Technology As Evolution, Not Devolution

In various publications, slamming the Internet, technology, and multi-tasking has become a favorite habit, and Frontline: Digital Nation (PBS) is no exception.  Simultaneously slamming technology as the culprit of memory loss, decreased productivity, social problems, lifestyle problems, and the general degradation of humanity, such programs overlook the obvious: technology, and specifically the Internet, is much more about evolution as a species than a brain-destroying side attraction.

There are common factors to all of these scare-tactic conversations:  South Korea has a gaming problem that bleeds over into their normal lives, children grow up with technology and no-one understands the effect it may have, and the Internet is fast replacing knowledge retention.  As if these issues weren’t enough, speculation tends to be produced that “Google is making us stupid”, “multitasking is a deficient behavior”, “technology is separating humanity from itself”, along with many, many more unfounded claims.

The stark reality is, however, that the latest generation of technology, known as the Internet, is not particularly new in its lifestyle changes – radio, television, and movies changed entertainment forever; telephones radically augmented the process of communication; video games of eras past invaded the lives of children; the printing press changed the format of learning.  What is the Internet, if not an amalgamation of all of these former revolutions?

With the Internet comes email, video games, social networking, entertainment delivery, and myriad distractions – these are not aspects of a scary revolution, but instead a continuation of humanity’s past.  It is always the older generations that fear new technology, however primitive, and claim it will bring about the end of both society and humanity, so the latest bout of fear mongering is, at best, thin.  When video game arcades first appeared, just like home television, parents and pundits alike feared it would destroy their children’s minds and forever entrap them in a fantasy world – almost exactly the same fear now being vocalized about the latest round of technological evolution.

This is not to say that the Internet is an entirely safe place, since there are various dangers both known and unknown, but merely that an individual’s depth of immersion is entirely dependent upon themselves – if they have an addictive personality, video games become just another vehicle for their disposition, in place of alcohol or drugs.  A lack of judgment is undoubtedly the downfall of individuals that choose to spend entire weekends on gaming binges, or eschew the real world for an entirely fantasy, just as an introverted bookworm may spend all of their time reading novels.

If the Internet, or any technological revolution, were to be as destructive as its detractors would have the world believe, then what is to explain the younger generations’ last ten years?  While the world collapses at the hands of the Baby Boomers, the under-30’s have been busy building software, inventing new technologies, envisioning the future, and, above all, communicating across the world – these are not the behaviors of individuals with damaged brain matter.

There will always be a vocal group of Chicken Little-esque individuals that harbor resentment and fear of the unknown, and that is exactly what the Internet represents to everyone involved: there is no way of knowing what new innovation could legitimately change the world from one day to the next.  Technology, and humanity, seem to be evolving at a faster pace, but it is definitively in the direction of progress.

The sky still is not falling.

Kyle can be found on his blog, on Facebook, via email, or on Twitter.