Ezines or Eyeruin'e's

Once again, as with anything technical, I find myself battling against a kind of inbuilt reluctance to even meet the world of ezines halfway. I do accept that this is probably due to my own personal tastes rather than the whole of the techno-world being a BAD place!! The problem for me is much bigger than ezines though, they are only a miniscule part of the whole computer culture, and THAT is what I'm struggling with. Yes, I have a problem with the WHOLE of the techno age in general, and so I feel duty bound to talk about the ethos of that and get it off my chest before actually doing something useful with ezines.
At a glance, it seems to me that they are just another aspect of the computer age, born to add emphasis to the ever growing disposable aspect of the world in which we live, one click and they are gone. On the positive side though, the amount of electriciy required to read an ezine is probably not as damaging to the environment as the amount of trees killed to print paper magazines. They are fairly quick to access, we don't have to run down to the corner shop in the rain to fetch them, they will never be out of stock and there will also never be a superfluity either. Great. So why am I not impressed?
I think it is because I am oldfashioned, I'll be the first to admit that. If you have grown up with this technology then I can see that it probably seems wonderful to have so much information there at your fingertips whenever you want it. I, on the other hand didn't, my computer studies lessons were spent learning about binary codes and Charles Babbage (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Babbage), we all eagerly stood around a tinsey wincey computer screen while the teacher shouted to be heard above the whirring and clanking of the huge wall known as the Central Processing Unit. Of course, it all changed with Clive Sinclair's (http://www.mensa.org.uk/mensa/clivesinclair.html) wonderful ZX81! Whoopee! Now we could all build our own personal computers and get programming (as long as we had fingers the size of hamster paws!). I'll never forget that first rush of adrenolin when we learned how to make a white line move horizontally across a screen. WOW! Perhaps now you can see how my unstinting aversion began.
I can't get my mind set to change, my idea of reading a magazine goes hand in hand with a comfy sofa and a glass of something with a percentage. Sitting on my dining room chair in front of a glaring screen is not relaxing, no matter how big the glass of wine. For me, if I'm at the computer I'm working, and I can't get myself out of that way of thinking. Someone has to invent a more 'homely' way of home computing before I will EVER warm to the idea of it being fun. What is it doing to our posture and our eyes, not to mention our brains?
From my little space way back in the corner (and way, WAY back in time!), I suppose I can see the advantages of ezines aswell. We all approach literature differently, some like to cut to the important bits while some enjoy wading through the pages inbetween, even if they do seem like treacle around our knees. You've guessed it, I'm a treacle girl myself, and yet I would easily be able to click to the points of interest in an ezine without feeling guilty about skipping pages. So that is a good thing, it would save me so much time (well it would if I ever had time to read one). Because an ezine is there in front of us on a one dimensional screen, our brain doesn't get the physical impression of a magazine, we can't feel it's weight between our fingers, we don't have to see how many pages we are skimming over and missing out in order to get to the information we are looking for, it is quick and direct, or as quick and direct as we choose to make it. The only things to hook us in are the catchy titles on that first page which are designed to grab our interest at a glance. I have to admit that if I wanted to find out about something, unless the books or magazines were on my bookcase, the net would be the first place I'd look, so I would read an ezine for the information I could obtain from it and not for the pleasure of reading it. So it obviously depends on why we read magazines, for fun or for information? Or both? Again it's down to the kind of individuals we are. I would say that magazines are far more portable than a computer, even though they only hold a microcosm of the information. But then, why would we need all of that other info? Surely we are capable of choosing the right magazine for ourselves, containing the stuff we want to read about, or can't we do that anymore either? Are computers making us more indecisive? AAARRRGGGHHHH my brain is going to explode! We can stick magazines into our pocket and read them anywhere there is light enough to see, dipping into them instantly without having to switch on and log in.
I suppose until everyone has a lap top that they can take on the bus, people access the world and its information with their mobile phones, ah yes, those tiny brain frying devices that think 'text language' is cool (don't get me started on that!). Their very size seems to be indicative of what the whole computer culture is doing, it hones us in, pulls us into smaller and smaller units, while on the one hand we are interacting with a wide and vast population, on the other hand we are becoming increasingly more introverted. Our phone is now our new 'best friend' we can't possibly leave the house without it, on a bus or train, it is the first thing people reach for, it saves them from having to make eye contact with people around them and communicate. At least when people used to hide behind magazines or newspapers, other people around them would be able to read whatwas on the front cover! It just seemed more sociable somehow.

On the subject of sociability, I also think of our children. It's wonderful to be able to talk directly to someone in Florida, but not when it stops you from interacting on a 'real' face to face level with the people who live in the same house. My daughters have friends who would rather e-chat than go out in a group for the evening, so are we developing social skills here or putting an end to them altogether? I would feel more comfortable knowing that my kids were sitting in the garden with their mates, reading a magazine out in the sun rather than burning their eyes out with computer rays. Then there is the issue of ezines not being edited or cencored, freedom of speech is important, but what if little eight year old Frankie is reading his favourite ezine and somehow manages to click on an undesirable link? Publishing and censoreship are currently the shifting sands of the computer world, are our internet providers doing enough to keep on top of it, or are we just going to let everything be out there the whole of the time for everyone to see from now on?
I feel that in many ways the computer age has changed too quickly without giving people the chance to observe how it is affecting society, there isn't time to stand back and take stock, no one seems to be sorting the teething problems out before the next change happens. We are in the age of computer culture, an ever expanding, constantly changing world which has had a vast effect on society. We can swap and change our coices, our decisions, with one quick click, does that mean then, that we adopt this into other important areas of our lifestyles too, areas that need sensitivity and thoughtfulness? We don't need to stop and think anymore, we can change our mind anyway, just click the mouse, so why bother to stop and think at all. I WANT TO STOP AND THINK!

Right now I've done that I might be able to contradict myself completely and be really positive in the next post.