Terminalcoffee discussion
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Feeling Nostalgic? The archives
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Is the Internet melting our brains?
Such sentiments, in the opinion of Dennis Baron, are nostalgic, uninformed hogwash.I tend to agree, just not maybe as stridently.
"Hogwash" is a fun word.
The Interwebz hasn't made us dumber. Dumb people use the Internet as much as smart people do; it's just that dumb people insist on showing everyone just how dumb they are.
I find the Internet's made us more aware of how to properly interact with one another, something Mr. Baron touched upon in his interview.
I find the Internet's made us more aware of how to properly interact with one another, something Mr. Baron touched upon in his interview.
A lot of people use it for showing their naked bodies. The only problem is, it's the people who should keep their naked bodies clothed.
Hmmmm ... where have you been wandering, Stephen?
Larry wrote: "Hmmmm ... where have you been wandering, Stephen?"Heh...are we sure want to know? He's gonna tell us now.
Same places you males wander. Don't play innocent with me.
::puts hands over ears::LALALALALALALALALALALALALA
Julie, are you one of those showing yourself? heheheheheheh Hence the lalalaalalla biz?
I hope it melts our brains enough that someone goes and votes for my new review. I do not trust the friend system any longer.
Stop that groaning. Would you like for me to find you a nice outfit too?
Why would you groan about that Larry?
Just to get a rise out of you, Stephen.
Oh, yes it worked well enough that ... look who is here!
"All you need is a Wi-Fi and an Apple laptop and a place to sit at Starbucks and you’re a writer."But that doesn't make you a good writer. I have friends and acquaintances who participate in National Novel Writing Month every year and complete it, but it doesn't mean that they're a writer and say, I'm not, because I've failed at it two years in a row.
"There’s always been too much to read. Nobody read all the books at the Great Library of Alexandria. Nobody was capable of doing that then. Nobody is reading all that’s online today."
Sometimes I think about that and it is then I realize my mortality. Lately I've been thinking about it differently, though, and thinking, "Well, in a past life, I'm sure I've read [insert great literary work here:]. I'm going to read what I need to read in THIS life, and maybe next life I'll get through Anna Karenina."
"Computer socialization -- is this putting an end to face-to-face human interaction? Or does it let us expand our social networks when face-to-face communication is not possible, either because of geographic distance or some other barrier?"
BOTH. On one hand, the internet has been a life-saver for me because it allows me to connect to the communities I am no longer in. I am more educated and my education is broader thanks to the internet.
I've felt the strong pull of both theories recently. I discovered a friend killed himself back in February, a friend I was a "facebook friend" with but wasn't really that close to, after he transferred to another college. It was disgusting to see how few people even seemed to realize that he was dead; he was just another "facebook friend" to them. It prompted me to do a clean-out of my "friends" and I still have 433 people I can't get rid of, for various reasons, but those are 433 people I want to remain in contact with, and crave more contact than just seeing "what's on their mind."
On the other hand, a girl I knew just died of complications from H1N1. I knew OF her, and we had spoken a few times in person but we were not "facebook friends." What's shocking is how many people are noticing her death, and how far her personality went in life-- so many people remember her and are saddened by her loss who weren't her "facebook friend" because as a person of the real world, she interacted with other people in the real world. I think the trick is to have both.
tl;dr = "I'm an awesome person, both on and off the internet." :P
Oh, and the internet is for pr0n.
Angie, I'm sorry for so much loss in your life. You make some excellent points here. The internet brings us into contact with people from all over the world. I would never have known RandomAnthony from the wilds of Wisconsin had I not been on the internet. Neither would I have known you.Sometimes it becomes too real for people, and they start trying to find you in the flesh. That is scary. I do not think the computer is ruining our culture, 24/7 NEWS is ruining our lives. lol
Peace
I agree Angie, as with most things in life you need a balance, in this case both friends on and off the internet.
Heh, heh...you said "pron."
"Computer socialization -- is this putting an end to face-to-face human interaction? Or does it let us expand our social networks when face-to-face communication is not possible, either because of geographic distance or some other barrier?"
I think face-to-face human interaction is overrated. Mind you, I thoroughly enjoy meeting online friends in person, but I highly doubt I would have been able to foster interpersonal relationships with people were it not for social networking. Additionally, my career allows me the opportunity to work from home quite a bit, and while I don't have opportunities to interact with people in a true office environment, my job requires me to be in contact with a lot of my peers, many of whom also work from home. Having the ability to interact with my peers via technology is far more important to me than having "face time."
