the good and the bad of it

After a little discussion and some contemplative questioning, we (the Extemporaneous Elder Council) have concluded that the Internet and computer technology are world-changing inventions that produce both good and bad effects. We have realized that this tool is something humans will use to help and to hurt ourselves...Is this simply part of the territory of world-changing inventions? We wondered.

We tried to think of some good and bad things about this new world. For it certainly is a new world, complete with new laws and uncharted universes, danger and adventure, stories of triumph and of unmentionable defeat...and this is only the beginning. It is comforting to be amongst elders when exploring big new things like this, for they provide hope and examples of how we can perservere through war and global change. Elders affirm the power of the individual and help to figure out where we can go, based in part on where we've been.

In some ways we become dehumanized by our growing digital dependence.While we're brought together (as never before) by the world wide web, we're also disembodied and isloated as we begin to gather and socialize in virtual space. For some of us, desktop computing and the web have changed our work practices and provided us with immeasurable resources. The council is curious about how this technology effects our creativity...With the new custom of posting so much of our private lives online, we question ourselves as a culture, "What does the gradual extinction of privacy mean for us and future generations?"

We are barely scratching the surface in our search for information on the Internet and new technology. The world is at your fingertips. Which button do you push?

BTW, here is the link to the mobile blog I sent (It took a day or so to return a token response...JSYK) : http://www.funwed349.blogspot.com/
(a fun clue as to where we gather for council)

N.B. As of May 3, 2007 all of the mobile blog posts have now been incorporated into this one.