Well, not really, no.
It should be, but we're not quite there yet. The tools and the technology are in place to make it happen, but we are not utilizing it for anything close to what it could, or should be.
Technology is not advancing any faster now than it has in the past, certainly not since the industrial revolution. When you think back to the early days of aviation, it took less than 15 years for man to take powered flight from an idea, to operating commercial airlines for the public. Look how far we have advanced with on-line communication in the last 15 years.I don't see much difference.
The current generation was for the most part raised "online". They don't know life any other way. In order for something to be revolutionary, you need to have some experience with how things were before hand, they do not.
The ability to communicate globally, has absolutely increased to levels never witnessed before, but what are we using that technology for? Looking up recipes, letting your friends know you just bought a pair of shoes, playing online games where you pretend to be someone else, watching videos of people making asses of themselves? Surely there are better uses for all this technology?
We have in the recent past seen hints of the kind of good social media is capable of. When a large scale human tragedy strikes, it's often communicated through social media first which can help provide relief much quicker than more traditional channels of communication. But how many times have you seen someone taking videos or pictures of some horrible car accident, and then posting them? How does that help anyone, especially the victims involved?Imagine how long in must have taken to stop and do an oil painting of a horrible horse & buggy accident, and having to wait for people to come to you to view your picture of the horrible tragedy. It's so much easier now.
So now we have created an environment where advertising is so pervasive, that you cannot escape it anywhere. Every web page you visit has some kind of advertising on it. Everything you do or say on line is monitored and recorded for marketing purposes later. And people are willing to allow this, strictly so they can have the convenience of posting their status on Facebook! We should be far more concerned about the direction this is going than it appears we are. It looks like George Orwell was right, big brother is watching!
I'm not sure I'd call it a revolution, a monster perhaps. One that if we keep feeding the way we are, it will eventually turn and swallow us whole. I think we need to be a little more selective with what we feed it. We may yet see a revolution, but so far it hasn't happened.
The revolution will not be televised................................
It'll be posted as someone's Facebook status.
"The revolution will not be televised" - Gil Scott Heron, 1970
" Big Brother is watching" - George Orwell, ( from the book , 1984 )
