"ALL CAPS IN DEFENSE OF LIBERTY IS NO VICE."

Monday, April 05, 2010

HAS THE INTERNET DISINTEGRATED OUR SOCIETY?

We used to watch the same three TV channels.

Listen to the same top 50 songs.

Go to the same movies.

Watch the same GAME OF THE WEEK.

And so on...

Not anymore.

Between cable and the Internet the MASS MEDIA has been splintered and our nation has lost a powerful "integrator", one which gave us all a common experience and made us more like a global village.

The Internet changed that. Well, the Internet has changed everything.

Most for the better.

But it definitely has a downside. This is one.

Just saying...

This disintegratory aspect has enabled denial to a greater degree than ever before.

And there are more echo chambers.

Just saying...

WHATTAYATHINK?

Do you think it all balances out on account of the fct that the Internet also lets like-linded people coalesce more easily, and fosters grass-roots and market-making?

Let me know in the comments.

5 comments:

Always On Watch said...

Do you think it all balances out on account of the fct that the Internet also lets like-linded people coalesce more easily, and fosters grass-roots and market-making?

Overall, yes.

However, I do think that there's so much noise on the Internet that one has to constantly verify information.

In addition, some studies show that constant time spent in front of a computer monitoring, with all the multi-tasking so often used, does rewire the brain for the worse in that attention span is reduced.

Pastorius said...

I think the more information that is available the better ... for people who are able to assimilate a large amount of information and integrate it into a narrative via reason.

The problem is, many, if not most, people are not capable of this.

The internet and the information explosion puts an even higher premium on reason/wisdom, a quality which has been sorely lacking in mankind.

Pastorius said...

By the way, while there was something quaintly unifying about everyone listening to the same 50 songs, and everyone laughing at Milton Berle in a dress, I certainly do not think that is preferable to our current world.

Reliapundit said...

and the internets are quaintly disunifying

Pastorius said...

the internets ...

The more we have in our society, the more stratified distribution becomes. When there is a billion dollars, someone is going to have $100 mill, and someone is going to have $0.

Same thing with information. Some people are going to be able to assimilate a tremendous amount of info, and most are not. The difference between the two is going to be ever greater.

What am I supposed to do, feel sorry for those who can't keep up?

Maybe Obama could erect a law that would allot more wisdom to idiots, and less to reasonable people. Yes, he can.