It's made life loads easier in terms of learning how to do things (see: here, Clark's Garage, John Bridge forums, ...) and find out who sells the materials I need for projects. If I want the weather I can go to
NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and pull up the forecast without waiting for The Weather Channel to say what it'll be. FB and digital cameras have made it loads easier to keep up with people I grew up with, and being able to post a picture of a damaged part or a short video of some other problem with the car or house makes diagnosing these things a lot simpler.
On the downside, I think I and nearly everyone else are a lot less patient than before.