (and it is a big if) Ofcom is given the funds and firepower to police such a monster.

All well and good: certainly when it comes to protecting children and others from the more heinous practices. However the bill will do little to hamper the tsunami of sales and marketing ploys which beleaguer even the most savvy users on a daily basis.

Of course, we do have a choice. We could turn off all our devices and live like we used to 20 or 30 years ago. A return to the simple life is tempting, but it would take a determined person to wind the clock back. Most of us have reached the point where we’d fear missing out if we abandoned our smart-phones and TVs.

I, for example, would not be able to maintain communication with the Ukrainian friend I’ve been mentioning over the past few weeks. Sasha and her husband have now managed to escape Kyiv and are living in a house somewhere in the west of the country, where he carries on important work in IT.

The moment I learned about our government’s new support for those who wish to help Ukrainian refugees I contacted Sasha via a messaging app, offering to sponsor her and her family. She thanked me but said she was determined to remain in the country she loves so dearly. We did, however, agree to keep the door open should she and her husband suddenly need to jump.

The wonders of online connection.

I can’t imagine being able to communicate with someone in a warzone without it.

But it’s not just personal connectivity which reflects the benefits of the online world. There is nothing bullying dictators and authoritarian governments fear more than the internet’s ability to inform. Of course, such information can be tweaked, corrupted, even jammed – but only to some extent. When things get tough and the chips are down, populations want to know the reasons why, and thanks to satellite and mobile technology, online information is becoming impossible to deflect.

It could be that Putin’s downfall will arrive, not at the sharp end of a missile, but through undercurrents of online information causing resentment and distress among his own people. A true irony, given Russia’s recent history of online meddling in Western affairs.

Speaking for myself, I’ll admit that I’d find life without the internet challenging. Certainly from an entertainment point of view. Thanks to the various subscription services, I can watch almost any kind of movie I fancy at any time I choose. Same goes for music.

Even the act of travelling from A to B is becoming impossible without the aid of digital technology. Not only booking seats – try passing through airports in the modern Covid era without a smartphone.

Then there’s shopping. Readers will know I am a ‘buy local’ evangelist, but until recently those who lived out in the countryside would deflate like a damp soufflé if a recipe said: “Visit the nearest Asian shop for ingredients.” Now we go online and we’ll be cooking with the most obscure edible items within 24 hours. Even boring household problems can be solved. Recently I fixed a lavatory cistern thanks to a YouTube video showing how do it.

Like everything else in the universe, the internet is black and white, yin and yang, good and bad. Where there is a benefit, there is always a price to pay.

A balance sheet would probably show the internet’s positives beating its negatives, but it’s a close-run thing...

Of course, we do have a choice. We could turn off all our devices and live like we used to, 20 or 30 years ago