Unit 5. Price of Progress

Weird Wired World

In the same way that people once raved about the introduction of the microwave oven, dishwasher and automatic garage door opener, consumers are gushing today: How did we ever live without the Internet? My first response is: How do we live with the Internet?

First, I admit it: I'm a big fat hypocrite. Despite promising myself some 15 years ago that I would never succumb to the hype of the Internet superhighway, today I'm a computer junkie with no recovery in sight. The very first things I do when I get home (after removing my shoes, of course) is dash to my dearly beloved Hewlett-Packard and turn her on, baby. After all, maybe somebody sent me an email since I left my office mistress, Fujitsu Siemens, one hour ago! Dear reader, I ask, are you this crazy too? Napoleon reportedly waited 12 days before he opened his mail, knowing that most of it was rubbish, and I can't wait one mega second!

My 7-year-old daughter drew a portrait of me recently, and I am ashamed to admit that the computer module was the larger part of the picture. Daddy dearest was a lifeless stick figure in the corner, like some sort of ephemeral afterthought. Soon, I'm going to turn into one of those demented Tellie-tubbies cartoon creatures with a telescreen as an anatomical extension of my body! Yes, the entire globe is happily addicted to the Internet, but much of the globe is addicted to cocaine too, and that has been proven unhealthy. Much of the globe is addicted to European soccer (excuse me, football) and that has been proven – at least by the Americans – to be largely pointless. Much of the globe is addicted to nicotine, but we still continue to puff away. So are we on a superhighway to hell? Will we all be pounding away at keyboards and squinting blankly at computer screens when the Apocalypse arrives? Will Yahoo! News print someday: “Arrival of Jesus Christ lifts Internet stocks”, somewhere in between “Pitt divorces Aniston for the third time” and “Mars module crashes into Saturn”? Consider the ugly pitfalls of the Internet as recently ranked by CNN: 1)spam; 2)hoaxes, rumors and urban legends; 3)chain letters; 4) popup adverts; 5) hackers; 6) viruses; 7) adware; 8) spyware; 9) sinister how-to's; 10) piracy;11) online extremism; 12) pornography; 13) terrorist groups; 14) fraud; 15) cyber stalking.

Strangely, nowhere does CNN mention the problem of “Internet addiction” in their list (fear of losing viewers?) nor violent video games.

Nevertheless, The Independent daily reported that “mental health professionals in the United States have highlighted the emergence of a new psychiatric problem on a par with alcoholism, drug abuse or obsessive gambling: Internet addiction disorder… The article talked about American office workers “spending hours playing fantasy football” instead of working. However true or untrue this claim, the question remains: Is the Internet intrinsically good or bad? The pipe-smoking philosophers will exclaim that “every technology, my boy, has the power to do either good or bad. It is ultimately MAN who decides how technology will affect his life...” However, given mankind's predilection for slowing down at horrible traffic accidents and speeding up to reach the strip club, I fear the worst for the Internet. Somehow, our technologies always manage to get sucked down to the lowest common denominator. (Compare television programs from 50 years ago, for example, with the lewd trash being shown today). The Internet is a genie's lamp that must give us whatever we want at the click of a mouse; can man resist the temptation of delving into the murkier depths over time?

Just last week, for example, I learned (via the Internet) that a “community leader” from my hometown was arrested after a computer technician discovered thousands of photos of child pornography on his hard drive. While the Internet did not create this mental illness, how much did it encourage it? The wired world needs to consider such questions, I believe, before the addiction worsens. Robert Bridge. MN