The internet - Good or Bad?

[stocksontheblock]

Every now and then we all talk to friends etc about the internet. Something we found - great holiday deal, a news article, or the ease of doing banking, getting the shopping, even posting your own thoughts on sites such as this, etc. Yet there is always the other side of the net which 'concerns' many of us: pr0n (in all its legal and illegal guises), bullying, lack of privacy, scams etc.

So, do you think we are better for it? Do you think the internet has 'made us' a better society for having it, or maybe it would be better to have never had it, or just possibly you think the internet is a good thing yet believe it should be seriously limited with the content you can find/access.

So ... what do you all think?

 

[prawn_86]

The rise of the Internet is something that could not have been predicted say 50yrs ago and has definitely dramatically shaped the landscape of the World.

Personally i think it is fantastic, who would have thought that you could have virtually every piece of information ever written/thought/produced at your fingertips. Granted there are some bad things out there, but the sahring of knowledge and information has tobe a good thing. I dont think it should be limited (dont think it can be to be honest) as that would then curtail the entrepenurial spirit etc, and make it just like any other media form.

If you look at the structure of it the net is very much like a ginat brain, with each PC being a neuron. At certain times some parts are not active, while others are etc etc

 

[Sean K]

Good thread.



Do we change with technology?

Does it make us more, or less human?

Or, do we change with the new technology?

Becoming something more advanced?

Or less human?

Or is the future, like everything, a little bit different, no matter what direction?

 

[stocksontheblock]

Good thread.



Do we change with technology?

Does it make us more, or less human?

Or, do we change with the new technology?

Becoming something more advanced?

Or less human?

Or is the future, like everything, a little bit different, no matter what direction?

Wow... now this is deep, might have to go away and think about this

 

[Timmy]

Never heard of it.

 

[Joe Blow]

Best invention ever!

 

[Sean K]

Best invention ever!

LOL

Yes, I wouldn't have lived my last 4 years without it.

And been very happy.

Not sure where I would be otherwise.

But whether that's good or bad, I don't know.

 

[Mr J]

One of the greatest inventions, certainly one of the most revolutionary. All of this information and accessibility at our fingertips, it's pretty amazing.

Yet there is always the other side of the net which 'concerns' many of us: pr0n (in all its legal and illegal guises), bullying, lack of privacy, scams etc.

Most of those negatives can be avoided.

So, do you think we are better for it?

Many of us are, but no doubt there are people who are not. I think it's a great learning tool for most of us, for both knowledge and personal growth (through exposing us to many other people). It certainly benefits me, although I'm not getting out as much as I used to.

Does it make us more, or less human?

Only if you're talking about humanity as a quality, rather than a species.

Or, do we change with the new technology?

We're always changing. Technology will just increase this rate of change. Genetic engineering should feature quite heavily this century, so we should improve physically and mentally, and these will likely alter our ideals and the way we think.

 

[gfresh]

I don't have any printed phone books, I don't need to wait until the news to get tomorrow's weather, or the latest business or other news, I check maps online before I go out, I pay all my bills online, I can find out how long it takes to get from a to b at any time, I watch TV shows online, I order a pizza online, all cars I've bought in the last decade have been found online, I buy and sell shares online (obviously), I organise my weekend's activities with my friends online, I research products I'm interested in buying online and to get the best deal, I read book and movie reviews online to decide what to see, and there is probably a lot more I do without even thinking about it.

In fact, I'd be stuffed without it

There are some bad, but there are also in society, so the bad parts are really just an extension of what is out there anyhow.

 

[Mr J]

In fact, I'd be stuffed without it

Without the internet, I wouldn't be trading, I wouldn't be able to trade, I wouldn't know how to trade, and I wouldn't have anything to do even if I could trade and knew how to trade.

 

[nunthewiser]

funny place the internet

i like being a 21 year old blonde catwalk model whose father owns a brewery

 

[Julia]

Every now and then we all talk to friends etc about the internet. Something we found - great holiday deal, a news article, or the ease of doing banking, getting the shopping, even posting your own thoughts on sites such as this, etc. Yet there is always the other side of the net which 'concerns' many of us: pr0n (in all its legal and illegal guises), bullying, lack of privacy, scams etc.

So, do you think we are better for it? Do you think the internet has 'made us' a better society for having it, or maybe it would be better to have never had it, or just possibly you think the internet is a good thing yet believe it should be seriously limited with the content you can find/access.

So ... what do you all think?

Just the greatest invention ever, well perhaps after refrigeration, for me.
Re the bad stuff, those people would find a way to do what they do anyway.

One aspect I didn't expect initially was that I would make real friendships with people I've never actually met.

 

[Fishbulb]

I hate many aspects of the 'net, I'd like it to just vanish.

But having said that, I work from home, and all my work assignments come via email.

Tim Berners-Lee can go suck an egg.

 

[stocksontheblock]

Banking, bills, travel, bookings – dinner, movies, flights, theatre etc, reviews – read and make, news papers, research, forums, communication, trading, shopping etc I have done it all and to be honest couldn’t think of any other way to do it. So, it’s a great thing.

I guess my main concern is I wonder how much more of society will become hermit like and remove itself from all contact completely? I have noticed a steady decline over the past couple of years of people ‘getting together’ like they use to. People who sit next to you E-mail, rather than get up and talk, more and more people seem to have ‘friends’ on the ‘net’ they have never met or spoken to, and more than likely will never have the chance, the use of the English language has all but disappeared into an uncomprehensive sequence of characters and faces (and yes I am waiting for one of you to demonstrate this point)

I’m all for it, with some possible controls, yet don’t think that will ever happen, yet I just hope we don’t forget to actually say hello to one another in ‘real life’.

 

[Mr J]

I'm with you there Stocks, especially when it comes to these online dating services and this world of warcraft fad. There's a whole world out there that people are missing, and I say that while being on the net myself...

 

[stocksontheblock]

I'm with you there Stocks, especially when it comes to these online dating services and this world of warcraft fad. There's a whole world out there that people are missing, and I say that while being on the net myself...

I know, its hard to ignore the irony of it all, albeit this is not Warcraft or some other god-forsaken mind numbing shot'em up game.

 

[Smurf1976]

Greatest thing ever invented for breaking down barriers of all kinds - social, geographical, economic, political...

 

[GumbyLearner]

It is a good invention and has allowed many around the world to access information that would otherwise not be available at their local public library. If they even had one. (Probably 80% of the planet.)

I am one of the pre-3GL interface generation. There was an internet when I started studying at uni in the early 90's but it was based on a MUD and you had to know how to use a Unix vi editor and constantly ping an I.P. address to see if you're connection had dropped out and re-connect. How times have changed? For the better that's for sure.

Greatest invention ever? I doubt it. I would be inclined to rank the internet as a mere subset of the telephone. Without Sir Alexander Graham Bell this website wouldn't even exist.

 

[disarray]

if nothing else the free flow of information has made the pace of technological and intellectual progress increase dramatically. concepts and ideas are now instantly shared amongst a global audience and nearly any question can be resolved through the correct search phrase.

IT tech support would be impossible without it

 

[Calliope]

With a little help from a pigeon.

Winston the pigeon ‘faster than broadband’ – There is an interesting article on the BBC website. A South African IT company has compared an 11-month-old bird armed with a 4GB memory stick against the ADSL service from the country’s biggest web firm, Telkom. Winston the pigeon took two hours to carry the data 60 miles - in the same time the ADSL had sent 4% of the data. Telkom was quick to say it was not responsible for the firm's slow internet speeds.