The cyber world worries me.
It reminds me of those cheesy movies of yore where the hero would say of the recently terminated villain: "If only he'd used his powers for good instead of evil."
In fact, it's the whole technological tsunami that is gaining momentum at a ridiculously exponential rate that has me concerned. Seriously.
Books have been written on this. The one that comes to mind is Alvin Toffler's "Future Shock." This brilliant work was written in 1970 and its central thesis -- in bare-bones terms -- is that human beings cannot possibly evolve at a sufficient rate to cope with the changes going on around them, in particular in the realm of technology.
The deductive reasoning and intuitive foresight of "Future Shock" are staggering. But decades later, Toffler himself said that the only flaw in his thinking was that he didn't go far enough!
How could he? Who would ever have guessed in 1970 that in less than 40 years you'd be able to order dinner, find a date, watch a movie and get instantly published ON YOUR TINY WIRELESS PHONE? Of course, that little scenario barely scratches the surface but I'm only familiar with the "surface" of most of these new devices. (I am not a tech whiz and have no desire to become one. It is not a morbidity I find myself in need of.)
And who would have been crazy enough to suggest that not only would this technology exist, but it would be in the hands of children... and adults driving cars?
I am not in awe of technology so much as I am in fear of its downside. I hasten to add that I am grateful for many of its benefits. But too few people seem to be tracking the costs. I'm not trying to spoil the swipe-screen party, but there are some things going on here that need to be noted and mulled over.
Is it natural and healthy to spend as much time on computers as we do? Physically? Mentally? Emotionally?
Are we becoming addicted to a new kind of fast living? Is that good?
Is technology making us softer? Smarter in some ways and dumber in less obvious ones?
Are we going to see a generation of kids grow into adulthood with bad posture, obesity, terrible attention spans, stimuli addiction, a lack of genuine social skills and sufficient emotional intelligence, a shortage of "real time" friends? Or are they going to be smarter, better and healthier?
I guess it depends what measures you use and what environment they're operating in. Maybe it will all be okay. I have my doubts. But what really worries me is who is keeping track of this?
Not Microsoft or Apple or the video game makers or the social networking sites or dating sites. Not the home theater manufacturers, biochip developers, surveillance technology innovators or, well, anybody else who makes fat profits off this stuff.
I've always believed in the follow-the-money strategy. If you do that, you usually get to the truth. There's big money in the Acceleration Tsunami so I'm guessing regulation isn't a big part of anybody's game plan.
That's enough for now. I'll hop back to this tomorrow or the next day. Meantime, keep an eye on your kids. Better yet, play ball with them and talk to them. In "real time."
And if you haven't got kids, keep your eyes on the road, not your iPhone.
Take care,
Adrian Zupp
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