Three disparate events in the past few days – the Red Sea internet cable issue, the blocking of some social media platforms in Nepal that sparked protests and, more locally, recent updates regarding the use of smartphones in schools – offer a discursive glimpse at how societies think about the digital world and the broader relationships we all have with technology.
First, the cable cut. It became a big story over the weekend with internet services being reduced to a crawl in parts of the Middle East and South Asia after some Red Sea communication lines were apparently severed. Experts suggest the disruption was most likely the result of a commercial shipping activity, such as a dropped and dragged anchor, rather than the work of a nefarious group. Whatever the cause, repair work is likely to be time-consuming, expensive and complex.
For the average technology dependent person, it may mean some bumps in the road in their day-to-day digital life while relevant authorities devise workarounds to keep communication channels moving. But this is also a short but uncomfortable step into the unknown. We just don’t know whether life will be affected or not from hour to hour.
Anecdotal evidence suggests disruption is now low level, but the incident is a reminder that most of us also find any uncertainty or unknown hard to process. Even small inconveniences become perceived as much larger glitches than they are and can push anxiety levels higher.
The unrest in Nepal over the past few days has provided another perspective on the darker side of disruption and denial of access to digital assets.
While those protests later mutated into severe and deadly violence – more than 20 people have died since unrest began – the roots of the crisis lay in the decision to ban Facebook, X and YouTube over failure to comply with newly introduced registration rules in the country and gave life to a larger protest movement.
Before the ban was imposed, the government in Nepal said regulations had been designed to stop the spread of fake news, hate speech and cybercrime. When protests and violence followed, access to those platforms was reinstated, the prime minister resigned and the government said it would work to address the broader demands of demonstrators.
Recent history provides many adjacent examples. The 2011 uprisings in Egypt were, perhaps, the first example of protesters using social media to organise and communicate with a global audience and achieve their goals. A proposed tax on WhatsApp in Lebanon in October 2019 drew swift popular criticism and was withdrawn within hours, but protests simmered thereafter. Both cases remind us that the digital version of the town square of old remains a crowded and often transformative space.
The third recent example is an evolution of school policy mandates more locally. Public schools in the UAE have adopted a stricter line on mobile-phone use within their grounds this year, matching moves made elsewhere in the world. Changes of policy are evident in private schools, too.
The issue of phone use in schools is divisive and contested, like large tracts of the digital world itself. Those who support bans say they make students more focused during school hours, while others maintain that there are circumstances where students should be permitted to carry their phones and have access to them. We often talk about education needing to prepare students for the working world they will move into, which is one that is, for better or worse, powered by smartphones and digital communication.
The internet, once considered a disruptor, is now a run-of-the-mill utility with associated expectations
One parent told The National that our phones are an addiction: “Our children need traditional ways of writing, reading and interacting to develop … not social media”, while another said: “for many parents, being able to reach our children during the day is essential”. Few of us have neutral opinions on the matter.
A couple of years ago, I wrote in these pages about no-phones policies at entertainment venues, arguing for relaxation of rules at comedy shows and music concerts that required attendees to put their phones in pouches for the duration of the performance. The column was met with some robust disagreement on social media, underscoring the very polarised nature of this issue.
All three stories speak to our attitudes to digital disruption, denial of service in the wider sense of the words and growing global technology dependency. The internet, once considered a disruptor, is now a run-of-the-mill utility with associated expectations. Outage begets outrage.
Having captured large tracts of the attention economy, platforms are regulation resistant institutionally. Their users either coalesce in the same free-for-all area or want the exact opposite to counter their influence. The middle ground may well be more fertile.
More specifically, societies used to think about signal and noise as opposite terms. Recent events tell us that many people want both signal and noise – and they want it all the time.
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 2 (Benzema 13', Kroos 28')
Barcelona 1 (Mingueza 60')
Red card: Casemiro (Real Madrid)
Points about the fast fashion industry Celine Hajjar wants everyone to know
- Fast fashion is responsible for up to 10 per cent of global carbon emissions
- Fast fashion is responsible for 24 per cent of the world's insecticides
- Synthetic fibres that make up the average garment can take hundreds of years to biodegrade
- Fast fashion labour workers make 80 per cent less than the required salary to live
- 27 million fast fashion workers worldwide suffer from work-related illnesses and diseases
- Hundreds of thousands of fast fashion labourers work without rights or protection and 80 per cent of them are women
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Jetour T1 specs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
Volvo ES90 Specs
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The specs
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What should do investors do now?
What does the S&P 500's new all-time high mean for the average investor?
Should I be euphoric?
No. It's fine to be pleased about hearty returns on your investments. But it's not a good idea to tie your emotions closely to the ups and downs of the stock market. You'll get tired fast. This market moment comes on the heels of last year's nosedive. And it's not the first or last time the stock market will make a dramatic move.
So what happened?
It's more about what happened last year. Many of the concerns that triggered that plunge towards the end of last have largely been quelled. The US and China are slowly moving toward a trade agreement. The Federal Reserve has indicated it likely will not raise rates at all in 2019 after seven recent increases. And those changes, along with some strong earnings reports and broader healthy economic indicators, have fueled some optimism in stock markets.
"The panic in the fourth quarter was based mostly on fears," says Brent Schutte, chief investment strategist for Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company. "The fundamentals have mostly held up, while the fears have gone away and the fears were based mostly on emotion."
Should I buy? Should I sell?
Maybe. It depends on what your long-term investment plan is. The best advice is usually the same no matter the day — determine your financial goals, make a plan to reach them and stick to it.
"I would encourage (investors) not to overreact to highs, just as I would encourage them not to overreact to the lows of December," Mr Schutte says.
All the same, there are some situations in which you should consider taking action. If you think you can't live through another low like last year, the time to get out is now. If the balance of assets in your portfolio is out of whack thanks to the rise of the stock market, make adjustments. And if you need your money in the next five to 10 years, it shouldn't be in stocks anyhow. But for most people, it's also a good time to just leave things be.
Resist the urge to abandon the diversification of your portfolio, Mr Schutte cautions. It may be tempting to shed other investments that aren't performing as well, such as some international stocks, but diversification is designed to help steady your performance over time.
Will the rally last?
No one knows for sure. But David Bailin, chief investment officer at Citi Private Bank, expects the US market could move up 5 per cent to 7 per cent more over the next nine to 12 months, provided the Fed doesn't raise rates and earnings growth exceeds current expectations. We are in a late cycle market, a period when US equities have historically done very well, but volatility also rises, he says.
"This phase can last six months to several years, but it's important clients remain invested and not try to prematurely position for a contraction of the market," Mr Bailin says. "Doing so would risk missing out on important portfolio returns."
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,200m. Winner: Majd Al Megirat, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Shehhi (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m. Winner: Dassan Da, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Heba Al Wathba, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige (PA) Dh110,000 (T) 1,400m. Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Richard Mullen, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m. Winner: Harbour Spirit, Adrie de Vries, Jaber Ramadhan.
