I hear what your saying, and I agree to a certain point. I think that we can and are pushing boundaries Also, I realize that all technology wields a double edged sword. Always has, always will. I agree with you on data acquisition/brokerage. It is unfortunate that we, as private citizens, must go through such great lengths to preserve as much of our privacy, security, and anonymity as we can. Taking my data that I generated with my own labor, use it to further profit your billion dollar company, without giving me due compensation is quite the slap in the face. If my data is worth so much to them, then it's worth a mint to me. I get that loud and clear.

However, to me, the internet is a vast information repository.Full of all manner of entertainment, data, interesting adventures, and education. At no other time in human history have we ever had the sum total of the world's knowledge in the palm of out hand on on our desktop. Maybe not wisdom, but knowledge. The great libraries of Alexandria couldn't hold a candle to the internet.

I just filter out the stuff I want from the stuff that I don't want and call it a day. It would be fascinating to see what it will be in 50 to 100 years.