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[rofif]

Internet has broken and changed me... and most of you too I guess.
I am a jaded and I often hate everything.
Social media was a mistake... maybe even the whole internet.
I am only 34 but I miss late 90s... even early 2000s when internet was still cool and a very good tool. It's hard to say what is nostalgia and what was fun because I was a kid but it was all so exciting.
When did you started to realize this shit is too much to handle for society? I think for me up to like... 10-12 years ago maybe when.

At the same time, let's start with some positives:
I can talk here with you, with anyone
I can watch anything I want and play anything I want in an instant.
I can go to a trip anywhere and no need to stress over booking or directions
I have infinite access to knowledge and any data I need anywhere. It's insane when you think about it and we only just began.
The social aspect on forums and other social media has replaced a huge part of real conversation and it's easy to access.

as for the bad sides for me and society as a whole(some personal and some big things):
-Comparing yourself to others can only bring sadness
-overstimulation and destruction of attention spam - I juggle all my media. I say to myself "yeah, I have whole evening, I will replay ff7 remake before rebirth comes out" and that's been going for 2 months without me touching it.
-I play less games and talk about them more. It's overanalyzing
-More on games - bandwagons. People don't realize they don't have their own opinion or that their opinions is heavily influenced.
-No more monthly paper magazines with huge demo discs (20-30 pc demos) and few full versions
-Globalization... be it good or bad, is leading to more boring world.
-We don't own anything. It's all going full digital, music, movies, games, subs.
-I Genuinely had more friends. I was more social and going around the neighborhood, exchanging games with friends and so on. But then also - I was a kid. Kids have more friends, that's normal.

There are tons of other good and bad examples. Please post yours. Maybe you have some thoughts about this?
Or if you are a younger person who never knew a world without the internet and smartphones... how does it feel? Does it feel natural? Can you imagine we never had this in mid 90s and before?
I only had my first internet in 2003 and cellphone in 2007. I remember saying to my mom "nah, we don't need this internet thing. I have all my games and movies from friends". Same with smartphones "naaah what for"

Do you think we are able to comprehend the effects of internet? I see my nephews and thinking about having my own kids in all of this is genuinely scary. They are so overstimulated and there is too much stuff.
But also - we cannot deny that it will and is already propelling the world forward impossibly fast. for better or worse

cheers

 

[Meicyn]

no

 

[Happosai]

Internet most certainly was not a mistake. For work I've managed to network a global database of B2Bs which would have otherwise taken a lifetime if not for having the software &/or remote capabilities.

You may want to ask if recreational internet usage for people without proper self-discipline is/isn't a mistake.

That's debatable but depending on which metric you're looking at (e.g. -- social media); it's certainly not going to come out looking favorable.

Would that then be the mistake of the technology or the user?

I'll leave that open for feedback.

 

[nush]

No, just pay attention to the good bits.

 

[T-0800]

Yes and no. I'm 52 and use the internet everyday but I would happily return to life without it.

AI on the other hand. Kill it with fire. Expect for medical research. Cure for baldness please.

 

[rofif]

Internet most certainly was not a mistake. For work I've managed to network a global database of B2Bs which would have otherwise taken a lifetime if not for having the software &/or remote capabilities.

You may want to ask if recreational internet usage for people without proper self-discipline is/isn't a mistake.

That's debatable but depending on which metric you're looking at (e.g. -- social media); it's certainly not going to come out looking favorable.

Would that then be the mistake of the technology or the user?

I'll leave that open for feedback.

No, just pay attention to the good bits.

yeah sure but can you do that? I don't think it's possible to only pay attention to good bits.
I do that but I only think I do that. It's unavoidable even without us realizing it.
Internet is not just a thing that you use like a screwdriver when you need it and then put aside. It's deep in everything we do and own. It must be changing us right? Even the most resilient like you guys.

I mean, I am not that damaged lol. I have a control over what I am doing but I know I am not the same as and you can see some effects it has on the society.

For work and stuff- of course. It created a ton of useless jobs but that's great. You can work from home and be super comfortable... and socialize even less, go out to people even less.
There is no metric I am looking for. any thoughts are good! Yours are proper just as any other

 

[thefool]

No, but our education system hasn't adapted to it. Funnily we were worried almost exclusively about the easiness of access of knowledge, when its biggest issue has been abstracting us from socializing.
Schools should not only be places to teach our kids knowledge but also our way around each other. There's a huge distraction on the playground, outside of school and we need to tackle it. Not by prohibiting or limiting but we seriously need to put these kids interacting with each other, especially boys and girls. Or else we are creating a bunch of silos.

