Let's compare the effects on human life of the steamship (1810-1860), railroad (1830s) telegraph (1840), telephone (1876), transatlantic cable(1869), artificial ice (1869), automobile (1890-1910), central electric power (1880-1930), radio (1920s); with the more recent introduction of television (1940s), antibiotics (1940), jet travel (1958), microwave cooking (1970s), personal computer (1980s), internet (1970s-80s), web (1990s), widespread information on the web (1990s), cell phone (1980s) automation of bureaucracy (from 1980s).
I think the earlier inventions changed life more.
more argument to come, maybe.
2008 note: To me Google and Wikipedia represent important recent progress. They made the information already on the web much more accessible, and thus brought about putting up much more information. Others I know are much taken by Facebook and video games.