http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UY88nAbrn9Y#aid=P9ofHV2I-oY

Awhile ago, as I was wading through a sea of slam poetry videos, I came across this well-done, poignant piece about technology overuse. It raises a lot of important issues that I, even in my own optimism, am still grappling with and working through.

I don’t think this poem is necessarily an attack on technology. Technology, like pretty much every other source of good in the world, ought to be used in moderation; too much of a good thing is too much of a good thing. As I understand it, this is more of a reflection (or maybe even a warning?) on what happens when you let it consume you.

I’ve always thought the Internet not only as a piece of information technology, but also in terms of an organic network of (slightly-modified) people. But the alternative presented in this video is a future with people-turned-robots who have lost all sense of humanity. Not to sound dismissive, but I just don’t understand that deterministic perspective that comes into play so often. The Internet is shaped by its users, not the way other way around. What matters is that those users are capable of self-control and critical thought (which I like to think we all are, otherwise we wouldn’t be able to have these kinds of conversations). The Internet cannot transcend us.

Marshall Soulful Jones is right. Touch is good. Human contact is good. Connecting with people face-to-face is good. But so is being able to Skype your relatives halfway across the world. So is being able to virtually and freely sit in on course taught at Harvard. You just have to be able to maintain equilibrium and know your limits, that’s all.  I mean, that’s probably easier said than done. But the point I’m trying to make is that nobody should be too resistant to change.