Remember the Cat Stevens song, Father and Son?

Pico Iyer’s article talks about the same thing, only reversed. I see it myself in my own life. The difference is, I think, that technology is to us adults what addictive substances are to addicts.

We get addicted, distracted, embroiled, discombobulated.  Children can take it or leave it. My daughter has a mobile phone she uses less than me to check on the world and her friends.

She has a Mac desktop she uses mainly for homework. She also has an iPad, which she uses primarily for games.

The world is open to her. She knows how to get at it. Yet because it is normal she is not enamoured. She is a jaded technologist. And I am glad.

Me, I need to watch what I let my phone interrupt. I need to take a break, regardless of my job.

I have always said that for all of this doubling of speed and new and improved technology, how useful is it really? What do I use regularly? Notepad, Word, Excel. Extensions of paper. In fact, nothing more. And really only because of ease of reading (my handwriting is getting worse, not better) and ease of access – it is harder to lose an online file than a piece of paper…yet only slightly.

Sure there are useful websites (google maps…i.e. an atlas, or Trello i.e. a to do list), yet are they worth the aggro? Really?

I don’t think so. I do not know where all this is going. I do think the internet will really come into its own when oil is scarce and travel is truly a luxury once more.

Then solar powered totally self-sufficient data centres linked by solar powered satellites will link billions of hand crank kinetic powered laptops and computers.

Steampunk, here we come! ;D