![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Food for the brain
Sep. 12th, 2009 02:20 amYeah, it's just a pop-psych wannabe article on Cracked.com, but there are things in here I've thought about before too. I've had Internet access since 1998 and I have noticed some of these things on my own (I've done some of these, too - which is probably why I've noticed them).
We all know how awesomesauce the Internet is, especially if you're cash-poor and still crave some social contact (which is how I got into it, and probably some of you too). This is basically a rundown of its drawbacks from a social perspective. And the points made are all pretty good ones, even if I don't necessarily agree with every argument the writer makes. The salient points, which you can read in detail at the site, are basically:
#1: We don't have enough annoying strangers in our lives.
#2: We don't have enough annoying friends, either.
#3: Texting is a shitty way to communicate. (Well, unless you live in Iran.)
#4: Online company only makes us lonelier.
#5: We don't get criticized enough. (This differentiates between the "this is what's wrong with you, you fucking shitbag" that we all know and love, and the "this is what you're doing wrong, so straighten up" that we all need to hear at some point. Without expressly pointing out you are acting like a fucking shitbag.)
#6: We're victims of the Outrage Machine. (I can't say I agree about the news thing they bring up - I actually think we're getting less varied POVs now. Thirty years ago, every media outlet was owned by a different person/company, and a large city might have a few papers to give different perspectives not influenced by one massive owner with business interests controlling the opinion. More reasoned thinking, not just reactionary "kick 'em in the crotch" commentary that the immediacy of television and Internet provide. Even if I do think the Net is good for democratic debate - used properly.)
#7: We feel worthless, because we actually are worth less.
Veddy in-teresting ...
We all know how awesomesauce the Internet is, especially if you're cash-poor and still crave some social contact (which is how I got into it, and probably some of you too). This is basically a rundown of its drawbacks from a social perspective. And the points made are all pretty good ones, even if I don't necessarily agree with every argument the writer makes. The salient points, which you can read in detail at the site, are basically:
#1: We don't have enough annoying strangers in our lives.
#2: We don't have enough annoying friends, either.
#3: Texting is a shitty way to communicate. (Well, unless you live in Iran.)
#4: Online company only makes us lonelier.
#5: We don't get criticized enough. (This differentiates between the "this is what's wrong with you, you fucking shitbag" that we all know and love, and the "this is what you're doing wrong, so straighten up" that we all need to hear at some point. Without expressly pointing out you are acting like a fucking shitbag.)
#6: We're victims of the Outrage Machine. (I can't say I agree about the news thing they bring up - I actually think we're getting less varied POVs now. Thirty years ago, every media outlet was owned by a different person/company, and a large city might have a few papers to give different perspectives not influenced by one massive owner with business interests controlling the opinion. More reasoned thinking, not just reactionary "kick 'em in the crotch" commentary that the immediacy of television and Internet provide. Even if I do think the Net is good for democratic debate - used properly.)
#7: We feel worthless, because we actually are worth less.
Veddy in-teresting ...
