http://techliberation.com/2010/02/03/som-thoughts-on-pbs-digital-nation-documentary/
I came across this blog that is primarily set up to keep politicians away from the internet and tech culture. Adam Thierer had some interesting things to say about Digital Nation.
He begins by laying out the difference between tech pessimists and tech optimists and how each are portrayed in the documentary.
What I am most interested in are his own personal opinions on these issues.
This man argues that humans have gone through revolutions before, many more jarring than the digital one, and we have always learned to adapt.
He claims that we are now in an age of informational power, not poverty. He sees his children’s exploration of the world through a computer screen as a good and something he wishes he had when he grew up.
These opinions are obviously controversial, and my question is: what makes the digital revolution so different, so scary when compared to our past revolutions that have come and gone without bringing down civilization?
I think that the digital revolution is so wide ranging and international that it has different implication than revolutions like the French Rev and American Rev. Yes, these were life altering, major times in history, but they did not affect global knowledge and information in the way the current digital revolution has at this point in time.
The amount of potential that technology and the Internet brings to the people of the world is incredible. We have seen developments in the past 50 years that are highly substantial. I think that the “unknown” factor involved in the digital revolution is the most frightening of all – nobody knows where it will take society and humankind next.
I, too, had read this Adam’s thoughts in this article. I think what makes the digital revolution so scary is that it is so accessible. More than ever before people have access to technology and information. Not everyone had access to the printing press, or to other manufacturing technologies that revolutionized society. These examples have only improved economies. The fact that the internet is so accessible, and information sharing costs are extremely little, makes everything even faster. The internet is endless which can be extremely overwhelming.