Has the total net effect of i-tech (internet, etc.) been unifying or dis-unifying? [View all]
Put other ways, to give a better sense of the discussion topic...
Has the net effect been to increase or decrease trust? Understanding? Faith in people in general? Increased or decreased sense of commonality? Etc..
When i-tech "brings people together" in common interest, is that process also describable as splintering people into narrow zones of common interest?
I-tech makes many things clearer and more accessible, but on balance has it done more to highlight differences or commonalities?
Living on your phone (as many do) allows continual low-grade contact with a self-selected group of global entities while diminishing real-world contact with local entities. (Have you seen groups of friends out in public all messing with their phones rather than talking to each other? It's commonplace in my world.) What is the net effect of that?
Of course the internet, et al, has spawned dramatic instances on both ends of these spectra. The question is the overall net effect.
The question was suggested looking at a poll showing lower levels of trust in other people, categorically, than ever before measured... which starts on thinking about the self-segregation effects of total mobility. In communication terms, we can live in any community of our choosing. Does that more splinter or unite?
Your thoughts?
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