An unimaginable horror for many, I'm sure, the web's disappearance would fundamentally alter our society. No longer would we be able to instantly and at our convenience communicate with family, friends and coworkers. A bulk of the world's commerce would be halted. The flow of information would revert to such a state that younger citizens would find the world practically unrecognizable. Striking the world of e-mail, Facebook, Amazon, iTunes, Google, Netflix and more would be like flipping back the calendar two decades.And you know what? It might not be a bad idea. I'm no luddite, but I grow less and less comfortable with what The Web has done to society in general and my generation in particular.
Privacy? It's basically an obsolete concept. Even if you lock The Public out of your Facebook and Twitter pages, as I do, there's nothing preventing someone with access from reposting things I post. And these fences and firewalls that are erected can all too easily fall prey to some overzealous hacker or programming hiccup. Nothing is secure. Nothing. I'm honestly surprised I've not yet experienced some snafu with my online banking.
Context? Too many people are no longer interested. That video of you drunk in college cavorting around the frat house that someone laughingly posted to their blog two years ago will come back to bite you when you run for Congress. That bitterly phrased tweet you sent while fuming about your boyfriend's infidelity will be cached and archived for everyone to see for years to come. And even though we've all said and done things we've regretted, nobody will be interested in an explanation. They'll be too busy laughing. Or passing judgement.
Attention? Forget about lengthening its span. Blogs — blogs! — are epic presentations compared to the exchange of ideas on social networks. If you can't say it now in 140 characters, it's evidently not worth saying. The path to world peace has to be short enough to retweet or nobody will read it.
Friends? Ask yourself this: How many do you truly have? My account on Facebook says I've got 77. Annie's account says she has 200 more. But are these people truly your friend? How many of these friends are people you merely know in passing? When's the last time you spoke to some of these friends on the phone? If you had a bad day, how many of these friends would even bother to ask, "What happened?" I don't know the answers to those questions, of course. But what frightens me is that I don't think you know the answers, either.
The mighty Internet has brought us many great things. It's pushed us technologically toward advances that we hadn't imagined 10 years ago. It's revolutionized the free market system. And it's made knowledge about anything just a few clicks away.
But make no mistake. It's also made the world a colder, less personal and less forgiving place. Too many of my peers are now stuck before a screen from sunup to sundown and beyond. Too much of our time is spent shoveling intimate life details onto — or scrambling to take them off of — our many feeds. Too few meaningful ideas are exchanged and conversations are had as we instead lavishly praise those who rightly agree with us or tear asunder those who dare upset us.
As you might have surmised, this rant has been long in the coming. And now that it's been posted, who knows where it will go or how it might some day be used against me. But should it be thusly used, so be it. You'll only prove me right.
Life without Internet might be better.
4 comments:
I'm not sure I agree, Annie. I grew up pre-internet and social media and I can't say I found the world any warmer or more friendly. My much older sisters and brother were harder to keep up with, since they were out in the world and seldom seen. Today, though, I can get a glimpse into the details of their daily lives through Facebook and I can't imagine having to do research at the library anymore.
My late father in law was a slow adopter of technology. He hated answering machines until he needed one. He asked what I thought and I told him that it was a tool like any of his other tools, and whether it made his life better or worse depended on how he used it. I feel the same way about the internet.
Actually, I've been meaning to rail on this (and still might)...your post is spot on.
As Robyn points out, it is easier to connect with friends and family you don't see much of and that part of it is good. However, does the good (accessibility) outweigh the bad?
It is as you say. No one cares about context anymore or privacy. Not only that, anonymity has allowed many people to post unbelievably offensive tirades on forums or comment threads originally meant to spur conversation.
Pre-internet, you actually had to talk to people with differing views and find, if not some middle ground, then at least an understanding of a point of view you don't agree with. People do not need to do that now and the list of items taken out of context or just plain lied about grows each day.
I really could go on for awhile on this. :-)
Robyn - my husband Josh posted this, not me. But you can see my rebuttal today.
I feel this misses the mark. It's spot on for some, but way off for others.
The internet has brought me CLOSER to my friends (and I do know how many real ones I have.) I can actually talk, play games and know what's going on in their lives now. Work and school can leave me so tired that sitting in front of the computer for an hour is all I can manage. I don't drive, so I can't go visiting anyone at the drop of a hat. If I want to be social, internet is often all I have.
The internet can also bring like-minded people together. People can seek out others like themselves and exchange information, or just feel happy that they aren't alone.
Does this mitigate potential damages when it comes to privacy? Maybe yes, maybe no. But it definitely depends on what person or group you're targeting. There's a difference between a teenager who posts inane things they shouldn't and the grandchildren that talk to grandpa once a week via Skype because they live far away.
Post a Comment