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Post by essien on Mar 12, 2019 12:07:37 GMT -5
The internet turns 30 today.
How do we all feel about the World Wide Web in 2019?
Do you still yearn for the simpler times before everyone was online?
Is the internet connecting us, but at the same time pushing us further apart? Is it destroying society and causing psychological harm to children? Is it an addictive menace that controls us more than we control it?
What was your first memory of the internet?
What are your favourite times spent online?
What are the next big developments for the internet?
Do you fear a Skynet scenario?
Let’s have some discussion, people.
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Post by v9733xa on Mar 12, 2019 17:36:45 GMT -5
Hot take: my life (and maybe most) would be better without the Internet.
Not that i don't love it! Music and games and people and movies and information and communication and everything magical it brings. But i would probably be a completely different person if i didn't have this mostly anonymous world to dive into. I came of age just when it was in most people's houses, and when you would sit online each night in AOL chats and IM going "14/m/de" over and over again. It ruined me.
Also, porn. Like, porn's good, and stuff... but man, i'd rather never have been exposed at all and now numb to most of it.
I do remember early Internet stuff back around 1992, we got a computer then, but I was 9 so at that time there was nothing for a 9-year-old to do on a computer other than learn how to take the Windows sounds and slow or speed them up to make them sound funny. Our first ISP was called Prodigy (i remember my screenname still, back when you weren't allowed to choose them -- "KRFD82D") and basically i played Hangman on it. Three years later i discovered porn and well, that was that.
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Post by stuartoxlade on Mar 13, 2019 8:30:36 GMT -5
Early memories of the internet are mostly around that awful dial up connection sound, and the laughs/cries that'd come from my parents trying to make a phone call whilst I was connected with that godawful piercing tone it used to give off on the handset.
Used to love chatrooms in the early days - a/s/l?
MSN Messenger was the bomb as well
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Post by essien on Mar 13, 2019 12:26:01 GMT -5
Hot take: my life (and maybe most) would be better without the Internet. Not that i don't love it! Music and games and people and movies and information and communication and everything magical it brings. But i would probably be a completely different person if i didn't have this mostly anonymous world to dive into. I came of age just when it was in most people's houses, and when you would sit online each night in AOL chats and IM going "14/m/de" over and over again. It ruined me. Also, porn. Like, porn's good, and stuff... but man, i'd rather never have been exposed at all and now numb to most of it. I do remember early Internet stuff back around 1992, we got a computer then, but I was 9 so at that time there was nothing for a 9-year-old to do on a computer other than learn how to take the Windows sounds and slow or speed them up to make them sound funny. Our first ISP was called Prodigy (i remember my screenname still, back when you weren't allowed to choose them -- "KRFD82D") and basically i played Hangman on it. Three years later i discovered porn and well, that was that. That's an interesting take. In what way do you think you'd be different without it? I think my experiences have been largely positive, and speaking as an introvert, it's helped me build and maintain the relationships I want while still having the space I need. I don't think I'd have as many meaningful friendships without it. And it's such a great resource when you have a wide range of interests you want to pursue. The main problem I have with it is being overwhelmed by just how much information and entertainment is out there that I want to consume. Sometimes I would like to be able to completely switch off and do a digital detox for a few days, but there's a kind of addiction there. |
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Post by essien on Mar 13, 2019 12:27:49 GMT -5
Early memories of the internet are mostly around that awful dial up connection sound, and the laughs/cries that'd come from my parents trying to make a phone call whilst I was connected with that godawful piercing tone it used to give off on the handset. Used to love chatrooms in the early days - a/s/l? MSN Messenger was the bomb as well Only 90s kids will remember this. |
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Post by Liggy on Mar 13, 2019 16:11:53 GMT -5
Hey thanks.
