• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

How has the internet turned out?

R

raildogg

Lifer
It seems as if people will always be people. Meaning the way they were before the internet is how they are post-internet but just magnified in many different ways. For instance, the internet is primarily used as a means of entertainment. Learning takes a very back seat. On Youtube, for instance, the superficial, goofy and strange videos get the most views by far. Anything of substance can barely get a few thousand views. Look at how popular some of the obnoxious channels are.

Look anywhere else, for instance. Yahoo's front page is full of entertainment type stories and articles. Same goes for other sites. The Weather Channel's website is also now about entertainment-type videos and articles. Weather has taken a back seat to these stories.

In the earlier days of mainstream internet, I'm sure people seeked entertainment too but now its gone full mainstream. So basically, the internet is a projection of man. It's really one part of his life; the way he thinks, the way he lives and what he wants to do. Whatever he is is the internet. Apparently, he wants entertainment and all sorts of distractions. He wants instant fulfillment.

But this is part of progress and evolution, right? Everything that is given to us instantly. Instant entertainment, instant pleasures, etc. This is what people want and this is what they get. This is our big corporations giving to us what we want. They are fulfilling what we people want and are getting very rich off of us.

And we gladly accept their products and services and ask for more.

(Sorry for the long post)
 
Last edited:
raildogg said:
And we gladly accept their products and services and ask for more.

(Sorry for the long post)
Click to expand...

Define we? Maybe the majority but there are lots of people who do more than veg out in front of a TN panel. They veg out in front of an IPS panel instead. Nah just kidding.

Sometimes I (often even) seek videos of substance on you tube. Quantum mechanics, cosmology, human consciousness, how to videos, music... Sometimes I'll just put a prominent scientist's name in the search field and see what comes up. Lawrence Krauss, Daniel Dennett, etc.

Sometimes I even do veg out in front of the TN panel with some "entertaining" video, if I think it's funny or interesting some other way.
 
It has made experts out of people who still know nothing. Indeed some feel that they are as qualified as those who have devoted years of formal study.

The internet is fun and can be useful however it has inherent limits in what it can do.
 
Remember that Meme about a million monkeys reproducing the entire works of Shakespere?


Yeahhhh.....:\
 
I think it has turned out well. I've never been one to read the kinds of stories that appear on the front page of Yahoo or The Weather Channel though. Still, pretty much all I ever used the internet for was entertainment. That doesn't mean that I haven't learned a lot from it. I learn much better when I'm being entertained at the same time.

For instance, I've never once read a book for the express purpose of bettering myself. Every bit of voluntary reading I do has been for entertainment, yet I'm absolutely certain that all the reading I've done in my life has made me better in every intellectual way. Contrast that with the people who only ever read because someone tells them to in class or because it's a self-help book that purports to make them a better person. Everything they've ever read had been a tough slog through material that doesn't inspire them, that they read because they feel that they are "supposed to" rather than really wanting to. They won't learn nearly as much and they'll have a miserable time doing it. Is that last scenario what you'd rather the internet be like?
 
Hayabusa Rider said:
It has made experts out of people who still know nothing. Indeed some feel that they are as qualified as those who have devoted years of formal study.

The internet is fun and can be useful however it has inherent limits in what it can do.
Click to expand...


Long before the internet, you had these "experts".

They simply lacked a world-wide forum.
 
It has given me a place to express myself, and ponder the little things in life. i need to bounce ideas off people and see things from another point of view.
 
It is what you make of it. It is still the information superhighway it was billed to be. (Though the speed limit and costs here in the states generally sucks.) What type of information you browse or peruse is entirely up to you.

And "we" I choose to exclude myself from more oft than not.
 
One sad thing about the internet is knowledge and information largely is not something of value anymore. We expect others to openly and freely give us their knowledge without any compensation.

Our job market used to be much more based on specializations and everyone learning a different skill, a different knowledge, and that was the jobs, holding knowledge. Now it's devalued and most low-level jobs are just token placements before automation replaces them.
 
Last edited:
I read the title as "how is the internet turned on"

I came here to say, by porn, lots and lots of porn.
 
One big problem I have is that everyone can find their niche spot where everyone is just like them and use it to validate their beliefs and thoughts even though they may be wrong. They never get real checks and varied enough view points to be more balanced or even change if they need to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top