 

[Chuck Berry]

Thanks to the internet, I took this chick out last weekend that didnt know what the card catalogue was in a library.

Im lucky she even knew what a library was at that point.

Fortunately I didnt eat her ass.

 

[Zelduh]

Nah the internet is awesome, it's stupid people joining the internet instead of remaining where they belong that ruined everything

 

[Happosai]

yeah sure but can you do that? I don't think it's possible to only pay attention to good bits.
I do that but I only think I do that. It's unavoidable even without us realizing it.
Internet is not just a thing that you use like a screwdriver when you need it and then put aside. It's deep in everything we do and own. It must be changing us right? Even the most resilient like you guys.

I mean, I am not that damaged lol. I have a control over what I am doing but I know I am not the same as and you can see some effects it has on the society.

For work and stuff- of course. It created a ton of useless jobs but that's great. You can work from home and be super comfortable... and socialize even less, go out to people even less.
There is no metric I am looking for. any thoughts are good! Yours are proper just as any other

IBM started testing it as a remote model long before nearly anyone else (and they've had great success with that). Yes. There are a myriad of useless remote jobs out there (travel agent, cold calling SDR, appointment setters...etc) which were annoying enough before they were remote. However, I know a number of electric engineering, marketing directors (where I sit), devs and even finance / accounting related work which benefits heavily from going remote.

Back to the recreational side of things -- people need to find offline hobbies. Ride a bike, read a book (not an e-book), write a book or do something with traditional artist tools or set aside time for general chores. Install those 'self health' apps on your phone to monitor or reduce usage.

One example: I have a garden with a ton of trees. It rained heavily Saturday and Sunday. There was plenty to be cleaned up and I spent a good 2-hours out there. Didn't need internet to do this. Also picked up groceries as it's Monday and this too didn't require internet on my part to do. I still make paper lists for basic daily tasks. Personal fitness and prayer time; I'm disconnected from electronics during that time. Unless I choose to use electric on the bikes as they are e-bikes.

You'll find which ways to disconnect yourself but it'd have to be something you're interested in. I can give advise but it may not be something you'd find investing the time or money into.

 

[winjer]

No, the internet is one of the greatest inventions. It started as a scientific and military enterprise. And soon expanded for the tech adepts. During this time, it was amazing.
But it was ruined when everyone got in to it, including extremists, low iq idiots, eco chambers, social media, etc.
Now all the problems of humankind are in there, but amplified.

 

[Fbh]

Overall I don't know.
As with most stuff I think there's good and bad elements to it and it mostly comes down to how you decide to use it.
For me personally it has way more pros than cons but I also don't really engage in social media much aside from GAF (on a personal level, I do use social media for my business).

That said I can definitely see how the argument can be made that it was overall a negative for society at large (social media in particular).
But for every time I see someone being negatively affected by it I also often see how awesome it can be in things like my mom being able videochat with us and her grandkids on the other side of the world basically for free

 

[nush]

yeah sure but can you do that?

I don't have social media.

 

[cormack12]

No, the internet is one of the greatest inventions. It started as a scientific and military enterprise. And soon expanded for the tech adepts. During this time, it was amazing.
But it was ruined when everyone got in to it, including extremists, low iq idiots, eco chambers, social media, etc.
Now all the problems of humankind are in there, but amplified.

This.

The internet was like a small town, before the village idiots arrived and the puritans policed it.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

lol no ofc not.

 

[newtypepilot]

without internet, you wouldn't be able to share dumb takes like this.

 

[rofif]

I don't have social media.

Can someone tell him?

 

[rofif]

without internet, you wouldn't be able to share dumb takes like this.

But also, you wouldn’t be an asshole at least not to me !

 

[ForAcademicPurposes]

People were a mistake.

 

[AJUMP23]

It is a tool. It can be a great tool or a bad tool. It can used to heal or destroy. Many choose destroy.

 

[Heimdall_Xtreme]

Internet no.... But social media yes, except youtube.

 

[Happosai]

No, the internet is one of the greatest inventions. It started as a scientific and military enterprise. And soon expanded for the tech adepts. During this time, it was amazing.
But it was ruined when everyone got in to it, including extremists, low iq idiots, eco chambers, social media, etc.
Now all the problems of humankind are in there, but amplified.

