ePhobia

News you need to know: It seems researchers (who couldn't get a grant to do real research) have discovered that the proliferation of cell phones, smartphones and PDAs is affecting an entire generation's ability to remember phone numbers. Many, if not all of these devices have the capability of storing personal information, such as address books. Some phones will even dial the desired number with a simple voice command.

Horrors, a generation deprived of the joy of memorizing complex numerical combinations. It's the end of civilization as we know it.

Okay, before you start digging your bunkers, a moment of clarity if I may. The household telephone has changed a lot over the years. It used to be bolted to a wall and connected to the phone company via a half inch thick cable. It had a rotary dial, which if you had to call someone who had a number with five nines in it, could easily cause a friction burn. The phone was made of the densest material available. In case of an emergency, the receiver could be used to break down a door or render an assailant unconscious. While practical, the old rotary phone could hardly be considered 'smart.'

Remembering phone numbers had nothing to do with superior mental skills, it was a matter of necessity. Do I miss having to remember everybody's phone number? No. On the best day I can barely remember my own. Besides, it's not like a device to record this information is a new idea. It used to be called the phone book.

Whenever a new technology hits the scene some people get all hot and bothered. As if every new development carries with it some jarring moral crisis. History's greatest innovations have always come at the expense of existing technologies yet somehow we all manage to survive and adapt.

"Fire, hmph, in my day we ate raw meat and froze to death, and we liked it."

I blame George Orwell for inciting the modern era's penchant for technophobia. Nineteen Eighty-Four, his dystopian romp about fascism gone wild, is the most often cited piece of literature when it comes to any new technology. Ever since the first computer got connected to another all we heard was: "Big Brother is watching."

Watching what, exactly? An unending stream of dirty jokes and promotions for Viagra? If we presume it is the government that is watching us, they are either not very observant or too lazy to do anything with the information. Besides, the government can't even keep track of tax dollars, let alone the population at large.

The current hot topic among the technophobe crowd is eBooks. These are books that can be read on your computer or portable reading device, such as Amazon's Kindle. eBooks will likely do to the bookstore what iTunes and MP3s have done to the record shop.

There is legitimate concern regarding the technology's economic impact as the publishing industry shifts from ink and paper to electronics. Conversely, digital print offers the benefit of vast libraries of easily obtainable information, in a lightweight and portable format. Compared to traditional print, this technology offers a significantly reduced environmental impact, not to mention easing the considerable burden on students who are often laden with heavy textbooks.

In the case of eBooks, the technological genie is out of the bottle. How industry responds is really a question of how well corporations have positioned themselves in anticipation of innovation. Businesses, like people, can't afford to assume nothing will ever change.

The goal of technology was never to make a better person, but rather to provide the tools for people to better themselves. Medical diagnostic technology has improved leaps and bounds in the past twenty years alone. Being able to diagnose patients sooner means more cost effective treatment and more importantly a longer life span. Barriers to information have been drastically reduced, allowing more people around the world access to knowledge previously reserved for society's elite.

The thing is, it isn't the technology that is the problem, it's how people use it. Orwell's book was about people and society, not technology. If we think imposing restrictions on innovation will curb oppression, racism and corruption, we haven't learned much since the invention of the wheel.

Now, what was my phone number again... ?