Envying the ‘lost tribes’ of Arkansas

I’m a wannabe early adopter.

Technology is fascinating to me. Years ago when manufacturers started producing consumer-level GPS units, I spent what seems today to be an exorbitant amount of money on a handheld device that would beep when it was time for me to make a turn. No street names or descriptions of what lane to get into. Just a beep. And I though it was the coolest thing since the last coolest thing.

The problem with wanting the next big thing in technology is it generally demands an abundance of disposable cash. Elon Musk I’m not.

Even with my desire to put technology to use, it’s also the arena in which I start to let my age — let’s call it wisdom — show. I haven’t reached the “get off my lawn” stage, but I do wonder sometimes about whether technology’s advance actually makes our lives better in the way we put it to use.

Last week, this newspaper covered recent reports by the Federal Communication Commission that showed Arkansas remained second-to-last in the nation in providing access to broadband Internet in households in 2017.

These days, such a statistic can make a state sound like it’s a thirdworld country. Economists and economic development leaders suggest the Internet has become much like a utility, almost as important as having electricity and gas service to a home. It has become an important part of everyday living, they say.

“A community without broadband is not a community that is going to exist much longer these days,” said Robert DeBroux, who serves as chairman of the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Group’s committee studying regulatory obstacles to expanding access.

Those of us living in larger towns don’t really struggle with broadband access. Expense, maybe, but not availability. But the FCC estimates about a quarter of all Arkansans, around 750,000 people, do not have access to broadband Internet.

OK, I know that’s a limiting factor on the success of communities drawing new business. I know it’s a limiting factor in the capability of students to gain access to the vast world of information out there. And it’s a limiting factor on the ability of people to make the most out of devices that can make life better in many ways, whether it’s a light bulb that can be activated remotely or a medical device that sends critical information back to medical professionals.

But sometimes I also wonder if those who are less connected all the time don’t have something worthwhile — a simpler world in which front porches are the most effective social networks and our self-created echo chambers are longtime friends gathered round a table for coffee at the local diner. In which conversation happens and is tempered by being face to face with someone rather than intensified by miles of distances created by a keyboard and a computer monitor or other device.

Remember those stories of indigenous tribes “discovered” by civilized man? Who is convinced we always make their lives better by injecting modernity into their existence?

The Internet is an incredible tool, but it’s easy enough to spot how it has, in some arenas, fallen short of its potential and driven its users to a lowest common denominator level of engagement. For example, people who post comments on news stories. In the early days, I thought that would become an incredible community of reasoned conversation. In most instances, it’s a few loudmouths who are so nasty they push reasonable people out of the conversation.

I love technology. On balance, it’s more positive than negative, but sometimes the very best times are when I get someplace where technology isn’t an option — a valley deep in the Ozarks, perhaps — and I get to revert to more basic living.

Is it paradise lost? I wouldn’t go that far, but it sometimes feels like

paradise gets harder to find as constant connectivity spreads.

The newspaper business, like the rest of the world, has changed a lot in the last decade. Some of the changes have been designed to deliver news more effectively or to serve advertisers more completely than ever. Other changes have been foisted on the industry as the impact of the Internet and mobile devices has dramatically changed the landscape.

We continue chugging away here at the Northwest Arkansas DemocratGazette, grateful for the opportunity to deliver news that matters to our readers and advertising opportunities that work for local and national businesses. We’re proud to have those opportunities, and appreciate the feedback we get from readers and advertisers through letters to the editor, interviews with our news sources and comments made to us as we go about our daily work.

It seems appropriate at the end of the year to recognize the relationship we have with you. Let me just say thank you to all readers of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. I can’t say I’ve been given some authority to speak on behalf of the company, but I can assure you we’re thankful for the people who read us in print and online every day.

May 2019 be a year of exciting adventures and prosperity.