Thus, some were not meant to have ever discovered the internet. Those of whom you do speak are such. The internet when I first entered in the late-90s was powered by geeks and basically searching for information. Long before I'd even come across forums or even AoL chat (which never sparked much interest). The moment content creators, social media simps and/or made-by-night celebs started appearing; I backed off where/what I use the internet for. Upon someone recently showing me what 'Tiktok' is...oh yeah, the problems are amplified and so is the societal impact. That's why my challenge is to find hobbies which don't require internet. And I can give that recommendation as a certified dinosaur.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

I don't have social media.

Alas, you just posted that you don't have social media to social media.

 

[bender]

Most tools can be used for good and bad. Humans are just fucking stupid.

 

[Happosai]

Alas, you just posted that you don't have social media to social media.

I think he meant in context to what forums were designed for which is absolutely not social media. Social media pushes the topics to be centered around a person or people. Forums tend to center discussion anonymously around a topic. Nothing more. Nothing much less.

Unless you do really believe I am Happosai aged 300+ years and from the mind of Rumiko Takahashi circa 1987.

 

[Dr.D00p]

Internet? No. Incredibly powerful academic tool.

World Wide Web? Yes. Opening up the Internet to the masses was asking for trouble.

 

[Whitecrow]

Well, it's said already.
Academic tool -> Awesome
Everything else -> Cancer

 

[Power Pro]

There has definitely been a change between the internet of the late 90s/early 2000s, and now. All these social media platforms have made people anti-social. I was thinking about this recently, but things weren't that bad in early internet attempts of social media. Things like myspace, they were like forms of expression, and showcased individuality. Now, social media is more focused on making every person homogenized, and fit within little bubbles of personality types, rather than be seen as individuals. Hate to say it, but even Neogaf did the same thing when it stopped letting users use animated gifs. When I was a lurker many years ago, and couldn't make an account because I didn't have an ISP one to use, I found the animated avatars so funny to look at. It's like we don't want people to express themselves anymore.

Even though the tools are more available than ever before to get to know people from around the world, I feel more cut off than ever before. No one wants to know anyone anymore. I look back to when I played Final Fantasy XI, or even Phantasy Star Online on Dreamcast, and I was constantly meeting and interacting with new people. Now...unless you have friends you're already playing with, you ain't playing with anyone except what is built up over matchmaking, and in those cases most people don't wanna talk to anyone outside their personal parties.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Great.

Only bad for people who cant handle the net, and anyone getting nailed by hackers.

 

[nush]

Alas, you just posted that you don't have social media to social media.

It's ballpark but not the same and existed before social media. It's like saying MSM was like twitter.

 

[gaming_again]

It's one of the greatest inventions ever. We humans clearly have a lot of psychological adaptation to get through though. So many people can't handle its power.

 

[gaming_again]

Alas, you just posted that you don't have social media to social media.

Nah. Social media ties your identity to your activity and only feeds you what you have subconsciously chosen to hear. It also encourages endless scrolling.

Discussion forums are entirely different.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Internet? No way, never before knowledge was so widely available and distributed.

Social media? 100%, whole generations were hi-jacked by behaviorists working for 25-year olds in t-shirts and jeans that never worked a real job before.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Internet? No way, never before knowledge was so widely available and distributed.

Social media? 100%, whole generations were hi-jacked by behaviorists working for 25-year olds in t-shirts and jeans that never worked a real job before.

Not just knowledge, but practicality.

Who the hell wants apply to jobs mailing letters or calling HR, income tax submissions by physical forms, or needing to drive downtown, pay for parking and meet their real estate lawyer to sign a million forms to buy or sell property. As for buying stuff, now you buy what you need online (especially important for hard to find or heavy things). I'll take my chances buying sports tickets online battling it out with other online fans vs lining up at a ticket kiosk waiting for it to open at 10 am and hoping good seats arent all sold by the time I make it to the counter.

All that kind of shit is online submissions or Docusign.

 

[gaming_again]

Not just knowledge, but practicality.

Who the hell wants apply to jobs mailing letters or calling HR, income tax submissions by physical forms, or needing to drive downtown, pay for parking and meet their real estate lawyer to sign a million forms to buy or sell property. As for buying stuff, now you buy what you need online (especially important for hard to find or heavy things). I'll take my chances buying sports tickets online battling it out with other online fans vs lining up at a ticket kiosk waiting for it to open at 10 am and hoping good seats arent all sold by the time I make it to the counter.

All that kind of shit is online submissions or Docusign.

I dunno. I like to get out and zip around doing stuff.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Internet should have just stayed at home. Smartphones + Social Media caused the much bigger shit in society.

