The New Atlantis - The Age of Egocasting by Christine Rosen is a fascinating read.

By giving us the illusion of perfect control, these technologies risk making us incapable of ever being surprised. They encourage not the cultivation of taste, but the numbing repetition of fetish. And they contribute to what might be called “egocasting,” the thoroughly personalized and extremely narrow pursuit of one’s personal taste. In thrall to our own little technologically constructed worlds, we are, ironically, finding it increasingly difficult to appreciate genuine individuality.

Havine all seen the iPod ads, we know we're all supposed to be individuals. But we can't appreciate genuine individuality? Interesting theory. Not sure how strongly I agree, but there's some sense there. In the rush to be an unqiue, I notice how a lot of people do not appreciate other people who are unique. We appreciate other people, if they're unique like us.