He’s got a valid point here: technology has made life for many people amazing, but they still aren’t happy.

However, some of that unhappiness seems to come from our ability to be more vocal about the way we feel. Fifty years ago, a project like We Feel Fine (an aggregate of the phrase “I feel …” from millions of blogs) would be impossible. Vocalizing our unhappiness is the first step in changing it.

We’ve also been increasingly exposed to the horrors of life for those living in the poorest nations. It wasn’t that long ago that we would live our lives without any knowledge of what was happening in the rest of the world. Our ignorance was bliss. With the exposure we have now, we should be unhappy, we should be discontent, as long as there are starving children and preventable diseases. I think this move toward full disclosure is a healthy and productive one. Let’s get all the crap out on the table and start having a reasonable, worldwide discussion with the goal of solving our most pressing problems. Let’s use our technology to turn our unhappiness into positive action. And let’s start valuing the amazing tools we’ve been given.

Via Kevin Kelly