Ten years ago, if one was to say, "I'm going to go interact with my computer", people would look at you a little funny.
Now, of course, if everybody believed what computer software ads said, nobody would look at you funny. I still would though, because, generally, I don't interact with inanimate objects.
Oh, it could be argued that I do, of course. Interaction, as defined by the 3rd Webster International Dictionary, is "mutual or reciprocal action or influence, " and one of Newton's Laws of physics is "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." If I punch a wall, it acts upon my fist. But if that were "interaction," then the definition of interaction becomes rather useless.
To interact is to both act and BE acted upon. This translates well when we are using the computer as a medium of communication: email, user groups, MUDS, conferences, etc... anything where people are speaking to each other, and reacting to what other people say or do.
In my mind, it does not translate so well to playing with "interactive" computer software, reading an "interactive" story, or watching an "interactive" movie. We act upon the software and it changes accordingly. We make a series of choices which might take us this way or that. But does the software act upon us?
It does in a way: it may affect how we think or act. But is that any different from a "normal" piece of software, a straight-forward movie or a piece of fiction? It is not. Hypertext and so called "interactivity" do give us greater powers of organization, and the freedom to go exactly where we want in a certain set realm. But it does not tell stories any better than any other medium.
"Interactivity," in their sense, gives the reader or user a false sense of power to do what he or she wants. But, it is nowhere near the freedom that we experience in truly interactive experiences: chatting on line, playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons, playing a sport, or meeting someone for cup of coffee.
Those kind of things do have their own restraints, and rules, but they leave us the power to tell and imagine our own stories. We are not limited to the choices of someone else's imagination. With the simplicity of putting up a web page, making home movies, editing video, telling our own stories is what should be encouraged.
I am NOT saying that these "interactive" things are without merit, enjoyment or intelligence. They do have the power to change us, as does anything else. But if they are going to be described as "interactive," then they leave a lot to be desired.
I hope people stick to interacting with other people, at least until our computers get a little smarter.