Recently there's been an influx of videos, poetry and art that warn against the use of our phones, the use of our laptops, the use of the internet in general. Possibly the most popular example of this is a video called "Look Up". It made the rounds on facebook a while ago, and it laments, in the form of voiceover poetry and a montage of various shots of people using their phones and computers, the fact that teenagers never seem to look up from their phones. These creations are well meaning, but nauseatingly sanctimonious and honestly, they're completely off the mark. Technology is one of the greatest tools we have at our disposure, enabling us to maintain old relationships and forge new ones, to educate ourselves on the subjects we care about and to provide a safe space for people that have none in their everyday lives. Technology also works in tandem with science to physically improve life on a day to day basis for literally countless people. How could anyone believe them to be anything but vital in our everyday lives?.
Educating oneself independently has never been easier than it is now due to the countless educational resources available online. There are tens of thousands of free books available on websites like "Project Gutenberg", hundreds of essays are published online every day, and the footnotes section on any Wikipedia page is a gold mine when trying to learn more about literally anything. One google search leads to a seemingly infinite number of websites, articles and blog posts about whatever you might be searching for, whether it be in regard to what Hogwarts house your favourite tv characters are in or whether you're trying to learn about intersectional feminist theory. Some universities actually upload videos of their lectures! Last year I watched an entire set of class lectures from Open Yale University on "The American Novel since 1945" complete with downloadable course materials.