I'm sorry to hear about your online friends passing away, Angie. I haven't faced that situation, but I have seen people within my online community rally around online friends who have faced tragedies and loss in their lives - and I don't mean trivial ones like "my boyfriend just dumped me. I was glad to know so many people I know online offered their condolences to me when my mother passed away last February. Their sympathy helped me quite a bit, I must say.
"Computer socialization -- is this putting an end to face-to-face human interaction? Or does it let us expand our social networks when face-to-face communication is not possible, either because of geographic distance or some other barrier?"
I think face-to-face human interaction is overrated. Mind you, I thoroughly enjoy meeting online friends in person, but I highly doubt I would have been able to foster interpersonal relationships with people were it not for social networking. Additionally, my career allows me the opportunity to work from home quite a bit, and while I don't have opportunities to interact with people in a true office environment, my job requires me to be in contact with a lot of my peers, many of whom also work from home. Having the ability to interact with my peers via technology is far more important to me than having "face time."
I'm sorry to hear about your online friends passing away, Angie. I haven't faced that situation, but I have seen people within my online community rally around online friends who have faced tragedies and loss in their lives - and I don't mean trivial ones like "my boyfriend just dumped me. I was glad to know so many people I know online offered their condolences to me when my mother passed away last February. Their sympathy helped me quite a bit, I must say.
My problem is that right now I'm in a transitional stage in my life, more so than I feel a lot of people have after graduating from college. Sure, many people end up living with their parents, but most "normal" people have friends from high school, and I don't. In addition, I spent a year living in India, so to most of my friends, I pretty much dropped off the planet. As such, the internet and books are my life. I don't talk to another person outside my parents, unless you count the boy I like-- who I met on the internet.In fact, I have met most of my boyfriends on the internet, or used the internet to sustain our relationship. (One worked in IT and lived an hour away, so we chatted frequently online.) I'm a lover of words, thus it's not unusual with me to fall in love with someone who also loves words and spends a good part of their day reading and writing online.
I check NPR for my news. :P
It seems it works for you Angie, and that is the important thing. Hope the transitional stage in your life passes quickly and that you find enjoyment in your employment.
Angie -- it's good to have you back here.
I went through a period when I spent my time nourishing my online relationships and neglecting the relationships I had IRL. I did it intentionally - I wanted a bit of escapism - I'd just turned the responsibility of being my dad's feduciary over to my uncle and was nose deep in working on my senior project. At first, I thought I could control it, but it started consuming my activity so much that I'd stay up all night long on the weekends, neglecting the things I needed to do (eat, clean house, run errands, going to social activities/events) so that I wouldn't miss anything. I was okay with that for a long time until my coworker (a counselor) was leaving work one day and he asked me if I was okay... and I confided in him that I thought I was spending too much time on the internet and I didn't know how to stop it. I'll be honest - he's like a father to me, and he knows that. So his advice or input is especially important to me.
Anyway, when I told him that, we chatted about it for a little bit - I vividly remember my unexpected emotional response when he touched my shoulder (not in a suggestive way) and said, "Don't you miss THIS?" and I couldn't help it... I teared up. It surprised the hell out of me. I had a visceral response to this point he was trying to make and it really made me think about my priorities at that time in my life.
He suggested I should commit on occasion to allowing myself a day off from the internet. It was REALLY hard to do at first. But between that and another friend (also a counselor) advising me to be present in my life, I eventually got to the point when I decided to delete my social networking profiles and find activities in my personal life which required me to be "present in my life." My dog deserved more attention because he was there... right there in the room with me and all he could see was that I was giving my damn computer more attention than him. That made me feel guilty.
The problem for me was that I had genuine friendships and relationships that came out of my social networking and I was missing interacting with them on a daily basis in the worst way - it felt like a bad breakup. Eventually I moved past that. And when I felt I had control over the social networking thing again, I dipped my foot back into it.
I try to balance my time now - I don't think I spend an unreasonable amount of time online in social networking - I do it when I have free time. That's all. I don't plan activities around the internet. I don't make it priority over other things that need to come first. I can and have abstained from internet use for days, even weeks at a time and don't get anxious about it. And most importantly, I have a personal rule that I don't do it when I have my dog or another person in the room with me. It's not fair to them - they deserve 110% of my full attention.
But that's just my experience.
