Our digital age

Just a few minutes ago I got linked a Letter To The Editor about how our digital world is ruining society. The text is in Swedish but I linked it anyway, because it's interesting (and you can try to run it through Translate, if you want to).

Basically, the guy points out that computers and the likes are running our world, and if they should fail, we'll be stranded. Therefore, we should "close down the Internet" and go back to using analogue watches and technical things.

While I agree with many of the points he makes, the main part of the post, that humans should return to a pre-Internet time, I find to be a bit silly. Let me explain before you explode, okay?

I was born in the mid-1980's, which means I was there when cassette recorders, VCRs, and non-digital toys were the things you used. We even played outside without having to be banned from the screen first.  *legasp*
I was 10 when I used a computer for the first time, and that was in school.
I was 12 years old when my family got a computer for the first time.

I am still not used to seeing small kids with iPads and smartphones instead of skip ropes and tennis balls. Both children and their parents are afraid of the kids getting scraped, bruised, or dirty while playing outside. When I was a kid, I had scrapes and bruises all over my arms and legs from the moment the snow melted till it came back. Mom can tell you how long it took me to get absolutely covered in dirt, leaves, and grit after I went outside.

I nearly pissed myself laughing when the computers went out at the grocery store close to where I live. People just stood there, about as confused as sheep on a road, all because they couldn't pay with their credit cards. Being used to paying with cash, I just asked a clerk to check if the ATM was working, and when he got back and said it did, I left my groceries by the cash register, went to the ATM, got cash, payed for my groceries, and went home. When I left, the queues to the registers were over 20 people long and everyone was complaining about not being able to pay. The ATM was 60 feet from the registers.

Last week, the power went out in the building I sit in and the computers died. People actually got angry, and bored. The power was gone for less than an hour (I was too lazy to check the time XD). To me, it was a perfect opportunity to take a nap, but the angry voices sifting through the walls kind of ruined it for me.

The Internet has an added benefit in letting us connect to people all over the globe. I can talk to friends in Las Vegas in real time without ruining my budget. I can crack jokes with friends in Tacoma and Minot without having to wait for letters that may or may not reach their destination.

I think many people fear the power of the Web because they do not realize that the physical world and the Internet no longer are separate. Anonymity is nice and all, but ANYTHING you post on the web, be it social networks, blogs, or in e-mails, can be accessed at any time by anyone who knows how. The only way to keep your information safe is to NOT POST IT. EVER. If you can't say something about or to someone in the physical world, what makes you think it's ok to say it online?

A computer is a tool, not a part of your body. I love my computer, but if you take it away from me and tell me that I can't use it for a month, I'll just burrow into a blanket with a cup of coffee and a good book. If you touch my books, I will kill you. :D