We are in the seek-and-you-shall-find age

I  am really jealous of kids today. They have everything in the palm of their hand — figuratively and literally. With their high-tech cell phones, laptops and gadgets, they have access to just about any information they need  and they can get it any time they want, anywhere they want.  If they have to do a term paper or work on their thesis, they can get any information they need in a flash. They simply Google the topic they need to write on, cut and paste paragraphs from relevant sites, tweak the articles a bit, do a spell check and grammar check via the “tools” menu — and voila — they have a term paper.

Back when I was a student (which was roughly around the Jurassic era when typewriters still roamed the planet, “surfing” meant going to the beach, and “Internet” and “texting” meant absolutely nothing), doing a term paper meant that I had to go to the library (sometimes several libraries), browse through dozens of books, write down quotes, references and bibliography details, write the draft on yellow pad, put pencil margins on every bond paper, type the whole darn piece, apply Liquid Paper on typos, wait for the Liquid Paper to dry, type over the correction (which usually gets smudged because I normally don’t have the patience for the Liquid Paper to dry up completely), estimate the space needed for footnotes, proofread the whole thing to make sure that there are no grammatical and spelling errors, re-type pages that can no longer be salvaged by Liquid Paper, and then count the number of pages to make sure I meet the minimum page requirement of the professor.  It goes without saying that it was a painstaking exercise.

But to a certain extent, I’m glad that I experienced that in school.  It makes me appreciate technological advances all the more.  Most kids today (and I define kids as those below 18) were born in the ‘90s, which means that they never experienced (or at least, they don’t recall) a world without the Internet, computers, cell phones, video games, cable TV, DVDs and digital music. When I was growing up, all of those things didn’t exist.  My generation had the great opportunity to see the world transform from the analog age  to the digital age — and I’m so fascinated with the way technology has transformed our lives.

But some people argue that the world is not better off with all this technology.  For one, everyone has to keep up. When cell phones were beginning to pick up, I remember telling myself, “I will never ever get a cell phone.  Why the heck would I want to be carrying a phone all the time?  Plus the charges! No way, man!”  But as more and more people got a cell phone, and clients started asking me, “How can I reach you?  Do you have a cell phone?” I inevitably got one. Everyone had one — so I had to get one myself — if only to keep up.

For years, I resisted the temptation of buying an iPod. I told myself, “Steve Jobs will not fool me with this one.  CDs are good enough. Besides, who wants to be carrying their entire music library around?”  A couple of years later, I succumbed to the pressure and bought an iPod.  And I bought it not so much because it was “in,” but because I could no longer deny its practicality.  I mean, how can you not give in?  Having your music in CDs meant you had to always bring a whole bag or CD organizer.  With today’s music players, you can bring more than 30,000 songs in a packet that is no bigger than a deck of cards.  Sure, that might be more songs than you can listen to in a lifetime but it’s comforting to know you have all the songs you need everywhere you go. 

A few years ago, I said to myself, “There’s no way I will get a DSL account. Who needs to be connected 24/7?”   Again, I gave in.  Why?  Because clients, business partners — and even my family — expect me to be connected 24/7.  Even if they don’t necessarily call me at 3 a.m., just the thought that they can gives them a sense of assurance.  And everyone demands assurance nowadays.  My wife always texts me, “Wru?”  Just the fact that she can ask that anytime is reassuring to her. If you don’t give people that assurance, it could impact on your relationships — whether business or personal.

A Whole New World: Better Or Worse?

So now we pose the question: is the world better or worse off with all this technology?  Some people argue that life has become more complicated with all these gadgets, that life is more demanding now.  People need quick results, instant answers, instant responses.  And you have to give it to them because technology gives you the ability to deliver right away.  That’s what’s expected now.  It’s no longer acceptable to say, “It’s in the mail.”  Today, mail is instant.  You gotta deliver and you gotta deliver now. There’s no more room for waiting. So to a certain extent, yes, life has become a little crazier because of all these advancements. 

But that’s only one way of looking at it.  The other way of looking at it is that now we have everything that we need to know at a simple click of a button.  That kind of power is unprecedented. Whenever I need to do some research for a client or my regional partners, I can deliver right away.  And it’s comforting to know that I have the power to do that.  Between knowledge and ignorance, I choose knowledge.  Knowledge is power — and having access to it can solve a lot of things.

Many times, this power can save or improve lives.  My friends Leo and Joy Dominguez have a daughter named Alaire, who recently went through a successful operation in Norfolk, Virginia for a rare case called hemangioma — a red, enlarged  vascular “birthmark” that can grow and eventually rupture if not treated right away.  Hemangioma cases are controversial when it comes to treatments. A textbook answer would be to leave it alone and wait for it to go away. This was what Leo and Joy were faced with when they brought Alaire to the doctors here.  They were told to just leave it alone and it would eventually disappear.  But Leo and Joy simply couldn’t accept that.  During their search for answers, the mark became bigger and bigger.  They began to worry.  Left with indifferent doctors, they researched on the Internet — and through their research, they found so much information and options available in the US.  

Joy told me, “It’s very comforting to know that with technology, you don’t have to sit down passively and just believe what people tell you.  There are options out there.  All you have to do is seek — and you will definitely find the answer.  You can’t rely on what people tell you.  I was told that hemangioma is a unique case. But to lump it all in one basket that it’s a disease that will eventually go away is not a correct and fair medical advice. Through our search, we found Dr. William P. Magee Jr. and Dr. Richard S. Rosenblum of the Institute for Craniofacial and Plastic Surgery in Norfolk, Virginia.  Without technology, we would never have found these doctors who have the compassion for Alaire’s condition.” 

Indeed, while the world has certainly become a more dizzying place because of all the advances, all is not bad.  Instead of shunning technology, I try to embrace it.  When it comes to technology, I choose to see the positive — the advantages.  Because with today’s technology, you can seek — and you will definitely find. 

And there’s nothing in this world that’s more comforting than those eternal words.

* * *

Thanks for all your letters, folks!  You may e-mail me at rodhnepo@yahoo.com