http://www.ted.com/talks/daphne_bavelier_your_brain_on_video_games.html
Example of the Good: While it is commonplace to hear of video games negatively there is a side to gaming that neuroscientists are discovering that can have positive effects on cognitive tasks. Daphne Bavelier has been exploring these positive effects on gaming, and it is thought to be risen from brain plasticity. When one exposes themselves to an experience over and over again a change occurs in the brain to adapt and become efficient with these experiences. In the case of video gaming the changes in the brain that occur from the exposure of fast-paced video games can bring about increased performances in learning, focusing, as well as multitasking. Though often viewed as mind-numbing entertainment, video games are being found to stimulate areas of the brain and new research is being looked into fostering these positives to use them in learning.
http://www.ted.com/speakers/malte_spitz.html
Example of the Bad: An example of this is the invasion of privacy that one's phone company deals on their customers. Phone companies are constantly collecting information on their users. The companies not only collect but they also keep private information, gathering information from texts, calls, etc. Examples used in the TED talk include that phone companies track down the geographical location of it's users, and monitors all of the activities that a customer does with a phone, even listening to calls. This is a disturbing reality and one that most people don't ponder, but it is partly due to this ignorance that keeps our privacy being invaded.
http://www.ted.com/speakers/marc_goodman.html
Example of the Ugly: Ever increasing technological developments can cause crime to take a turn for the worse. Certain people inevitably use technology for ill use,and these crimes are going to evolve and change with technology. Problems that may come about in the future include cyber wars which hold a very grave threat for our societies. Hackers will be able to throw off an entire nation just through the creation of computer viruses. With the invasion of privacy and the ease of tracking people, criminals will have an easy time targeting their victims. Online theft is a prevalent crime and will only continue into the future. Technology is rapidly expanding and the consequences of it need to be explored, and one of the most important one is the nature of crime and how it will affect our future.

Cell phones and privacy

I believe pre-paid cell phones are versatile devices that should remain legal, and I don't think the activities of criminals should cease their existence from all of society that has not been marginalized. Their value is vast. A cell phone plan is not for everyone. I also personally feel that the government shouldn't be allowed to obsessively track down every move that one makes, even though there will inevitably always be criminals. True criminals are always going to find a path around restrictions, which makes making pre-paid cell phones illegal look trivial.

Location Tracking

Forcefully implanting computer chips into the bodies of children and teenagers is not only unnatural but comes off as a bit unethical. I can see a little merit in certain scenarios for the elderly who suffer from Alzheimer's, dementia, etc, though a computer chip sounds a bit extreme. I can think back to when I was a kid, and if I were introduced to the idea of installing a computer chip inside me for the sake of always knowing exactly where I happen to be, I would be very unnerved and opposed to such a notion. It's just a bit over the top, and while some people may view it as some benevolent way of saving the children, I tend to gravitate toward the side of that it caters to a perverse infatuation in certain people who actually take comfort in being allowed to always know where their children are. That said, I will confess that I believe installing computer chips into people who pose a threat has positive implications. If someone who is charged with murder, abduction, rape or molestation does their time and are allowed  access to the outside world once more, I feel it is justified to implant such devices into them. Outside of these circumstances I view it as obsessive and borderline pathological.

I am presently taking Living in a Networked World at UNH and am ready to blog away...