When We Failed To Count the Cost

It’s the age of the tattoo, isn’t it? It has become something of a rite of passage for older teenagers or younger adults to get inked. Whatever we parents think about this trend, I expect we’re unanimous in at least wanting our children to wait until they are old enough to count the cost—to grow up enough to have some sense of what it will mean to permanently mark their bodies. We want our kids to wait because we know that in this area, as in all of life, they are prone to seeing the benefits but not the drawbacks, the opportunity but not the risk.
What is true of teens and tattoos is true of many other demographics and many other areas of life, perhaps especially when it comes to technology. We human beings are famous for inventing, accepting, and integrating new technologies without thoroughly assessing how they will impact us for good and for ill. We tend to see the benefits immediately but only grow wise to the risks much later on. And, in a world like this, it’s a sure thing that there will be both. Let me offer just a few examples of times we failed to count the cost.