Hows It Progressing?

"Progress" is a very nice word. It gives people a sense of accomplishment even if they had nothing to do with what they have deemed to be progress. For instance science and technology. Anything derived from science and turned into a usable technology, well that must be progress. The problem with this term is so far it doesn't seem to fit into the context of a definition that has anything to do with any sort of greater good, another nebulous term I know but bare with me.
 If you were to ask those you know if they believe humanity is progressing, chances are they would say yes. Then they would probably list off all the things that have been mass produced in great abundance and now make life much much easier. Ok, ignoring all the unforeseen consequences of things like automobile, heating and air systems, or atomic technology. There is a particular example I would like to bring to your attention, and you can tell me whether or not that's "progress." Right now, something called puberty blockers, drugs that halt the physical development that comes with puberty are in they're testing stage. These drugs effectively allow their users to remain as children.
 Now this concoction was something derived from the tools of science and engineered into something material, but would you call this progress? Seems to me this won't benefit anyone but some very rich pedophiles. Consider this, parents, when they meet with their child's teacher the point is usually to be updated on how said child is "progressing." If the teacher were to answer, "Billy's still 7, and it looks like he's going to stay that way." Doesn't it already seem like any definition of progress is being contradicted here?
Another fantastic example of what is considered "progress" is the video phone. Remember how cool the Jetsons made that look? Well, now this technology exists, and it's being put forward to solve a very modern problem. Working parents have no time for their children! That's right economic demands on the household are such that parents can no longer take the time to witness, or guide their child through early development, but don't worry technology has a solution!
Skype suggests parents just use their program to talk to their kids via the computer now. Isn't that great? You can now appear to your child as a simple figure on a screen, which, might be the way to go actually considering parents have already surrendered their children to electronic teachers and babysitters. Your child can now think of you as that person who comes on after Dora the Explorer! 
The problem with progress is no one bother to asks what point is being progressed to? Guns, for example, have come a long way. Did you know there are some that can shoot around 4,000 round a minute?! That's impressive, much more so than the single shot musket our ancestors used to kill shit. So for guns progress means being able to fire more ammo and faster. Makes sense, after all, this allows a gun to fulfill its purpose much more efficiently, but that was a bad example I know. What about mining tech? You know those 25 story drag lines they use when they're ripping the tops off mountains. Well, we need coal, right? We use it for electricity, heat, it is one of those things that makes modern life possible. So if the goal was to get more of it quicker well, then some very serious progress has been made.