• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Is the Internet destroying society?

#41
Indiedog said:
Thank you! THIS is the issue. The internet is not directly changing or ruining the world but it IS fundamentally changing our minds. And concentration (or the lack of) is the main issue.

I posted this link to a story about a book called "The Shallows" earlier but my hunch is that no-one took the time to check it. 'The Shallows': This Is Your Brain Online

He lays out the logic quite effectively and methodically. The main thrust is that our brains are always changed by tools.

It started with physical tools but really took off when maps were invented. Maps were a revolutionary development that changed the way we thought about our world. No longer was your neighborhood the only element of your world.

Books were the next huge change. I cannot do his complete, logical thesis justice in a short post but they changed the way our brains worked. Especially after the printing press, books totally changed the way we think. Creative thinkers at the time realized this.

Newspapers, radio, and TV continued the trend, each had its unique stamp on our changed brains. Again, creative thinkers at the time realized this. We started the beginning of the overload; we reacted by missing much of the info and moved to skimming things quickly.

The internet is the biggest tool to ever come along. The unlimited amount of relevant information provided through search engines, the large amount of hyper-links, the constantly changing side-bars and ads, and the pop-up notifications from our email, twitter, and instagram have altered (reduced) our ability and especially, our desire to focus for a significant time one one subject. We flit from one subject to another...before we complete a task, something else grabs our attention. Fewer and fewer people have the desire to read long articles and books. We skim. We look for the readily available reductions and "Cliff Notes."

Our phones and other devices have taken these distractions to the next level. We are overwhelmed and yes, addicted to the flow and the stimulation. We click on the next click-bait. Time after time.

Our brains have changed. Our changed brains then influenced how businesses and our society change. WE have made this world more of a mess because it started with our brains.

When one is aware of this, one can take conscious steps to alleviate some of the negative elements. And by the way, the author goes to great lengths to describe all of the good things about the internet. You owe it to yourself to read it.

Oh look! A squirrel!

What was I talking about?
Click to expand...

I skimmed through it. But then I had to check my email, and a few alerts popped up. Time for a nap. :P
 
  • Like
Reactions: Indiedog
#42
Indiedog said:
Thank you! THIS is the issue. The internet is not directly changing or ruining the world but it IS fundamentally changing our minds. And concentration (or the lack of) is the main issue.

I posted this link to a story about a book called "The Shallows" earlier but my hunch is that no-one took the time to check it. 'The Shallows': This Is Your Brain Online

He lays out the logic quite effectively and methodically. The main thrust is that our brains are always changed by tools.

It started with physical tools but really took off when maps were invented. Maps were a revolutionary development that changed the way we thought about our world. No longer was your neighborhood the only element of your world.

Books were the next huge change. I cannot do his complete, logical thesis justice in a short post but they changed the way our brains worked. Especially after the printing press, books totally changed the way we think. Creative thinkers at the time realized this.

Newspapers, radio, and TV continued the trend, each had its unique stamp on our changed brains. Again, creative thinkers at the time realized this. We started the beginning of the overload; we reacted by missing much of the info and moved to skimming things quickly.

The internet is the biggest tool to ever come along. The unlimited amount of relevant information provided through search engines, the large amount of hyper-links, the constantly changing side-bars and ads, and the pop-up notifications from our email, twitter, and instagram have altered (reduced) our ability and especially, our desire to focus for a significant time one one subject. We flit from one subject to another...before we complete a task, something else grabs our attention. Fewer and fewer people have the desire to read long articles and books. We skim. We look for the readily available reductions and "Cliff Notes."

Our phones and other devices have taken these distractions to the next level. We are overwhelmed and yes, addicted to the flow and the stimulation. We click on the next click-bait. Time after time.

Our brains have changed. Our changed brains then influenced how businesses and our society change. WE have made this world more of a mess because it started with our brains.

When one is aware of this, one can take conscious steps to alleviate some of the negative elements. And by the way, the author goes to great lengths to describe all of the good things about the internet. You owe it to yourself to read it.

