At What Cost?

A free article on Technology

By: Dan Scott

There's been a lot of talk lately about the new freedom offered by the latest Internet technologies. Although much of the discussion revolves around the effect modern technology has on our work and social lives, the concept is actually a fairly old one. Many times in our history the advent of a new technology has led to the prediction of a new society freed from the bonds of the prior technology. Going back to the turn of the last century, the advent of the automobile created a major shift in where and how people worked, played, and lived; it has shaped our cities, our infrastructure, and our lives. And, of course, the airplane must be mentioned in any discussion of earth-changing technology; it continues to this day to shrink and flatten the Earth. And the telephone. Oh, and of course electricity, the radio, the cotton gin, sliced bread... The list is practically endless.

From electricity to the Internet, there has always been a sense of hope that the next technological marvel would set us free. In the current example free usually means free from the requirement of working in cubicle mazes and making hours-long commutes through rush-hour traffic every morning and evening. It means the freedom to choose where you work on a daily basis and the freedom to live anywhere. As an example, I'm currently sitting in a coffee shop in Seattle working on this article as well as typing up notes for my real job and catching up on some emails. By the time I finish this article I will likely be submitting it from an airport in Phoenix. I am free to live wherever my wife and I feel is best for our family because I can do my job from wherever I happen to be at the time.

But, at what price? Having the freedom to always be able to connect from wherever I am tends to translate to having the responsibility to always be connected, no matter where I am. There is a growing expectation that email is instantaneous and phones should always be answered, no matter where or when they call. There is an implicit trade-off between never being physically at work and never being mentally away from it. Is it worth it?

Apparently, the answer depends at least in part on how old you are. Younger people that have spent a greater percentage of their lives "hooked in" tend to deal with the lack of privacy afforded by the Internet with, if you will pardon my saying so, a certain wild abandon; whether due to an enhanced sense of openness nurtured by constant contact with the rest of the world or simply naive innocence I do not know. Older folk, more accustomed to dealing with the results of man's darker nature, tend to look at such openness with uneasiness and even suspicion.

By the time the upcoming generation reaches the point where they are making the decisions and we older folk are gumming our tapioca and listening to easy-listening versions of Metallica the Internet will have become so integrated into our society it will be seldom thought of as the "thing" it is today. Everything will be in contact with everything else in a weird technical rendition of Buddhism. Trying to tell the difference between being "online" and being "offline" will become moot; more the subject of classroom philosophy than day-to-day discussion.

Indeed, the open forum offered by the Internet could be seen as a platform to promote democracy across the planet. On the surface a seemingly good thing to those of us living in free societies, but true democracy has never worked. The average person is too easily duped, too easily swayed by emotional appeal for a government ruled by the masses to work on a large scale. Many of the founding fathers of our country felt the same way and that is in large part why our government is a form of representative republic instead of a democracy.

Not that I'm against democratically elected government. I think history clearly shows the most effective form of government is one that represents the needs of the people and acts in their behalf and the surest way to achieve that kind of government is by democratic election. But, to extrapolate that idea to include every political decision in the voting process may take things too far. All government officials will quickly learn the lesson to always leave "sticky" questions up to the people. Anything that could possibly go astray would be dealt with by proxy allowing them to take credit when things go right and when things go wrong it is simply "the will of the people". Just imagine what a large corporation would be like if all business decisions had to be made by popular vote.

The Internet in its ubiquity and ease of access has the capability of being the technological breakthrough that finally sets the masses free, giving everyone an equal voice in the body politic. We are already seeing the early signs of these kinds of transformations taking place across the globe. The question is, is it worth it?

Information about the Author:

Dan Scott is a Computer Scientist with over 25 years of experience developing, constructing, and supporting computers and information systems. Make sure you check out his web hosting reviews covering the top affordable web hosting providers.

Technology Articles: http://www.article-buzz.com

Print This Article
Add To Favorites
Email to Friends
Get Re-print Code