I agree with eugene1 about the positive safety benefits of technologies: safer and more durable vessels, small radar units (they were room-sized not long ago), and GPS mapping devices replacing LORAN. You can add in that modern PFD's are far supperior to cork in use and more comforatble to wear, so we actually wear them, now.
I am neutral on social media technology. I think the value of knowing where to fish are out-weighed by the negative impact of too many people getting in each other's way. Beyond that, once you get to the spot of spots, you still have to know how to fish, and digital media offes no benefit over analog (practice, practice, practice).
I'm a fundamentalist. I just want a rod and reel that won't fail me, waders that don't leak, and a tackle box smaller than carry-on luggage.
I think the myriad products that make it easier for folks to catch fish are a bad idea. I date back to before the earliest fish flashers that showed you nothing more than the depth of the water, and now I see that the latest generation will so clearly outline a fish that you can guess it's size with fairly good accuracy. Moreover, they'll beep and whistle and carry-on so you know to put down your beer and start to fish.
There are less technical advances that are good to have: graphite is fine, braided and fluorcarbon lines are fine. Advances in hook technology are good. I think replacing lead with steel and tungsten is a great idea and wish they'd make them in more varieties and in more weights.
I resolutely believe that the fundamental joy of recreational/non-commercial fishing is learning about the fish. What do they eat? When do they eat? What types of water do they prefer? What locations in the water? How do I get my lure/bait/fly (whatever) in just the right location? And then multiply that by the changing conditions for every hour of the day and for every day of the year, and all the possible combinations of weather and water conditions...
I like to catch BIG fish. But I am nearly as happy catching little fish (and in my case: REALLY little fish) because, to me, it means I've coerced a fish to take what I'm offering. I've done something right and I've understood the day's variables.
But, in my opinion, technologies that allow one to get around the knowing and the guessing and the puzzle-solving detract from the sport. You'll still get the cattle-prod jolt from hooking into a fish, but you'll miss the true satisfaction of fishing. There's a line from the movie "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" that goes "...somehwere under the water is a fish much cleverer than me..." and I think that's how it should be. Bringing an Aegis destroyer to catch a fish doesn't represent what's fun about fishing.
