The Newest Technology is Always the One that Will Ruin the World
I don’t typically do just a photo post, but this one was so perfect I couldn’t resist.
The newest technology is always the one that will ruin the world. Image from Transcendent Man
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There is grain of truth in this quotation. May be people of previous centuries, our ancestors were more talented and glorious because they spent most of their time in offline activity and communications? Can you name any popular modern writers, which can be compared with Shakespeare or Dickens?
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As way of background to this photo and the headline I put with it, you might want to check out the book Hamlet’s Blackberry, by William Powers, for some historical perspective about how new technologies are received in society. Most major technologies have been met with the declaration that they are ruining the world in some way. For example, Socrates declared writing to be a dangerous invention that would stifle the ability to freely exchange ideas and the printing press was considered a menace to society because it would allow anyone to print any garbage. Powers provides a surprising historical perspective on this issue including guidance from those who have struggled with those new technologies on how to achieve some balance.
Regarding great writers: writing requires concentration: successful writers know how to establish writing routines and avoid distractions. I agree completely that the Internet can be a distraction. So can children, spouses, and a wide range of activities that pretty much can include everything except writing. When it comes to the Internet, it’s really quite simple: use your device’s off switch (see my post on Self-Care in the Digital Age https://njsmyth.wordpress.com/2014/03/09/self-care-in-the-digital-age/). As to the notion that we haven’t had any great modern writers: I don’t consider myself especially knowledgeable about literature. But I just did a quick consultation with a friend who has studied literature and he weighed in on this concept of “great” writers in this way: the difference between a great writer now and a truly great writer is that the latter one’s writing stands the test of time. Given the World Wide Web just turned 25 years old in 2014 (http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/03/12/happy-25th-birthday-world-wide-web), I would say that it’s premature to declare that it’s responsible for mediocre writing. The Internet hasn’t been a force long enough for us to get that kind of perspective on the people who have been writing during the digital age. So I, for one, will wait for history to weigh in on that question.
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