The Tools that Use Us

"We become what we behold. We shape our tools and then our tools shape us." ~ Marshall McLuhan

The internet as a whole has become a massive tool in the past few decades. Pretty much anything we need/need to know can be found on the internet with just a few clicks of the mouse. However, the internet also uses us, and gathers what it needs from our very same mouse clicks (as seen in my previous posts).

Some may argue that the internet is making access to information too easy because it is no longer necessary to read an entire book before finding what you were looking for. But is this really a bad thing, or just a new thing? Things are constantly changing, especially when it comes to technology and adapting to those changes is what is crucial to being a present and aware member of society. We have spoken about games before where language was concerned; but the same goes for the use of technology, in particular the internet and social media. When you post something online or search something, you must understand that there is a give and take that is happening. Big Data algorithms are analyzing your internet activity while you gather what you need as well, like a kind of dialogue.