Immortal views

In the dark ages - my late teens - I read a book by Dragonlance writer, Tracy Hickman. The Immortals, published in 1996, is a near future science fiction wrapped around the concept that a counter-virus to HIV ravages the population creating a dystopian America that incarcerates the infected in concentration camps primarily targeting the homosexual population. The underlying message that stuck with me however, isn’t so much the science - how the cure becomes worse than the disease - nor our societal bigotry exemplified by the poor treatment of the LGBT population. The part of the story that stuck with me is how the expanding communication options available to us actually lead to an even narrower and more propaganda-driven world view.

If you read my other commentary posts you’ll know that I view technology as a tool like any other and that it is neither inherently good nor evil.

I love how social networks enable us to keep in touch in a modern reality where family, friends and colleagues can be dispersed across timezones. I appreciate the ability to photograph, write and build and then to share my thoughts and creativity in a matter seconds to others who appreciate the same things I do. I host a number of digital groups formed around the trivial - Konmari, fitness, family news - and the professional where we share job opportunities and debate various sector-related topics.

In all this I am still acutely aware that, as Tracy Hickman cautioned in his fiction, we can choose to only expose ourselves to material which aligns with our existing world views and intolerance. As readily as I can find #inspo photos to help me organise my cupboards better, I can find content that adds fodder to bias and discrimination. I don’t even have to look any further than the comments on Facebook. Our digital world enables trolls to run anonymous and unchecked through our world spreading misinformation faster than an airborne virus infects.

The main character in the books says “You can have everyone in the country vote freely and democratically and still come up with the wrong answer - if the information they base that decision on is wrong.” This statement feels all too true at the moment. He goes on to say, “We told them ... that any problem - no matter how complex - could be stated clearly in a five minute news segment; that any discussion of issues could be made clear in a ten-second sound bite."

Forget 10 second sound bites: today we summarise key information in infographics, debate in 140 characters or less, and highlight the important with a hashtag.

My belief is that we are each responsible for how we use the tools at our disposal. We can use communications technology for healthy debate, to share ideas so we can continuously improve, or to pool resources to solve problems and provide support. Or was can use it to reinforce our existing perspectives without ever looking at the other side, we can engage in Twitter wars on the frivolous, or use it to bully people safe from physical retribution an ocean away.

The Immortals is set in 2020. When I was nineteen that seemed like such a long time away but now it’s only around the corner. I had hoped that if I ever reached my forties discrimination - gender, age, sexual orientation, race - would be less prevalent. I hoped that Hickman spun a good - if somewhat dark - yarn but wasn’t really prescient. Now, I worry that maybe he was on the point.

Story time

For more than a decade now my main form of recreational reading has been fanfiction. If you're not already familiar with this form of derivative writing then check out the millions of creative works available on fanfiction.net, archiveofourown.org and livejournal.com. Among the appealing things about this form of escapism is that I can find a plethora of fiction from short one shots to multi-chapter, multi-story saga: length to suit the available downtime and the mood.

Unlike traditional novels, however, when the story you're reading ends you can simply go on to another so if you’re on a roll it can become a bit obsessive. Next thing you know your entire weekend has been curled around the iPad and the dishes aren’t washed and pile of laundry that needs folding has taken over the couch!

I have found a workaround to keeping up with my menial chores and getting through thousands of Harry Potter and GoT fanfic: turning my iPhone, iPod and iPad (whichever is closest to hand) into audiobooks using the in-built screen reader accessibility tool.

There are plenty of “did you know” articles that let you know this trick about turning your iBooks library into audiobooks but what I like about iOS is that any text content even within an app can be read aloud. This means you’re not restricted to iBooks or Kindle: any website content - regardless of whether you use Safari - can be turned into an audiobook too!

So if you tend towards higher brow reading than my (not so) closet addiction to fiction marked with a variety of warnings and filled with crack ‘ships, you can happily use exactly this method for getting through the latest journal article or RSS feed that you’ve subscribed to.

To turn on this feature:

• Go to Settings > General > Accessibility > Speech
• Turn on “Speak Screen” (my preferred method) AND/OR
• Speak Selection

If you elected to use Speak Screen (which is my preferred method), all you have to do when you want something read is to two-finger swipe from the top of the screen. The Speak Selection requires that you select the specific content you want read and then choose the “Speak” option from the pop-up context menu.

For those who use Android

The screen reading functionality is not as integrated as it is in iOS. You can manage the settings within Android but will need to choose from the variety of screen reader or text to speech app options to actually carry out the reading.

For those who use Windows Phone

There is a “narrator” function that you can turn on however, it is restricted to a few language packs. I had to add English (United States) to my phone because narrator won’t run with English (New Zealand). To enable narrator:

• Go to Settings > Ease of Access
• Slide the Narrator option to on
• Slide Narrator Quick Launch to on

I warn however that using narrator is horrid and clunky and requires some dexterity to turn on and off.

So, next time you see me taking a stroll to the supermarket or the post office with headphones on, it’s just as likely that I’m listening to the latest chapter from an Olivieblake, Colubrina or Midnightjen fic as it is my current music playlist.