Like most things technology can be used or abused. No doubt we are more informed with never ending deluges of information from TV, bill boards, mobile devices, radio, etc. Whether we are better informed and the smarter for it is another matter altogether. To me it's a matter of balance. Does the technology serve us, or are we it's slave?
I grew up in a town where practically nobody owned a car. You walked, rode a bike or caught a train/bus. We had a radio, but that's where it stopped. No car, no TV, no air conditioning, no refrigerator, (ice box), no hot water service, (wood chip heater for bath), no telephone, linoleum covered wooden flooors, weatherboard asbestos house. Hot as hell in summer and an ice box in winter. No take away meals outlets. And of course no PCs, emails, smartfones, etc. And no lawns. Only hard baked clay with an assortment of trees and shrubs. And lo and behold we survived!
Getting a letter in the mail was big event. And a telegram ... utlimate excitement!
During WWII my aunty told me she went out with a US navy guy stationed in Perth, the capital of West Australia. As they walked down the main street Saturday night, her escort said: "Lady, this town is half the size of New York cemetery, and twice as dead!" You could fire a cannon down main street without danger of hitting anyone.
The question is, do we really need to be "on air" 24/7? And walk around with electronic devices being a permanent appendage to our ear? Does it really affect my life if some Hollywood star has twins or triplets? Do I really need to know that?
Even in latter years at university, we were made to put our calculators away from time to time and work things out from first principles, so we didn't lose touch with the fundamentals. Knowing how to use approximations can be very handy when you need math input in a hurry. And a misplaced decimal point in a calculator can kill someone if you're a pharmacist preparing a medical formula.
Having said all of that, no doubt mobile phones have saved lives in emergencies. And have many other useful applications. And paying bills by iNet ... why would you do it any other way? And likewise for many other technological items from helicopter ambulances to computerized diagnosis of illness. The list goes on forever. In the Australian outback the Royal Flying Doctor service is an absolute essential life saver.
From a holistic point of view, for those who consider human beings to be made up of body mind and spirit, there is a need to balance all parts of our nature. The concept of contemplative meditation has long been recognized in all parts of the globe as a necessary part of complete development as a human being. The use of modern technology can cause some people to live life at a frenetic pace to the detriment of a balanced development of their psyche.
From a personal point of view I would have to hold my hand up to spending far too much time on PCs. Just look at the length of this post! lol!
Welll that's my 2 cents worth.