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Post by Liggy on Mar 13, 2019 16:17:26 GMT -5
In all seriousness, it's pretty wild to live throughout the peak years of the internet. I remember when I was younger, having to connect to netscape, AOL, etc. As Stu stated, whenever a phone call came through then you were screwed lol. Then suddenly, the internet is even bigger. No more dial up, broadband introduced, and all that shit. Now we have speeds that we could only have dreamt of having back in those days. Back in the early days you could find anything, not saying you can't now but it's a little more strict. Napster, limewire, all those torrent/p2p programs. Downloading a song, only to find out it's fucking fake and it's blasting audio you don't want to hear. I still miss the days of AIM, talking to random people in chats or friends to hang out. Yahoo chatrooms were fucking weird, but somehow arousing  Ahh, I love that internet. It's a great way to meet and talk to people that you'll never meet, or maybe you will. |
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Post by v9733xa on Mar 13, 2019 17:19:07 GMT -5
Hot take: my life (and maybe most) would be better without the Internet. Not that i don't love it! Music and games and people and movies and information and communication and everything magical it brings. But i would probably be a completely different person if i didn't have this mostly anonymous world to dive into. I came of age just when it was in most people's houses, and when you would sit online each night in AOL chats and IM going "14/m/de" over and over again. It ruined me. Also, porn. Like, porn's good, and stuff... but man, i'd rather never have been exposed at all and now numb to most of it. I do remember early Internet stuff back around 1992, we got a computer then, but I was 9 so at that time there was nothing for a 9-year-old to do on a computer other than learn how to take the Windows sounds and slow or speed them up to make them sound funny. Our first ISP was called Prodigy (i remember my screenname still, back when you weren't allowed to choose them -- "KRFD82D") and basically i played Hangman on it. Three years later i discovered porn and well, that was that. That's an interesting take. In what way do you think you'd be different without it? I think my experiences have been largely positive, and speaking as an introvert, it's helped me build and maintain the relationships I want while still having the space I need. I don't think I'd have as many meaningful friendships without it. And it's such a great resource when you have a wide range of interests you want to pursue. The main problem I have with it is being overwhelmed by just how much information and entertainment is out there that I want to consume. Sometimes I would like to be able to completely switch off and do a digital detox for a few days, but there's a kind of addiction there. I'm an isolated, introverted, awkward person. The Internet gave me a reason to stay inside, have no friends (literally, i have no friends in real life), get lazy, and develop unhealthy relationships online. My first "girlfriend" was online and it gave me the excuse to continue having fake relationships like that. It made it easier for me to do bad and shady things without feeling as guilty about them. (See, oh i dunno, my legal indiscretions).
Perhaps i was wired to be this way anyway. But undoubtedly the Internet exacerbated it all and just sped up my path to failure. And i lack the willpower now, at almost 36, to change.
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Post by essien on Mar 13, 2019 18:45:49 GMT -5
That's an interesting take. In what way do you think you'd be different without it? I think my experiences have been largely positive, and speaking as an introvert, it's helped me build and maintain the relationships I want while still having the space I need. I don't think I'd have as many meaningful friendships without it. And it's such a great resource when you have a wide range of interests you want to pursue. The main problem I have with it is being overwhelmed by just how much information and entertainment is out there that I want to consume. Sometimes I would like to be able to completely switch off and do a digital detox for a few days, but there's a kind of addiction there. I'm an isolated, introverted, awkward person. The Internet gave me a reason to stay inside, have no friends (literally, i have no friends in real life), get lazy, and develop unhealthy relationships online. My first "girlfriend" was online and it gave me the excuse to continue having fake relationships like that. It made it easier for me to do bad and shady things without feeling as guilty about them. (See, oh i dunno, my legal indiscretions).
Perhaps i was wired to be this way anyway. But undoubtedly the Internet exacerbated it all and just sped up my path to failure. And i lack the willpower now, at almost 36, to change.
