Hosted by Stephen Tremp, Alex J. Cavanaugh, and myself.
Rules are simple:
Name one thing where science advances mankind, and one where technology will go too far and set us back. They can be the same thing or different.
It took me a while to think of something, and then I realized it was staring me in the face - the Internet!
It’s probably one of the most revolutionary inventions of the past century. Searching for information could mean a full day at the library. Now it’s fifteen minutes online. We don’t have to leave our house to shop. We can take care of all our accounts online. We can connect with others around the world and news travels instantly. It’s brought our world together in a way we never dreamed possible.
It’s also isolated us more than ever.
Before the Internet, we had to leave our homes and face the real world. We had to go out and experience life and meet people. Relationships were face to face.
Now we spend all day in front of our computers. And while we do make real friends online, a thousand Facebook fans means nothing if you don’t have a real friend who could help you with a flat tire late at night. Or sit and listen to you. Or go to dinner and a movie and laugh.
We’ve also grown lazy with the Internet. No need for proper punctuation or capitalization. We don’t get the joy of learning when the answer is instantaneous. Why go out and see the beauty of a real sunset when we have access to thousands of photos online? Why be a genuine, caring person when we can type whatever we want online?
It’s an amazing invention. But do you ever wonder how it’s affecting us and the next generation?
49 comments:
The Internet is a great choice. It's a wonderful thing but like you said makes it easy to get isolated. We get so busy connecting with our online community that we don't see enough of our friends and family where we live. Balance is the key, not that I'm at all balanced.
I remember spending all day researching a paper at the library. Have to say I'm glad those days are over.
And thanks for cohosting 2014 Wormfest!
The Internet! Excellent choice. Some people never leave their homes because of it.
You nailed it, Diane. The other thing the internet takes - and very quietly and unobtrusively - is our privacy.
Totally agree with your choice of the internet! Hard to even imagine life without it!
Natalie, I have to force myself to go out into the real world some days.
Bish, that is very true.
Jemi, makes me wonder what did I do before?
I would not have the family I have now if not for the internet. My husband and I met online in an RPG (I was a vampire, he was a shaman.) Go figure. :p
I love the internet, but it does have it's darkside too.
There's so much misinformation on here, and people refer to all this junk as if it's gospel.
And congrats to Stephen!!! Looking forward to reading Escalation.
I so agree about the internet. It's wonderful to have, but I do wonder about the next generation. What are they going to lose because they have the internet?
So fun to see Stephen's book here -- and all over! Go Stephen!
Yes, some of the effects are showing now, the incorrect spelling and incorrect use of words they are too lazy to look up, hopefully Oxford and Webster won't merge those into our dictionaries. . .
Technology can make the breakdown of social manners and learning very easy. . .AI (ALTERNATE INTELLIGENCE) will do it for you. . .Good points, Diane!
I don't know how I'd do what I do without the internet. I wonder what I'd be doing, in fact?
I think we might be heading for the world in E M Forster's "The Machine Stops" though.
Jemima's Wormfest post
You are so right with the choice of the internet. In some ways a curse, but I would never want to go back to the way it was before the internet. Though I did used to enjoy spending hours in the library. These days if I went to the library it would probably be because my internet at home was having a problem and I'd be using the library computers.
Lee
Wrote By Rote
An A to Z Co-host blog
Jay, and they also look at anything online as free for the taking, especially photos.
Lee, if I went to a library, it would be for a book signing.
It really is isolating and convenient. The old two-edged sword.
I do wonder, though, which came first? That is, were people stupid before the internet, which is merely revealing their stupidity? Or does the internet make people stupid? I guess it's a combination. Excuse my cynicism, Spunk; I've got my latest post in mind.
Cheers,
xoRobyn
I've missed your posts and tips during my hiatus, Diane! Looking forward to catching up, AND looking forward to reading Stephen's new work!
What I find interesting about this hop is how everyone nails the downside as well as the upside to these inventions.
What I find interesting about this hop is how everyone nails the downside as well as the upside to these inventions.
I do have a love/hate relationship with the internet.
And I had no idea there was a National Wormhole Week. The internet has let me down...
Congrats, Stephen on the new book. Best of luck with it!
You are 100% right.
Stephen's popping up everywhere! I think it's a great idea. Wishing him all the best with the new book!
I still research all day at the library. So much great information is still not online, so those who don't get away from their home are missing out on so very much!
Robyn, maybe it was just men?
Hi Randi lee! Long time indeed.
