Pricey Oil’s Ugly Spillover

The U.S. has reached an important turning point in the development of the digital economy. If oil prices remain high, we will see whether the culture of abundance can survive an encounter with the culture of scarcity.

One possibility is that the high cost of oil actually accelerates the shift into the virtual world, as people and businesses substitute digital connections for physical interactions.
Managers will rely on videoconferencing instead of flying across the country or the world to meet in person. Newspapers, faced with rising energy costs for production and delivery, will make the big decision to drop their print versions and go completely online. Socializing will shift increasingly to the Web from pricey evenings out. And teenagers will do more of their driving online rather than spend $40 to fill the tank of the family car.

Business Week