Are We Better with the Internet?

Just another phase in life as I can remember seeing all the extra large Mail Boxes in the country.

Mail order was the New Wave of shopping for those too busy to go to town except on Saturday.

Saturday was the day you visited, the rest of the time you worked.

Six day work week was normal

Sears was born as were were other Mail Order Houses.

Then cars and roads improved, the population went from rural to city and the roads improved more and the Motor Age was upon us.

Interstates were the new path to Shopping Centers.

Now the shoppers save time and money using Not the Interstate but the Internet.

 

I see most of the posts here are aimed more at social media on the internet. That is only a small speck of what the globally connected internet is. Television content is more and more dependent on internet, such as studio to transmitter links. Cell phone service would not exist, including Iridium sat phones. Most of the interconnected electrical grid is controlled by SCADA systems connected by internet. To a lesser extent, landline phone systems are now going to fiber internet for links and doing away with the microwave links that have been the mainstay since the '50;s. Gas and oil pipelines have switch stations that are now controlled via internet based switches instead of operators in remote locations. Even if you don't have internet, at some point your daily life is affected by it.

 

"Better" is a subjective term...
With the internet I have been able to :
Join a forum or two...and have conversations with many folks who share the same interests...
Have a larger field to search for "hard to find" , usually out of print books...
Have access to information in a very speedy manner...

Is this better than what I had before...when I still could do all of the above , with just a bit more thought and work...?
I don't know.. I like the ease of the internet to do the above...but ease isn't always better.

For instance when finding that hard to get book at a local used book shop I get :
The thrill of finding it...
A chance of actually looking over the book , in my hands , to see if the book shop's idea of "Very good , with little wear " equals my idea of the same , before purchasing...For me a physical connection to a item , can make or break a deal...
A personal interaction with the shop owner , maybe even a like minded customer...

Its this personal interaction that I miss most about using the internet...when talking through a keyboard , many nuances in conversation are lost.

Like anything its not the item , that is "bad" , "worse" , "good" , "better" , etc... Its all in how it is used...How people allow themselves to use something or be affected by a particular item is , has far more of a impact , than the item itself.

I can say that when students who have trouble paying attention or staying on task , are given the option to look something up on the internet , it can be a daunting task for them.
So much information is thrown their way , so fast ...it can be very difficult for them to select what is needed versus all the other media , "Chaff" so to speak , that is vying for their attention.
'Course the same can be said when they hit a book for information...but I think it is not on as large as scale.

So again I would say "better" all depends on the person and just what they want or can handle....
Andy

 

I like it so much, I try to spend most of my time in the woods.

 

bwhahahahahahahaha.
I'm going to say no.
For some life has gotten better. Access to information has gotten way easier. I'm surprised libraries still exist at this time.
No longer have to spend a day hoping your local library has what you are looking for.
access to applying for a job .. easy
moving to a new city need to find housing .. easy

But unfortunately people have lost critical thinking skill (if they ever had them) and now the propaganda ministers are having a field day. Goebbels would have killed to have the reach that can be had today.

People are not looking for objective information. They are looking for information that supports their opinions and ideas and then disseminate that vociferously as fact. No matter if it's true or not. If it supports .. hell yeah! if it contradicts .. FU!

We've got way more information available at our fingertip than ever before in history. But we've lost our skepticism and ability to think for ourselves. We have become a us vs. them society. Yep. This internet thing has been great for some, and life improvement for a few but a distraction for most and a mind numbing drug for far to many.

our great grandchildren will probably have curved spines with their head hanging over their chests in a bow to their master. They will probably squint when the sun shines off their screens and nearly blinds them as they consume disinformation the master spews.

So yes, for us, We are better off with the internet. But for them .. nah, they are screwed.

 

Are we better with the internet? My personal experience says yes. My typing and negotiating skills have certainly been improved by it. People don't jump out of your way when you're just another internet presence. I stay in touch with far away old friends only because of it. I quickly find valuable tips, like NEVER loading anything but round nose bullets in Remington Model 14. (I had to try it anyway, just to see how bad it was. Quite an impressive jam, but now I can post instructions on how to clear it.) I find some of my research hits a dead end, even on the internet, and I've written tutorials online that others would find useful if they stumble along the same path. I've made friends, attended events, done things and generally enjoyed life more with information I found on the internet. (This had previously been stuff I may have found in the newspaper or heard on radio) Since I was driving Jeeps long before they were called SUV's, and stocking a pantry, or living for extended periods under canvas was just part of life before I ever heard the term "prepping" I credit my parents and their parents with my view of sustainability. The internet has certainly helped me deepen my knowledge and improve my situation. It hasn't changed my political views, it's just expanded that view from local to international.

