It is not news to anyone that technological advancements are changing the way people interact at an incredible pace. Cell phones have made it seem that everyone is always available, social networking websites have created new ways to think of friendships, and privacy is changing right alongside all of this. It was not long ago that war media was limited to a small amount of productions funded by news sources and designed to tell a certain story. It wasn’t long before that when people saw some of the very first video footage of war zones. For better or for worse, the way the world views war has changed greatly along with advancements in technology and it is continuing to change constantly.
While the citizenry used to be subject to the filters of media outlets and the inadvertent bias of the reporters that covered a story, they can now get a much more raw version of the situation. Communication has moved from the occasional letter and military report to a constant flow of information. Members of the military can now upload videos to the internet almost immediately. They can talk to those back at home through email, or chat face-to-face on the computer. The sheer number of pictures that can come back from a war zone is like never before. With the ease and widespread use of personal cell phones and digital cameras, information has little boundary left to contain it.
This can be good and bad. While it is exceptional that those serving can more readily talk to their loved ones, it can also be alarming how much information is freely distributed. The available quantity of information can make it easier to track troops and predict military strategy, which is dangerous. But, whether we like it or not, the world is changing and war is changing along with it.
