What Our Gadgets Have Given Us
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Amy Alexander's Sept. 17 Business article, "Mom vs. the Machine," highlighted the Chicken Little approach to technology. Social critics love to argue that time in front of a television or computer (or plugged into an iPod) is inherently bad, while time outside or among other humans is inherently good.
I'm not sure when we as a society decided this (I never got the memo), but I believe that those who adhere to this idea might not understand the subtleties of our relationship with technology. True, for a while it seemed as if our electronic gadgets ruled us. Before TiVo, we would drop everything to watch our favorite TV shows. Not so long ago, e-mail made us slaves to a bulky device on our desks.
But now we've turned the tables and started using technology to manage our lives. We use iPods as an antidote to road rage. We use BlackBerrys to run businesses while relaxing on the beaches of Hawaii. And we use sites such as Facebook and MySpace to meet people from all walks of life and from all over the world.
Don't get me wrong. I'm horrified by the predators on some of these sites. But the solution is not to limit usage of the sites or to bemoan the increasing technology in people's lives. Rather, we should consider how to best restrict those with nefarious intentions while embracing the advances that have made having a conversation with someone in a foreign land so effortless.
Perhaps it is time to recognize that sometimes going outside to play isn't always as beneficial as staying inside to play video games.
STEPHANIE VANCE
Washington
