By saying it's "just" a tool you're implying that all tools are equal, and with your gun analogy you're implying that all tools have a balance of good and bad c

By saying it's "just" a tool you're implying that all tools are equal, and with your gun analogy you're implying that all tools have a balance of good and bad consequences. I'd dispute both of those points. The vacuum cleaner is just a tool. And the printing press? That's just a tool as well. But the printing press massively changed society, and for the better. It think it's arguable that the internet will have -- sufficiently far down the line (and remember that it took a long time for the consequences of the printing press to be really felt) -- bigger consequences than the printing press did.