The Digital Age has been defined as many things. The age of computers; the age of information; the age of instant communication, are a few which come to mind. Recently I was in discussion with a co-worker about the most important inventions in history. His argument was that the digital age and the invention of the WWW was probably man’s greatest invention. I disagree as it is only improvement of old technology. Dots and dashes have been replaced by 0’s and 1’s. The Gutenberg Press brought information to the masses, the WWW just makes circulation quicker.
Anyway our discussion got me thinking about coming up with a metaphor and paradox to describe the Digital Age. When I think of a paradox, “Military Intelligence” comes to mind. When I think of metaphors, “Democracy is in its infancy” comes to mind.
The Digital Age has bombarded us with ways to communicate, but also brought us to a state where we do not communicate face to face. We have friends who are really not friends. (Facebook) We accept what is written without really doing research to see if it is true. If it is on the WWW it must be the truth. We IM to a co-worker that is just across the office instead of getting out of our seats and have a face to face conversation.
When I look back at this Digital Age, I see people sitting in rooms tied to their computer thinking about how wonderful the age is, but forgetting about what life is really about. Interaction with people in the real world, not the virtual world.
Anyway just wondering how some of you would use a metaphor and or a paradox to describe the Digital Age. And I do know it is paradoxical to be using a forum such as this. 
Guess I should go to the bar and discuss the situation face to face.
