Has the internet made our lives better?

Has the internet made our lives better? I pondered this question yesterday as I sat at Glen's Espresso having coffee with a friend.

Glen has a little chalk board that he puts something funny on every day. On this particular day he had put up a tally along the lines of "What couldn't you live without? Sex or The Internet". I noticed a few young girls were marking the "Internet" option, and as I stood there I also noticed a few blokes (1 in particular disgusted by the girl's vote) marking the other! It was near the end of the day and each option had about 20 votes each.

As I pondered my answer I wasn't actually thinking so much about the sex option but more about the other option and would the world be better off without the Internet. Perhaps people would talk and engage more (and maybe have more time for Sex!). Would we still continue to develop? (the Industrial revolution seemed to get on fine without it).

On the other hand, as a friend pointed out today the Internet is a great "leveller" - the industrial revolution certainly did a lot to widen the gap between rich and poor, maybe the Internet is a new fair(er) revolution.

Anyway - as I sat at BTUB this morning amongst a group of Brisbanites that regularly frequent Twitter - I wondered - would these people have met or become friends if it wasn't for the Internet. How different would our lives be.

What do you think?

Last day of work today for a while.... next stop New Zealand and hopefully some more interesting photos and posts!