Merits & Flaws

You hate the goddamned Internet. As far as you’re con­ cerned, it’s a complicated waste of time. You loathe social networking, lack a webpage, refuse to Twitter, and don’t really even know (or care) how to Google stuff. Anyone who wants to contact you can damned well write a letter, use a telephone, or just leave you the hell alone! (Damn kids, get off my digital lawn…)

While this Flaw is worth only one point in cultures where the Internet is an occasional (and often privileged) indulgence, it’s a three-point Flaw in cultures where Internet access and participation are major elements of most people’s social lives. Those cultural divides are more tied to generational and eco­ nomic divides than they are to ethnic or geographical ones. A poor, elderly, or simply old-fashioned New Yorker might not really care about net access, so long as she can still stay in contact with her friends and family; a college student in Rio, however, would be at a pretty significant disadvantage if he chose to avoid the Internet. And yeah – twenty-first-century mages use the Internet too, even if they don’t visit the Digital Web. Online presence isn’t just for Virtual Adepts anymore!