Insular Conectivity

I just read an article in Discover magazine in which the author was lamenting the increasingly automated nature of the automobile. He waxed nostalgic about the days when driving a car was something of a challenge, a badge of masculine honor. But as things like power steering, and cruise control increased to the point that some high end cars can even park themselves, he posited that it is a symptom of our society's growing impersonality. The iPod, the portable DVD player, the cell phone, they all serve to cut us off from our fellow humans...in a face to face sense anyway. And I don't argue that point, but in a way I think he is missing the bigger picture. I have never been one to spontaneously visit my neighbors, and I have lost touch with many dear friends over the years because I totally suck at letter writing, but thanks to the cyber world I have managed to keep in touch with folks I would have long ago lost, and have rekindled old friendships via this marvelous medium. I won't deny that, were it an option, I would probably spend most of my life in an underground lair, communicating via holograms and email, but I convey more by those media than in most phone conversations. I like talking less and less as I grow older(ironic given my vocation) but I feel more connected to the world than ever. The Internet is the most revolutionary human achievement since a couple of bicycle repairmen got bored with wheels and though about wings, and if the 'real world' seems to be fading a bit, the 'unreal world' grows more tangible every day.

So what do you think?

Cyber-Marius