Dangers of the Internet?

Check out this blog post.  And the posts within this post.

After reflecting on the content of the post and contemplating my own life, I came up with this response:

As a waiter, it bothers me when families sit down at a table and each individual family member is absorbed in some technological gadget. Instead of talking to each other, the parents are checking their emails, the teenagers are texting and the little ones are playing Gameboy or angry birds on the ipad. These families are so fixated on the tiny devices in their hands that they can barely look at me to place their order.  Dinner is a time for conversation, a time for family bonding. But somehow that was lost in the modern age.  We are finally making more virtual contacts and feeling more connected than ever, but really IS quantity > quality?

In 2009 I deleted my Facebook because I thought it lacked any depth.   I was lost in the uninteresting status updates and shallow wall posts of my 'friends.'  Why did I have 500 friends on Facebook, when in reality I spoke to maybe 20 of those people? I’m not breaking any new ground here, but I still think this is an interesting topic.  On the subject of technology Anaïs Nin, a French author said,

“We believe we are in touch with a greater amount of people… This is the illusion which might cheat us of being in touch deeply with the one breathing next to us.”

We become so caught up in meeting new people that we lose sight of the relationships around us.   Sometimes it is the spaces between words that matter, rather than the words themselves…those important silences in a conversation that cannot be conveyed through text on a screen.  There is something really satisfying about being able to hang out with a friend without the need of conversation…something really comforting about being in the presence of a group of people you know well.  The deepest connections I have made with people have been in the outdoors, not on the internet.  Sure, networking on the Internet is great.  I get a warm bubbly feeling every time somebody comments on my blog post.  I feel understood when I see that somebody else likes low-fi, 90’s, indie-pop music from elephant 6 record company. And I really enjoy reading fan ideas for a Chronicles of Riddick sequel.  The internet provides people with the ability to establish a sense of identity, lower their inhibitions, find others with similar interest and much more.  The convenience and advantages of social media and modern technology are clear, but I don’t think they can ever substitute for the genuine intimacy of a face-to-face conversation.                                                                     

In this technological era, everything is too accessible and we have become reliant on constant stimulation.   We always feel the need to be texting our friends, tweeting our lives away and suddenly when the wifi drops to one bar and everything slows down…well, its like the end of the world. Every time I see that rainbow wheel of death appear on my Mac, I get ready to falcon punch the screen…no patience….at all.  The presence of viral videos and concise memes, has crippled my ability to concentrate on lengthy text for long periods of time.    In regards to reading long books Nicholas Carr, an American writer says,

“Now my concentration starts to drift after a page or two. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do. … The deep reading that used to come naturally has become a struggle.”

The Internet is so fast and accessible that it makes us obsessed with things that are bigger, faster and cooler….it makes us less self sufficient and more lazy.   I can’t help but resent and fear the growing presence of the Internet...maybe its because I don’t completely understand it…maybe I’m jealous of those who have found a niche in Internet culture.   I can’t help but wonder what the digital age is doing to my social life and to my intelligence level.   My intent with this post is not to bash the Internet like some ‘moms against’ group.  My intent is not to warn against the impending doom of technological singularities.  But I would like to see more people put down the remote, silence their phones and close their computers and then see what happens.  Think about how reliant you are on technology.  Can you go a day without the Internet?  How about a week without your phone?  

I probably could not.  

And that makes me a little sad.