It is definitely the Internet and the mobile phone, the means of electronic communication. My generation has witnessed an incredible revolution in terms of availability of information and the speed of accessing it.The world has shrunk, interpersonal contacts couldn't be easier.When I was a student, there was one photocopier in our Institute, and only the select few were able to use it. We spent hours in the library, copying sections of the few textbooks there were. I had penfriends in many countries of the world. It usually took three weeks for my letters to reach them (sometimes they got lost on the way), and about the same time for their replies to get to me.Today ,with Skype, e-mails and texting, it's a different world. But the thrill of waiting, the appreciation of the rarity are gone. Abundance kills the joy of dreaming. If everything is within your reach ,life has so much less flavour.
Like many other inventions, the Internet has made our lives easier in many ways.Like many other inventions, it has created new demands.
Communication has been facilitated .But has its quality improved?
People have almost unlimited access to information about the world .Do they really take advantage of it? Do they understand the world better?
And let's be realistic: wars have been fought and will be fought. Yes, they may result from ignorance and fear. But the driving factor is the desire to be in control, to dominate, to have access to whatever counts, be it petrol, land,cheap labourforce or uranium. Unfortunately, such is human nature. No invention can change it.