It has been commented on before that the personal computer revolution did not herald the dawn of a great Information Age so much as a new Dark Age. I mean, more information is being lost faster than ever before in history with the push of the DELETE button, aggravated by the ease of pushing it. In addition to that, the technology used to store information is changing so fast that, except for old-fashioned, durable paper, much of what was stored in other modern formats is being lost simply because it isn't being transferred to new media faster than it deteriorates, or while artifacts of the older media can still function to recall it — 78-records, 8-track tapes, floppy discs.
And with the proliferation of computers and cell phones, e-mail and the Internet, we are actually communicating less and less with each other. We lose touch with more people, faster — sometimes on purpose. More people are isolated in their own little worlds. The art of the letter is dying in place of the memo. And now it also seems that more and more people are just downright confused about what constitutes proper information.
I am so often annoyed when I speak or e-mail people, ask for information, get confirmation that information will be sent, but then what is sent to me is actually not the information I want, but simply a Web site that promises to provide the information. It is an everyday occurrence that I do not find convenient. It is not only a deception to send me a Web site address in lieu of the information itself, but it is bad service, too.
In short, for all of the information technology available, we are definitely not becoming more intelligent. Instead, we can be accused of hurtling in the other direction. By accident or design I can't say — yet.
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