So it's the nature vs nurture question. I expect it's probably a mixture of both. I think some people are more predisposed towards certain behaviours than others. There's definitely studies that show some people have genetic predisposition towards addiction. But I think some of it also comes down to cognitive processes and perception. So these could be shaped during your formative years, as you suggest, by being online. I think the cognitive side of things can be worked on and rewired with the right application. I wish I could help you with the willpower side of things. |
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Post by essien on Mar 13, 2019 18:48:14 GMT -5
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Post by tao on Mar 13, 2019 20:09:15 GMT -5
Holy fucking shit does this bring me back. I remember my parents using AOL all the time, the now iconic startup and connection sounds, the whole shebang. Fuuuuuuuck. Unlike you dinosaurs, I came of age in the early 2000’s, so I personally missed all the early Wild West days of the internet, but some of my earliest memories surfing the web is nothing but Godzilla sites, trying to find and learn as much information my little brain could handle; sites long gone now, like Monster Zero forums, ANdy’s Palace Of Godzilla... damn. I remember my siblings and I watching trailers on Apple’s website, of waiting ten minutes for it to load a two and a half minute trailer and thinking it was cool because we were watching it in gloriously crisp 360p hahaha. Nowadays I use it for finding out about and acquiring music, wasting my time going down rabbit holes I’m YouTube, etc.; I’m not as connected to it as other people in the sense that I still like getting my information via traditional methods of TV and the newspaper, but it helps to have an additional means of gathering information if you’re interested/invested in a certain news item or cultural and societal event. I generally skew towards the positive mode of thinking that the internet is inherently good and is an incredible tool at our disposal, it’s just that we as humanity tend to fuck it up and make it more vile and disgusting than it should be. |
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Post by stringypoo on Mar 13, 2019 22:22:55 GMT -5
I have to say, I might be siding with v9733xa about the internet. Here is a little summary why I feel that that the life would potentially be better if the internet wasn’t a thing right now: -Musical discoveries wouldn’t come by so easily, and each new one is actually appreciated more, such as it was for me when I didn’t hear everything on youtube to the extent of my heart’s desire before eventually just downloading it and not really caring that much about it. In the end, I have an overwhelming excess of music that I don’t need that doesn’t all make me happier. Discovering music the more natural way to me means through true and honest searching through CD booklets for similar artists in the “Bands we thank” section and other things like that. Internet also just made it possible for more bands to sound alike as well, which is annoying... -According to my weekly screen time calculator on my newly updated iPhone, I spend an average of about 2 hours and 45 minutes staring at my phone screen per week. Although that’s really not a lot compared to quite a lot of people, that’s also almost 3 hours a week that I could be doing many other things, all of which would likely be way more healthy and all. -The messaging phenomenon is certainly convenient, but I, just like most others, rely on it a lot, and in the end I don’t build true personal connections with people like I used to before it became the thing. I think especially here in China the society is so robotic now as everyone messages and calls each other on the famous Wechat app all day, and they are not very good with face-to-face interactions. Studies have also proven that the younger generations today are not as quick to respond to each other in human interactions as older generations as they tend to message more than have person-to-person interactions, which buys them more time to respond to each other than face to face. I personally see the delayed reaction time with many of my students who are growing up on technology. -In general, I spend more time glued to internet than I want through need. Internet causes me to have no life after work, as I have to answer to endless messages, emails, and video calls most nights from parents of students I teach, my wife in Shanghai when I’m in Kunshan, and many other situations. So yeah, my life just doesn’t feel better with the internet. I find it to be a desensitizing, over-saturating, over-enabling component in my life on which I have become forcibly dependent. I know for sure I’d live a much healthier life if I didn’t have internet. And I believe that would be a true statement for most people. And I’m not saying that the internet is bad. It also has many amazing qualities. It simplifies almost everything. But I personally would love to enter a time machine and lose it. Too bad I have to have it in this day and age... |
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Post by v9733xa on Mar 14, 2019 17:40:38 GMT -5
I really made this thread a downer. Sorry. I'm going to post more silly images and screenshots because essien inspired me.
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Post by tao on Mar 14, 2019 23:23:10 GMT -5
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Post by essien on Mar 16, 2019 11:37:21 GMT -5
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