Figuring It All Out

I am in the process of figuring out how I feel about technology and its influence in our lives. Ironically, I am currently taking a class called Digital Writing in the Classroom.  One of the exercises is to create a blog.  I love to write, but really have never considered writing a blog.  So, here I am. My first attempt at creating a blog. Putting my dignity and  anonymity on the line.   

Below I have written some questions that I have been asking myself.  Perhaps you have asked something similar.  Perhaps not.  Either way, feel free to comment on or pose your own questions.

1. To text or not to text. That is a question.  Is it nobler to use the internet to send messages to our friends and family or to sit down with pen and paper in hand write them a letter?  Is our communication with each other more or less meaningful?  Has the use of technology truly enhanced our relationships? 
2. To adopt technology or not.  That is a question. What about using technology in the classroom? To what extent should it be used?  Has it really improved the quality of the education that our children are receiving? Do we use technology because the students'  attention spans are so poor we need to pull out the bells and whistles to get their attention? Are we catering to the masses by using massive doses of media?   Has learning become one long online game?
3. To use social networking or not. That is a question.  Have we become a voyeuristic society?  How many friends does anyone person need in their lives?  Can you really be a friend to 6,000 friends?

Now, I must let you know that I use the internet to keep in touch with my family. I have a blackberry on which I have all of my emails forwarded, check the local weather forecast and occasionally play solitaire when the wait in the doctor's office has become too long and I've browsed through every magazine they have.  I also use technology with my students when I think it necessary, and I have a Facebook page.  But, I must confess,  I often find myself exhausted at the thought of turning on my computer and "getting connected".

I began using computers when they were a tool. Mostly for word processing.  Now, as my children are beginning to enter this electronic world that has changed so much and continues to change with ever increasing speed, I find that I want to slow things down and think about why we use this technology.  Is it still a tool, or has it become much more than that?  Are we as a worldwide culture driving it forward out of a desire to connect with others and express ourselves?  Or, is it being forced upon us?