Oh look! A squirrel!

What was I talking about?
Click to expand...

On the flip side, they say the average american sees 4,000 ads a day. We're so bombarded with everything competing for our attention and worming it's way into our minds that we all need a BS filter just to get through our day. It's making us all judgmental.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Indiedog
#44
48thStreetCustom said:
On the flip side, they say the average american sees 4,000 ads a day. We're so bombarded with everything competing for our attention and worming it's way into our minds that we all need a BS filter just to get through our day. It's making us all judgmental.
Click to expand...

A good point. The faster the info is presented, the less time we have to make an appropriate/accurate judgement.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 48thStreetCustom
#50
Jim Nazium said:
Doesn't every generation think new technology is ruining things? I remember when when people said the VCR would kill the movie industry, and before that when people said cassette tapes would kill the record industry. I don't know for sure, but I suspect that people thought vinyl records would kill music because no one would learn to play piano or sing, and people probably thought the telephone was horrible because no one would go visit anyone any more.

Accept, embrace, let go.
Click to expand...
The thing is, they were right about some of that stuff. The hot water we're in (or cool ice cap melt as it were) climate-wise is due largely to technological "advancements". And even if past generations weren't right about casting a suspicious eye on new technology, that doesn't mean that any criticism of new technology is unwarranted or merely a manifestation of Luddite-mindedness. The internet has changed things more than a lot of people realize and it is re-wiring us in some questionable ways. It's perfectly fair for us to ask ourselves if we like the ways in which society is being influenced by the internet. Of course, that doesn't mean any steps will be taken on any large-scale level to overcome the negative aspects of the internet but, hey, one can dream.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikewalker and Indiedog
#51
Society has been manipulated by media for centuries.

I'm sure my grandfather, who's family spent their short lives in the coal mine before escaping to the joy's of 18 hr days on a farm, would be quick to point out that maybe today's society isn't quite so bad. After all, nobody is forced to work to pay for your food that the company store forced you to buy from them. Your 12 or old doesn't have to go to work with you in the factory.

The internet does help to feed hysteria, I'll admit that. And one of the most common sky is falling themes is how the internet, or phone, or social media, is destroying the world. Discussed of course on the internet :). People won't believe a word a scientist says about the atmosphere, or believe a doctor when he warns them about their health. But tell them their wife's pinterest page is destroying the country and its hello tin foil hat. Suffice it to say I've some skepticism that it's the internet itself. The lack of regulation for news sources is probably the worst problem the internet has.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikewalker, GregC and Indiedog
#53
The Internet has ushered in a new era of state power, private organizations that can rival states for power, and new forms of warfare conducted by both. In my view, this is a bigger deal than the proliferation of non-establishment news.
 
#54
Screen Shot 2019-05-02 at 6.54.42 PM.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: mikewalker
#55
fdeck said:
The Internet has ushered in a new era of state power, private organizations that can rival states for power, and new forms of warfare conducted by both. In my view, this is a bigger deal than the proliferation of non-establishment news.
Click to expand...

How do you think they accomplished that, if not for non establishment sites masquerading as news to push an agenda rather than inform?
 
#57
ShredderMaximus said:
I.think.we're.still.just.in.a.transitionary.period.as.we.move.further.and.further.into.the.digital.age..We'll.eventually.hit.some.kind.of.equilibrium..As.far.as.I.can.see.we.are.still.well.on.our.way.to.a.better.World.."Bigger.picture".and.all.that.jazz.

Sorry.for.all.the.periods,.again..Spacebar.still.broken.
Click to expand...
Personally, I wouldn't bother:

Ithinkwe'restilljustinatransitionaryperiodaswemovefurtherandfurtherintothedigitalageWe'lleventuallyhitsomekindofequilibriumAsfarasIcanseewearestillwellonourwaytoabetterWorld"Biggerpicture"andallthatjazz
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: ShredderMaximus

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back