A comment on 'Life Electronica'

As we move forward, technology in all shapes and forms are more accessible to the common man. Gone are the days of being nerdy for knowing how to use a computer. Many of us will use a computer once a week, once a day, once an hour. If not a computer, then a tv, phone, microwave, - life's modern conveniences. But at what cost? When we gain, what are we giving?

In the context of communication, there is a huge trend to personal impersonal sharing of information. We tell everyone the little things in life over many mediums - facebook, twitter, etc. Creating a micro-network of friends and acquaintances can easily replace time spent on a friend over coffee or dinner. The trade off being of course, time. The promise of update-en-masse is so appealing to many of us today. A way to peek in to the lives of so many others. To keep in touch with people you might not even speak to all year. Networking sites are such a powerful tool due to the endless possibility of 'what you might read there'.

As we present a more superficial version of ourselves, what happens to what lies beneath? The here and now of our society may be leaving our goals, aspirations and inspirations behind. Why are people so trivial about life online? Why is it so easy for us to type something out and tell hundreds of people what we have spent the morning on, versus telling a close friend that you just don't like their boyfriend, cussing, or drinking? What do we rate as 'just for laughs' compared to 'just between us'? How blurred that line is becoming - the separation of personal and impersonal information.

Available information about you all over the www. The internet used to be about anonymity - you were free to be whoever you wanted to be without telling anyone where you were from, what your name was, how old you were, your schooling background. Now, wetype your name into google and get pictures of you, your friends, your house, your dog - voila.

Sorry to say - I blame n00bs. We have equipped the n00bs. And we (the humble nerd) are now the slaves of humanity. The free tech support of 'IRL'. Fixing phones, computers, dvd players... But we keep making it easier and user-friendly - why are we adding n00bs to our digital world?

I am all for it - technology supremists - let's start a revolution.