Lee, I imagine that's because there is light and dark with everything.
MJ, does that mean you hate the Internet right now?
This topic is something worth pondering. Although the internet connects us to much more by erasing physical distance, it can put intimate distance between people who can normally physical be together. Strange...
The Internet CAN be great for some info gathering and connecting with like-minded people BUT nothing replaces real-life experience and true blue friends. Great choice! Amazing how it has changed all of our lives in such a short time.
Great pick Diane! Yes, nothing replaces reality, but I sure do love being online. I wonder how it will affect today's youth?!
Congrats to Stephen!
I so wish I'd had the internet while I was studying for my Psychology degree. The positives are enormous. But I do realise there are risks.
Congrats to Stephen. :)
http://iurl.no/15v1s
I also chose the Internet and agree with everything you've said. I do believe you can have a few really meaningful relationships online, but they are not the same as the people you know in real life.
Hi, Diane,
Good choice. I keep thinking about the length of time I can waste at the computer just surfing. On the other hand, I've learned much through the ease of research on the net.
Excellent choice. You are so right. You,Jeff and I met, but how few of us ever do. I have been lucky in meeting quite a few internet friends in the UK, Portugal the US and Canada. Even a South African friend who came here.
But yes, we spend hours in front of our computers and lose out socially in one respect although gain in other ways.
Yes, and yes. It's a great invention and there are consequences. However . . . although I think that real face to face interaction is vital to our lives, I also think that we have the opportunity to "meet" people we might not otherwise know and "see" places or cultures we might not otherwise experience. It's a mixed bag, as most things are. :)
Awesome choice Diane. The internet was a military invention which tells us something. Count me in, my Wormfest will be up on Wednesday.
Congrats to Stephen!
I agree with you. Grammar and spelling has gone down the tubes with many people. Also manners since people are brave online and often bully others. We need proper real life interactions.
SA, like texting someone in the next room.
Ellie, they're not.
Jo, we only get to meet a fraction.
Tyrean, and exposure to others broadens our view.
Medeia, it's so easy now to be a faceless entity.
The Internet is good is used wisely. I sometimes think it should be limited to no more than two hours each day because then I'd see more people than I do now.
Perhaps I need to be more organized online?
Excellent points on the Internet.
It is convenient. It is instant. It also is doing nothing to make us nicer, kinder people. And we are isolated.
The internet is a perfect example. Our lives are irrevocably changed and yet...not always for the better.
It's hard to believe the internet is 25 years old. Of course, we only first got online in 1994. But even still, it's changed my life and my world forever.
For a shy an introvert person like me, internet is the best!
Nas
A generation or two down the road, and typing will likely be passe. We'll either speak or the computer will read our thoughts.
Best of luck to Stephen!
Hi Diane,
My human and I utilise the internet as a resource to demonstrate the caring, sharing nature that can be a vital aspect of it.
Gary and I haven't grown lazy with internet. If anything, it has stimulated and has been a lifeline to us who are not well.
However, as best we can, we and the next generation must get out there and mingle in 3D reality.
Blogfest, duly noted.
Pawsitive wishes,
Penny the Jack Russell dog and modest internet superstar!
Fanny, I use it way more than that.
Robin, that's my point exactly.
Carol, I already use Dragon Naturally Speaking software to compose my books.
Gary, that's good to hear!
You are right! The Internet is a drug!
But the flip side... I'd NEVER have met you and hundreds of other awesome bloggers if I hadn't decided to empower myself to become techno-savvy... and I'd never have written as much as I have, nor would I have ever published online!
My 15 year old grandson asked me last night if we had Facebook when I was his age. I told him there was no Internet back then to run Facebook on. He asked how I talked to my friends. I said I might call them on the phone - a landline, of course, no cell phones. Then he asked what I'd do if I wanted to talk with someone while I was outside. I said I'd walk to their house and see if they wanted to take a walk and talk a while. The incredulous look on his face was priceless. But also sad.
The internet has absolutely changed our lives. In some ways, it is great to get information so easily, to pay bills and send emails, but it is also very isolating. I worry about children growing up with it.
I totally agree, and great minds think alike (lol) I wrote about Facebook for the hop.
So so true! I often wonder if peeps even notice typos anymore. Not that it matters, but they're so common!!
Hopefully I better late than never here...
The Internet is 25 years old but I can't imagine life without it, also sometimes wish it wasn't there. For all the good it does, people find way to use it for bad.
Great post!
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