Communication Technologies have changed things but not the things you think

I hear over and over that technology has changed the way that we fundamentally communicate and that we are better or worse for it.  I have seen people posting comments that there is no longer a respect for true debate and that the world isn't as great as it once was.  I also hear that new communication has enabled coups and improved lives.  Each time I hear these claims, it is as nails on a chalkboard.

The one thing that technology has not changed is the nature of the human psyche.  The reason that we drill the classics into undergraduates is so that they can possibly realize that their egocentric view of the universe where all human achievement has culminated with them can be shattered.  We are intended to learn that philosophy and the same questions and issues have plagued mankind since the beginning of time.  There has been a human network as long as human beings have been able to communicate.  Information has always been disseminated and the alacrity with which it moves is a surprising thing.  Anyone who is a fan of Kevin Bacon knows just how interconnected we all are.   There have been movements, coups and revolutions as long as there has been government even without the marvel that is twitter and Facebook.  In fact, people amassing on the streets rather than behind their screens obviously provides for more of a connection to get things moving.

Also, claims that things are getting worse due to technology has been the cry since the beginning of time.  I can envision a caveman now discovering that he could club a thing and kill it rather than the usual backing it off a cliff and being immediately met by the rest of the group with suspicion that now he thought he could rule the group and that the club ruined the good old days of just running after an animal until it tired.

What technology has done is allow more people to exist in a given place and improve the living standards across the board.  Communication technology does play a role in this arena.  Our ability to predict and transmit information about weather, climate has certainly helped but the biggest change is our ability to manage huge markets.  We are able to transmit value over communication channels to take virtual ownership of products.  We can purchase "futures" of produce before it comes to market.  Certainly, this was done before modern mass communication technologies but not on the scale that we have now.  This technology has made it possible to coordinate planting and harvesting in a way that we hardly know what famine or want actually is.  We are able to coordinate the timely delivery of produce that simply would not have been possible in the past.

We have also been able to more directly be involved in this process.  Before new technologies, if you wanted to purchase stocks, bonds or futures, you had to go to a broker and it was left to those who had this as a primary business.  Now much investment is done online allowing direct ownership and control by the average citizen.  We have seen some negative aspects of this as with the tech boom and bust and the housing boom and bust, and this is certain to continue but at the same time, at no time in history has so many of the people had so much control over the primary factors of production.

There are many other ways that communications and technology has affected our lives but it is still the simple ones being trotted out to reward those supporting often misguided movements.  The cry of "you have helped the movement with Twitter and Facebook", is being used to make people feel more empowered and support movements but has little to do with the true effects of communication and more about getting people to rally behind the movements.