If you don't already know, we are living in the Age of Information. Big time. I log in on the net every morning...and within seconds I know that Tila Tequila had rocks and feces thrown at her while performing at a Juggalo fest in Illinois. I find out that Dr. Laura is qutting radio after using the "N" word eleven times during one of her recent radio programs. The lettuce in my refrigerator has been recalled for possibly being contaminated with listeria. A Facebook friend loves the Boy Scouts and my best friend in Florida can't wait to see me soon.
Wow. I remember the "olden days" when if I wanted to get in touch with someone who didn't live right down the block or within walking distance of my house...I had to write them a letter and mail it! Yes, there was a telephone, but that was off limits (to me and my brother) unless it was a bona-fide homework-related emergency. And even under those circumstances, 3-5 minutes was "it" in terms of talk time before the receiver was instantly swiped out of one's hand and put back up in its cradle.
If I wanted to find something out on my own, I had to go to the library and look it up. That was the "internet" circa 1960s and early 70s. The first computer I ever saw was in my high school's "data processing" class and it took up most of the room. There was no such thing as a PC, let alone a PC that allowed you to view it like a television set.
Needless to say, it has become very easy for many of us to slip into "denial" mode in coping with our information overloaded-culture. From not "doing" the internet at all to not doing anything much in life at all...this age of information has impacted us in more ways than the obvious.
So my question today is this: If information is power, how is it that so many experience it more as powerlessness instead? I'm just asking....
