Every generation is a guinea pig being experimented on by the generation passing away. New ideas and innovations, brimming with optimism and goodwill seek immediate and widespread application. Processed food, commercial banking, electricity, aqueducts, birth control, television, and the internal combustion engine – these innovations and many, many more have all been gifted from one age to the next. Wrapped in pretty paper, bound with shiny ribbon, and topped with a bow; each generation opened these presents with wide-eyed wonder. While some of these gifts proved to be golden geese, many turned out to be white elephants. Most didn’t come with batteries, some assembly was always required, and there seemed to be lots of missing parts. But a gift’s a gift and we try to be thankful.
One of the shiny new toys given to us in the twenty-first century by our not-so-ancient ancestors is, of course, the internet. The parallel universe of the World Wide Web is an ever-expanding, almost exploding thicket of extensively linked hypertexts that is fast finding a foothold in every aspect of modern day life. Media, commerce, communication, entertainment, industry, and society are all moving from brick and mortar to byte and modem; from face to face to screen to screen. It seems of late that our new toy is losing some of its luster and it might be time to check the cage and see how the guinea pigs are doing. In Unfriending Convenience, Christina Crook gives a thoughtful assessment of some of the adverse effects of the internet on the fabric of our society and, for us as Christians, on our mission to be ambassadors and evangelists. Should be a great discussion – hope you can join us this Sunday morning at 8:30 for the Roundtable!