I’d argue just taking away the smartphones would correct a lot of the problems with months as people would be forced to interact more with each other.

 

[Laptop1991]

Looks like i chose the most popular answer, the net isn't bad, it's been great for files, music, films, games, modding etc, but social media is terrible now, facebook was good in the beginning having a laugh with your friends and family, now i don't use it anymore. ads and being tracked and everyone on social media just wants to fight and be offended about everything, i've never had a Twitter/X account and never will.

 

[Whitecrow]

Great.

Only bad for people who cant handle the net, and anyone getting nailed by hackers.

Ruining so many people brains is not only bad for those who 'cannot handle the net'.

 

[winjer]

Alas, you just posted that you don't have social media to social media.

Forums aka, message boards are not social media. Yes, there is a social component in a forum today, just as it was thousands of years ago, when ancient Romans and Greeks used it.
But there are no algorithms to "enhance" user engagement. Algorithms to promote controversial content, to manipulate people.

 

[John Bilbo]

Internet is great. It is a tool. This phone I'm typing this message is also a tool.

I've longed to use an old school style phone though as I am the biggest tool with an easily addictive mind.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Forums aka, message boards are not social media. Yes, there is a social component in a forum today, just as it was thousands of years ago, when ancient Romans and Greeks used it.
But there are no algorithms to "enhance" user engagement. Algorithms to promote controversial content, to manipulate people.

Forums aka message boards are social media. Possibly not what people imagine, but essentially the characteristics are the same.

Social media means a place where people come together and share ideas and communicate.

Social media doesn't mean algorithms.

 

[winjer]

Forums aka message boards are social media. Possibly not what people imagine, but essentially the characteristics are the same.

Social media means a place where people come together and share ideas and communicate.

Social media doesn't mean algorithms.

For your personal definition of social media, then social media exists since the very beginning of the internet.
But what we all mean by social media, are platforms that manipulate users to enhance engagement. Facebook, being the prime example.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

For your personal definition of social media, then social media exists since the very beginning of the internet.
But what we all mean by social media, are platforms that manipulate users to enhance engagement. Facebook, being the prime example.

Well, it's not my personal definition, it's the one from the dictionary.

Just an opportunity for a tiny moment of fun crushed once again.

 

[winjer]

Well, it's not my personal definition, it's the one from the dictionary.

Just an opportunity for a tiny moment of fun crushed once again.

Yes, I know the dictionary definition.
But there are huge differences between platforms like Facebook and Twitter, to message boards and forums.

For once, all content on forums are vetted by human moderators. Thins is very important to reduce toxicity.
And all content is posted and promoted by users, not by algorithms.
The result is that most forums, have a much more healthier community than things like Facebook.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

Yes, I know the dictionary definition.
But there are huge differences between platforms like Facebook and Twitter, to message boards and forums.

For once, all content on forums are vetted by human moderators. Thins is very important to reduce toxicity.
And all content is posted and promoted by users, not by algorithms.
The result is that most forums, have a much more healthier community than things like Facebook.

It was a little joke. Sorry it's triggered you.

 

[winjer]

It was a little joke. Sorry it's triggered you.

I'm starting to understand why the mods set your user tag.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

I'm starting to understand why the mods set your user tag.

I made a joke, explained it and apologised when you were still angry about it. I'm not sure how much more can be expected. TBH, if you weren't upset about it, I don't honestly know why you kept on replying. You knew it was a joke, you knew it made sense and yet still felt you had to keep going.

 

[winjer]

I made a joke, explained it and apologised when you were still angry about it. I'm not sure how much more can be expected.

There was never a point where I showed antipathy towards you. I was always making point of the differences between social media like Facebook and forums.
You are the one that suddenly decided to make things personal.

 

[Mr Reasonable]

There was never a point where I showed antipathy towards you. I was always making point of the differences between social media like Facebook and forums.
You are the one that suddenly decided to make things personal.

Then I have misunderstood, it felt like you knew I knew the difference, and that I was making a joke, but were choosing to argue with me for reasons I couldn't understand.

I am glad to have cleared it up.

 

[Wildebeest]

The old "ignorance is bliss" debate. In the 17th century, there was a new innovation in London called the "coffeehouses". People would go there and drink way too much coffee, staying up for days. They became addicted to news and established things like magazines and the stock exchange. It is said that perhaps coffee should have been banned, and the world would have been better if these people just stuck to using alcohol or opium or something.