The Power of the Web

This week's essential question is, "What makes the Web so powerful?"

A popular term for a major accomplishment of the web is "democratization of information".  It is so much easier now to find information than it was when I was a child (provided you have access to the internet - something that is being "democratized" itself).  When we sat talking around the dinner table a question would come up, and my mom or dad would walk over to the reference books on the shelf or the encyclopedia upstairs.  If those books didn't have an answer, we'd pretty much just wonder.  That wonder has it's own value, but it's amazing how differently we work today.  I can't remember the last time we couldn't find an answer for a question we were thinking about, and what's more, we can find many answers from a multitude of perspectives.  This is a very powerful tool for a curious mind.

The other major power of the web that I'd like to discuss is the ability to create connections between people.  You are not limited in your acquaintances by geography or social class (though the issue of internet access is still relevant), but can sort begin relationships based on any interest or issue.

This is incredibly powerful, and like many sources of power it has been used to do great good and terrible evil.  For example, people who are isolated because their situation is rare, stigmatized, and/or misunderstood can find companions around the world.  Families of children with cancer/autism/progeria, etc. make find comfort, support, strategies, treatment, hope, and most importantly a sense of belonging and being understood.  What a gift! On the other hand, those who would abuse children can also find encouragement and accomplices.  Terrible. 

One can go a long way to becoming a global citizen by seeking out and learning all sorts of perspectives and outlooks on issues of worldwide concern (morality, environment, education, you name it...) Equally, however, one can choose to listen to only the most comfortable and non-challenging of voices, becoming ever more insular and potentially polemicized.  

One hopes that the balance of all this power -- access to untold variety of information and individuals of every kind -- is for the good.  In the end, it depends on the person.

Thanks for the photo found through creative commons.