I do know folks who are older than I am who never use the internet, simply because they have no access. I also know folks the same age who have real-world experience and encyclopedic knowledge on subjects that are not at all well covered on the internet. I sit and talk with them for hours whenever I get a chance. These folks still get their information from newsletters, newspapers, and the radio. Their lives have changed little since the internet became popular.

Am I better with the internet? Yes. Physically, socially, financially, educationally, emotionally, and in all aspects of preparedness. Would things be different without it? Sure, I might still be sitting in the library catching up on my reading. I did amazing things with knowledge learned from old fashioned paper and ink books. The internet is just another tool, an asset to expand your knowledge base. What makes us better is how we use what we learn.

I hear about kids who are so affected by words in text messages that they choose to off themselves instead of turning off the device. There are people who can be led to do foolish and dangerous things by the internet. This is the "worse" side of the coin, but I have to wonder if this isn't just a more modern version of how a percentage of folks were always affected by things... books, radio, newspaper.

 

Internet is still good and useful tool sadly as more and more people started using there naturally were more *Tools* using it. I miss the days of the early internet when it was much easier to find true and accurate information than it is today. The bigger problem is the smart phones, it is like the more evolved that technology gets the dumber society gets.

 

Before the internet we had teachers that stated," it is so because I said so ."
It was easier to dumb down the public with false information and littler resource to resist it.
There are more con artists than there ever were , but on the other hand there are sources of information that can expose those con artists as well, IF you bother to seek it out.
Before the internet people did not share information freely in fact many coveted their knowledge like a trade secret, now there are how tos for every thing even deciphering the computer on your car .
Survival skills we share both benefit those we might want to support and those we would prefer not to. It doesn't stop us from providing the information .some even blab all their personal information and make them self a target to the world.
If you don't think all of your personal information is not being collected ,think again. the word is greed and the world is desperate for it.
Many of you all ready know all this, so we learn to be friendly but careful.

I get news here and on other web sites , not from the news media, but regular people and what they see happening in their area.
Economically it is a boon for one and bust for another . I really hate seeing brick and mortar stores go away but again greed rules.
This also feed into the spying on public and marketing through it ,
So you feel no responsibility to support a dozen other peoples jobs, and may be your not, but if your among the dozen other people needing work you might see it another way .
We are being played, and the fear mongering that goes on only reinforced the perpetual sales of things we get because of it .
There are so many people into survivlism through apocalypse , some of them are anxious for it to come to pass.

 

I love the access to information without having to spend free time at a library or procuring expensive books for whatever research I'm off on a lark pursuing. In hindsight, I did make good acquiantences at those library tables...

Life is just work, loving my family and few close friends, dabbling in advancing some hobby (Survival Monkey), dancing, travelling, and cooking.

Much of the internet is wasted effort enhancing tribalism. (Rep/Dem, Poor/rich, white/black, cops/robbers, fags/straight, cowboys/eagles, con/lib, east/west, Christian/heathen, ect.....I've thoughtfully formed my opinions and generally don't wanna hear anymore about it. That's hard with the internet. (I almost put in corrupt/honest politicians but decided that was settled.)

I'm not interested in shopping, social media, dating, gaming, sports, or movies. No internet value there.

It's a lot like the old newspapers. I throw away the sections I don't want of the internet. That's the cost for access to the info and interaction I want. Like yall.

 

For me, the internet is a general positive. I do find far more illiteracy on it than in newspapers, magazines and other media, but that is the nature of the beast - any danged fool can post their drivel online. Just have to cherry pick the readable and useable items.
I'd have traded a small part of my anatomy to have had the internet back in my high school daze. But fortyplus years ago it was barely dreamed of.
Once my elderly father hot himself a PC and tried it. After several times having to clear his PC of viruses, and killing his internet history, I tried to tell him to keep off the porn sites! A couple weeks later, had to go clean his PC again. He finally tired of it and gave the PC to my BIL.
Years later after he'd passed away, I got a call on Mom's phone from a scammer wanting to "fix problems we see on your PC!" He got a good cussing from me. I'd swear he was the same dammed Indian who called my phone a couple times.
The internet highway has it's potholes and traffic jams, but is generally a good thing.

