Читать книгу Perceptions and Analysis of Digital Risks - Группа авторов - Страница 24

The environmental risks linked to digital uses are less related to the current consumption of energy for operating, storing and recharging electronic devices than they are to the pollution generated during the manufacturing of the equipment: the lithium in the batteries, the tantalum in the electronic cards, the indium in the screens and other components are produced far from the assembly sites and require a lot of energy to assemble them. These are also scarce resources that are being depleted at an increasing rate. The fact that this equipment is not recyclable also has a major ecological impact. The speed of technological advances and the obsolescence of digital equipment lead to the production of more and more waste which is not treated in a responsible way.

This diversity of digital risks is reflected in the media and societal and scientific discourses, thus fueling the debates. Often presented in an alarmist way in the media, these speeches alert users to dangers that are likely to have real impacts on their daily lives, often playing on the register of fear. However, while the stakes around digital technology are real and deserve to be considered, the probability of being personally affected by one of these threats remains low and occurs only in very specific cases. These discussions on risks are, however, likely to have a particular resonance with teachers, parents, educators and, whether directly or indirectly, with teenagers.