February 4, 2004 the world changed.
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That Wednesday Mark Zuckerberg launched the social media platform Facebook from his Harvard dormitory room.
Little did we know the impact the website application would have on our society.
During the third quarter of 2018, Facebook had a staggering 2.27 billion monthly active users.
Three years after the introduction of Facebook another innovative technology changed the world with the launch of the very first iPhone on June 29, 2007.
A Gallup survey, in the US, showed 54 per cent of smartphone users would upgrade their phone when the device stopped working or the device became totally obsolete.
Forty-four per cent of people said they would upgrade their phone when the telecommunications company would allow it – on average every two years.
The other 2 per cent of smartphone owners would change their phones when a new model was releases – so about every 12 months.
It’s fair to say the above behaviour would be reflective of Australian society.
With the introduction of this technology – sharing your life on social media at all times of the day thanks to a mobile phone – comes new problems.
The most concerning was the introduction of cyberbullying and the term “keyboard warriors”.
Cyberbullying can be fatal.
Legislation has caught up, to an extent, for public safety. It’s illegal to use your phone while driving. Driver awareness programs focus on this issue at length in an effort to prevent road fatalities.
But the legislation needs to improve to address cyberbullying.
The state government’s decision to add cyberbullying with stalking legislation is a welcomed priority.
Investment in schools to educate the next generation on the repercussions of their words and behaviour must also continue.
Our laws and awareness programs need to try to keep up with the evolving nature of technology.