My Generation - tentatively called "Millenials" of which I am one of the earlier born members is the generation that is the first to grow up with the internet in a relatively modern format. Additionally computer games in my generation finally became more than moving dots and dashes around and more than letters and numbers.
Fully realized 3-D rendered and hardware acceleration became normal very quickly and soon the human need for social interaction would merge. Ultima Online, World of Warcraft, EVE Online and even games on Facebook and other platforms emerged. Mobile gaming is finally becoming mainstream as our communications devices now have the gaming power of yesteryear's laptop computers.
Socially we are more interconnected than ever before. Our devices are portals to each other. Some see it as a distancing, or a filter and in some cases these analysts are correct. Anonymity lets many individuals act in manners that are otherwise not permissible in social situations. Other times the technology, such as integrated webcams on laptops, tablets and phones allows for intimate connections across vast distances.
Past generations wrote letters on paper and parchment. Now we write on electrons and magnetic bits. Past generations would use a complicated cipher to encode their writings, now we have 512 bit encryption available publicly. There is something still intimate about a handwritten letter, but email is widely regarded as formal enough for almost any message as long as the formatting is thoughtful.
We used to have naughty deguerreotypes and now we sext each other instantly be it picture or video, or even broadcast it for all to see in a rather shameless manner.
Communication is instant world wide and I for one couldn't be happier. I can speak with people in Russia, Denmark, Iceland and Singapore all at the same time and in real time with no cost beyond paying for access to the world wide web. Aside from the fact that this would indicate a possible demise of legacy telecom systems in the future, the larger point is that we now have the ability to communicate as individuals with one another without the filter of a government in between.
Aside from picking and choosing what government you live under one discovers that a man is a man anywhere in the world and we have far more in common than governments would have us think. We enjoy and have passions for the same things and have the same wishes for our families. It is odd to think that we are somehow in opposition rather than engaged in cooperation. But here we are.
My generation is certainly not one that is enamored with world peace, nor despite accusations to the contrary, so full of hubris that we think we can attain it. However we are the first generation with the infrastructure for such an achievement. Soon a company will be launching into orbit a constellation of micro-satellites that will broadcast internet access world wide. It will not matter if you are sailing in the middle of the most desolate (of humans) ocean on earth, nor hiking a trail in Afghanistan, nor even in Antarctica. Soon borders will mean even less. What I do fear is that governments will jealously guard and attempt to clamp down out of insecurity. Instead of freeing their citizens to interact, make contracts and engage socially the national governments will instead create more barriers to entry and try to keep us closed off from one another.
What good is a government that gives up social control? Why it is the best government that one could have. A freer people will never have existed on earth than is possible at this moment. But world-wide we see restrictions. Turkey closing down Twitter and youtube access is just a public example. The Great Firewall of China is another. The NSA's bulk monitoring of citizens online and mobile activities in and out of the United States is one of the most egregious. And yet instead of backing down when challenged, those forces of authority double down and accuse critics of promoting the enemies of the state. Hyperbole is ratcheted up and we see the militarization of police with MRAPs and an ever increasing number of SWAT teams and federal grants to support this. Rights are restricted and the government talks seriously for the first time about licensing journalism and restricting the rights of the press and free speech.
My generation has the ability to choose what road we go down. We will either go on the road to freedom, or on the road to serfdom.
Game On.
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