It seems that every few years something new is added to the list of cancer-causing products. Once thought ideally suited for fire-retardant insulation, asbestos was used widely in insulation, pipes, and building materials well into the middle of the last century. Gradually though, researchers discovered a trend of early deaths among those working with the material. As a result, the product has been effectively banned in the United States and many other countries. As recently as a few years back, researchers suggested there was a connection between brain cancer and cell-phone usage. While studies remain inconclusive, the news brought with it a noticeable shift to accessories that distance radiofrequency fields from the brain (headsets, earbuds, Bluetooth, etc.).
We can use a product for generations before identifying associated deleterious effects. This is unsettling. It also begs the question of whether and where the cycle continues in our present day? With such an impetus to living the examined life, what if we were to subject the present medium, that is, blogging itself, to such scrutiny? Twenty years from now, what will researchers be saying about the long-term effects of blogging and of reading blogs?
