What Technology Dividend?

It's not easy living in the 21st century. The technologies that make life more efficient also raise expectations for efficiency. The supposed information overload perpetrated by the mass media of the last century--print, radio, cable, internet--has now been supplemented with a daily avalanche of e-mail. If you get sick, get slack, or go on vacation, the typical inbox can quickly exceed 100 messages, maybe 1000. A backlog of e-mail is more stressful than a pile of neglected magazines, newspapers, and paper letters delivered to a mailbox. E-mail is often personally directed and requires a personal response. The personal element is critical, because a delay in response or a reply in the wrong tone can convey all kinds of wrong messages--like lack of care or respect. What's the technology dividend here? Perhaps the tools of 2010 open possibilities for greater good and greater achievement than ever before. Social networking devices may make us more connected, and that's good, too. But there is a price. The technology dividend, if there is one, is taxing.