Many people advocate that the advent of technology has hurt our society in many ways. It is fair to say that society has changed because of it, and that in the wrong hands technology can be hurtful and destructive. However, there are so many upsides to our progression as a society, I kind of feel like it is worth the fight. In example, see below. We have two groups (one PS22 and the other Greyson Michael Chance) who had talents that were discovered on YouTube. They have both been able to do things that they might not otherwise have been able to do (perform for the President or Ellen Degeneres), had they not have posted the videos of them singing.
The connection is astounding.
Watch the reactions of the choir when they realize who it is that is in their presence.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEJFOs1maNM&]
It's as if they don't realize that many of their own videos are viral (given, it may be a different set of kids, but it is still the same group with the same attention to the same name).
I keep having this feeling that this type of connection and interaction (and sharing among the world via the Internet) can do a lot for the betterment of society. It can seem scary at times, because it makes it easier to disconnect from each other rather than to connect, but in the long run it can do things for us that we couldn't have otherwise done.
Better yet, think about how much technology's presence has progressed from the days in which it began. Tech and computers no longer have the "geek" label in the ways that it did before. More and more people are being referred to as "gamers" not because they own an XBox and play Halo, but because they own an iPhone or iPod. Sure, it has changed quite a bit, but it has helped to reach far more people.
I tend to think that the use of technology has helped us become more aware of problems in the world and society and has raised new voices that might have been marginalized otherwise.
And it has helped us discover new talent.
Technology, and the analogies that stem from it, reacher a wider audience than ever before and it is growing faster and faster. How do we embrace it and not let it destroy us?
-B