The need for new technologies

By The end of the 1990s, it has been easier to communicate through new technologies than to talk to someone in person. Many people, and young people in particular, do not seem to worry that certain types of contact disappear. They see transactions as just that with little or no need for direct human contact. And people who used to hang out together now "hang out" together online.

Actually, today's technology had cut of ourself from human interaction. One of its paradoxes is that it connects us and isolates us at the same time, and we can somehow feel less satisfied. New technologies revolution is having its effects on all of us.  

Statistics show that most people report a lack of communication and the generation coming online don't know conversation face to face. They are happy to hold conversation and transactions through WhatApp, Snapchat and Twitter. In addition, people sometimes get information through smartphone, Ipad or cellphone that they don'r really need.

As the British columnist Tony Schwartz says, information people ordinarily consume leaves they poorly nourished and still hungry and, consequently, their brains may feel overloaded and need time to clear they out. If we had a crazy busy  month at work, we would need a short vacation. But what we need most of all is a period of total digital disconnection. The greater the performance demand, the greater the need for recovery. And getting away from our job or town wouldn't be enough if we were to remain tethered to our online life. When I am on holiday I always decide not to bring my I pad or my cellphone: I soon realise how satisfying any adventure is when it is not interrupted.
I am always happy to know your point of view about this matter.     

  

2014 elections for the European Parliament

Thanks to the rise of China, India and other developing countries, Europeans feel as if they might be teetering on the edge of a serious crisis in their democracies. Illegal immigration, inequality and unemployment are still rising in the Southern side of the old continent. And while the post-2008 recession increased the ratio between South Europe's public debt and GDP to the same level it had attained in the early 1990s, Moscow prepares a further invasion of the Donestk metropolitan area after its takeover of Crimea, close to the Eastern European Union's border. Just because it isn't happening here doesn't mean it isn't happening!

Although between May 22nd and 25th the citiziens of the EU will vote in elections for the European Parliament, many Italians, Greeks and Spaniards still think that the politicians are all corrupt, nobody care and nothing can be done. That's why some alternative parties, which support an anti-European position, may do well. For instance, Nigel Farage in Britain, Marine Le Pen in France and Beppe Grillo in Italy dislike being in the European Union. They believe that there are too many people from Poland, Romania and Bulgaria in Western Europe, and that more millions will arrive thanks to the EU legal framework. It is known that many countries, such as Australia and Switzerland, have planned to impose quotas on the number of immigrants they will accept from abroad. From a demographic and economic point of view, European policy-makers would have to think about the carrying capacity of EU cities.

I'd like to know your point of view about this situation in Europe which is 

certainly interesting these days.

Solidarity among European states

In my previous post I mentioned some thoughts about unemployment in South Europe. It's a hot topic considering that we still see a catastrophic mood in Europe. According to official figures, in Europe peripheral countries youth unemployment is running above 50 per cent and credit crisis may be related to constant expectation of catatrophes that might occur tomorrow.

While European Union is dealing with the severst test in its history, this week Swiss voters narrowly approved a referendum to place new limits on foreigners living and working in Switzerland. In other words, Switzerland, which is not a part of the European Union, will not have to renegotiate agreements with the EU. Hitherto there have been few restrictions on foreign nationals moving into the country to live. In this perspective, foreign workers from the EU have been allowed to freely commute from France and Italy.

It's easy to see Switzerland's contribution to South European nations whose economies are already weakened. In addition, those countries are dealing with people fleeing from persecution and civil war. On one hand, EU directives specify that the country in which refugees arrive is the country in which the asylum procedures should be initiated and completed (for the most part Italy, Spain and France). On the other hand, Switzerland holds a referendum on whether to impose quotas on the number of immigrants it will accept from European Union countries. With regards to Switzerland's constitutional change above mentioned, I think that the deeper question is how much solidarity can and should be achieved in Europe.

Do you think that European countries should help each other overcome their economic and financial issues? In my opinion  European countries  need to seriously sit down and discuss these issues.