Yeah, Heidi, it can be a really dangerous slope to get into. It doesn't help when many people are more keen to write on your facebook wall than pick up the phone and call you-- people I know only on the internet call me more than the people I've hung out with in real life do (who are now at least an hour away, sometimes across the country). I've tried to make the jump into more meaningful relationships, period, getting people to send me their snail mail addresses so I can write them proper letters, and calling them from time to time, but a lot of them are just too "busy." I put it in quotes because when someone manages to play Mafia Wars for three hours a day, I do question just how "busy" they are with their real life. And now, technology is almost goading us along into giving ourselves up-- I can subscribe to the activity my facebook friends do on my phone, via text! It's ridiculous.I've fallen into the situations where you do truly befriend someone and when you don't talk to them online for a day, you almost start freaking out. I started to fall into this (partly because I have mental issues dealing with abandonment), and luckily the people I am now friends with online are more likely to go a few days without being online, only to call me up out of the blue and have a wonderful 3-hour conversation about literature.
This is why I want a typewriter; I get distracted by the internet when I'm writing and end up checking goodreads like I am doing now, haha.
Angie wrote: "Yeah, Heidi, it can be a really dangerous slope to get into. It doesn't help when many people are more keen to write on your facebook wall than pick up the phone and call you-- people I know only o..."I play Mafia Wars!
But do you play it straight for three hours a day, everyday? :PMafia Wars is better than Farmville. Ick.
Eh...no, but heck yeah it's better than Farmville! It's the only game worth playing in my opinion!
I just read Heidi's story, and I'm suddenly very touched/scared/eager to run around outside and talk with all my friends...
I would NEVER play Mafia Wars. Well ... not much. Okay yes, I do. I do. I admit it.
LARRY!!! YOU'RE HERE!!!! YAY!!!!You play MAFIA WARS, TOO!?! What level are you at?
The Matt...is here...he's on the other thread about whether you should call in sick or suck it up and go to work...He's GOING TO EAT ME!!! I KNOW IT!!! I KNOW IT!!!
44 minus 11. I'm an amateur. Got over $2 million in the bank, tho.
33, wow! I'm only 27 I think. I got 100 mil in the bank! People like to rob me so I put some of 'em on the hit list if they rob a lot. :P
I don't know how to do that. As I said, I'm an amateur Mafioso.
No way! It's easy! All you have to do is click on the mobster you'd like to have killed, then there will be a link to ADD TO HITLIST and then you click it, set the bounty, and in seconds, he'll have that little stain on his rep sheet.
Not really...if I had enough Stamina Points and Weapons I'd rather ice him myself...but, ah well..got the cash, though.
Rachel wrote: "33, wow! I'm only 27 I think. I got 100 mil in the bank! People like to rob me so I put some of 'em on the hit list if they rob a lot. :P"I'm level 55
Rachel wrote: "The Matt...is here...he's on the other thread about whether you should call in sick or suck it up and go to work...He's GOING TO EAT ME!!! I KNOW IT!!! I KNOW IT!!!"Rachel... not cool.
Heidi wrote: "Rachel wrote: "The Matt...is here...he's on the other thread about whether you should call in sick or suck it up and go to work...He's GOING TO EAT ME!!! I KNOW IT!!! I KNOW IT!!!"Rachel... no..."
He's not always been kind to her.
Stephen wrote: "Rachel wrote: "33, wow! I'm only 27 I think. I got 100 mil in the bank! People like to rob me so I put some of 'em on the hit list if they rob a lot. :P"I'm level 55"
THAT. IS. AWESOME! Who else plays Mafia Wars here? Show of hands, everyone!
Heidi wrote: "Rachel wrote: "The Matt...is here...he's on the other thread about whether you should call in sick or suck it up and go to work...He's GOING TO EAT ME!!! I KNOW IT!!! I KNOW IT!!!"Rachel... no..."
O_o... I guess...since, he didn't eat me. Or hasn't. Maybe he's formulating a plan somewhere so when he does eat me, it'll look like an accident... but for now...sorry, the Matt.
Is Heidi happy now? ... Am I not supposed to post triple comments? ... O_o
That article makes me want to shake my cane in the air and rasp, "Kids these days and their stoopid internets! In my day..... " ;PI liked your story Heidi because I think most of us who spend time on the computer can lapse into various escape days like that. I know I tend to be very introverted, especially on days I don't feel so hot, and hide from the world. We all need someone to remind us there is a real world out there too.
*sigh* Yes, MWs, Farmville, several others not worth mentioning. But my new favorite is Paradise Island because it's cute, simple and... um... an island. My question is, should I feel that guilty when all my crops & animals die? Scary to be so sucked in...
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This fits well with cursive discussion too.