 

To me the biggest advantage and the best use of the internet is to create communities of individuals with mutual interests. Good or bad, without the internet I would not be having this discussion on the Monkey, would not have people from different backgrounds and in different locations putting their 2 cents worth in, good or bad, and in the particular area I live in, the chance of finding 5 people with similar interests that could get together once a week and talk is for all practical purposes, is nearly 0. I say that based on attempts over the years to meet in physical groups with machinists, Linux, computers, gardening, greenhouses, etc. May be a dozen people to the first meeting, but by the 4 th or 5 th, usually 2 or 3. The second factor is the archiving of data, I can now find information on tepee's, domes, hydroponics, old gas engines, 1950's jet fighters that I worked on, etc and have instant access to it. Before the internet I could do some research, 6 weeks later get some of the information thru inter library loan, but the vast majority of it was lost and no search engine could find it. That said, I find most people today use the internet to confirm their biases, attempt to somehow make the rest of the world into their image, and have no hard copies of anything so if the internet goes down, we are almost at the pre Gutenberg period in our society.

 

For some perspective on technology and when it arrived...

 

I think Motomom hit on some things here! I see the Interwebs as a double edged sword, while it has vastly improved accessability to information, some of that information is not correct, or even valid. We also have instant access to "News" from all over the world, live and real time, color corrected and boosted audio, while that's kind of cool, ultimately, it doesn't matter! We have to be careful with how much news we take in, how much is important to our lives, and how much is just filler? I like the music access, I can find music that was never available to me before the web, We had a few radio stations that were Ultra Conservative christian and they forbid any music they didn't like, so we the public got screwed on the greater world of music! With the web, I'm only limited by my lack of knowledge of the music choices available to me, not a lack or refusal to offer! I have instant information available to me any time I wish, but it's also up to me how much I consume, and how much i put on hold for later, or if I ever go back again!
As far as how it has impacted us, Social media is a bad thing, there is no personal interaction now, it has removed physical interaction with all the social foibles that go with it, and its has removed the personal responsibility for actions! Take away the social media and people have no idea how to act around each other! I always joke about Starbucks; I remember the very first store front, it was cool novelty but quickly wore off! I could go ( still do) to the local breakfast choke and puke and sit down to a heaping plate of bacon and eggs and home fries and toast and bottomless bad cofveve! I could yack with the haggard waitress with swollen ankles and even flirt with her a little! I could listen in on all the local gossip and even a little politics, and I could chime in my share weather asked or not, and all was good! Then the high end foo-foo cofveve shops came along with the spread of the web and every thing changed! While I know those places try to make it homey and welcoming, they are far to clickish and crowded any way, and with every on with their face planted in a cell phone or tablet, it's a wonder any one can matriculate from place to place!

 

The web made the extremes more extreme. People who value seeking knowledge are able to do more of it. But ignorant, lazy, etc. people can use it to make those qualities worse.

e.g. the fact the number of people that think the earth is flat is growing at the same time we have the world's knowledge at our fingertips is quite a sad paradox.

 

A lot of the focus in this thread seems to be more about the Internet itself being good or bad (not all, but seems like most) and not about the question "Are we better with the Internet?".

I think we are in a "better place" because of the Internet. Having the ready access to so much information, much of it useful and helpful, has absolutely made things better for me. Examples of me being better:

• I have diagnosed the root cause of a problems, ordered the replacement parts and fixed things around the house that I wouldn't have had the first clue how to do without the Internet (agitator dogs...look them up)
• The level of interaction with others, near and far, is absolutely a plus and only because of the Internet. BBSs were around, but no matter what they didn't have the same level of immediate interaction
• The ability for me (specifically) to market something I created was there solely because of the Internet and what someone else was able to provide via the Internet
• Information of all kinds is much more freely available, for good or ill. And while I don't condone software or information piracy, and don't believe information "wants to be free" (it is inanimate...it has no desires), I do believe that information should be much more readily available even than it is right now
• The ability to get information out has been a bit of a check on the .gov

It's not all a bed of roses though, of course. We are...well, not exactly worse off...but maybe actually we are. There has been a proliferation of scams and criminal activity (viruses, blackmail, data/identity theft, information being held hostage) which were made easier by the Internet but in no way due to the Internet (phone scams have been around for decades). People can do things with a little more anonymity, which isn't always "good". And the ease and speed that "false" information can be disseminated isn't a positive either.

But overall, I think the pros tip the balance in favor of "we are better (off)" with the Internet.

Now, (anti)social media is something else entirely.

 

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