Is Digital Media Bad For Us?

A simple question in essence: is the Digital world we live in really detrimental? Initially, one would seem to agree that it is bad.  Lack of social contact with families, friends, and peers would lead to a disconnected, fragmented social landscape.  Lack of control of data online in both the political and commercial realms would lead to a breakdown of the system. The constant exposure to the internet would lead to addiction many times as powerful as the lure of television. And finally, and most importantly, the detrimental cognitive impact that digital resources would have on our memories and processing skills.  But after the initial impact of all the negatives that are associated with the digital age, it becomes clear that our modern age does have effects in all these categories, but the change is not detrimental.  Like any other shift in history, it is first viewed negatively, but after further incubation, it becomes clear that it was a positive evolution.
Just as the shift from a spoken-history based society, to a written based one was initially perceived negativly, the gains outweighed the losses, namely a more expansive memory.  The social realm has expanded due to digital media.  Friends are in more contact now than at any time in history, and interests bring people from all over the world together online.  Business is more easily conducted, memories shared instantly between relatives across the world.  Though face to face contact has been reduced, the gain of instant, and more constant digital contact outweighs the loss. In the commercial realm, businesses have been able to protect their merchandise, and expand their business.  Online shopping has given access to consumers worldwide, and digital distribution has allowed instant gratification for consumers.  And, finally, the addiction to technology has become constant-email, texting, facebook. But it is not negative: it increases productivity and creates a more unified world where anyone can be in contact with anther person at a moments notice.
All in all, the positives outweigh the negatives, and thus, the question is answsered: digital media is not detrimental to the individual and society.