Would the world be better without the Internet?

[Versatile]

Let's say everything else stays the same, but this mass communication network, along with its application in all phases of technology, goes poof.

Better or worse?

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

If the world didn't have the Internet, we couldn't have this discussion.

 

[21]

There's nothing "better" about less information and communication.

But you wouldn't have asked if you didn't think there was argument for "better." Explain?

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

That was some trick, posting this just before SportsJournalists.com vanished for five minutes.

 

[Versatile]

There's nothing "better" about less information and communication.

But you wouldn't have asked if you didn't think there was argument for "better." Explain?

I don't have a real argument for "better," but I think some of our fellow members will have interesting ones. I see a lot of griping about all sorts of things that exist foremost because of the Internet, which of course comes on an Internet message board.

The only point I would make toward "better" is the completely selfish one that my career would be less at risk. But even then, my current job has a large Web focus, and my career path has gone pretty damn well despite that darn Internet.

 

[StaggerLee]

Let's say everything else stays the same, but this mass communication network, along with its application in all phases of technology, goes poof.

Better or worse?

I often wonder that myself.

I sometimes think we're in an information overload era, and that there's a lot of misinformation out there that wouldn't be there without Facebook/Twitter/etc.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Let's say everything else stays the same, but this mass communication network, along with its application in all phases of technology, goes poof.

Better or worse?

I often wonder that myself.

I sometimes think we're in an information overload era, and that there's a lot of misinformation out there that wouldn't be there without Facebook/Twitter/etc.

It's like saying the world would be better off if the printing press were never invented.

 

[StaggerLee]

Let's say everything else stays the same, but this mass communication network, along with its application in all phases of technology, goes poof.

Better or worse?

I often wonder that myself.

I sometimes think we're in an information overload era, and that there's a lot of misinformation out there that wouldn't be there without Facebook/Twitter/etc.

It's like saying the world would be better off if the printing press were never invented.

How is it the same? Facebook/Twitter is instant and doesn't require any credibility. Anyone can post anything they want without any real fear.

I'm not saying false information was never printed, but it took longer to get out to people than some bogus report on Facebook.

I think technology is great, so don't confuse me for someone who thinks it was "better back in my days." I'm only saying that technology + stupid, gullible people = turrible.

 

[TheSportsPredictor]

Let's say everything else stays the same, but this mass communication network, along with its application in all phases of technology, goes poof.

Better or worse?

I often wonder that myself.

I sometimes think we're in an information overload era, and that there's a lot of misinformation out there that wouldn't be there without Facebook/Twitter/etc.

It's like saying the world would be better off if the printing press were never invented.

How is it the same? Facebook/Twitter is instant and doesn't require any credibility. Anyone can post anything they want without any real fear.

I'm not saying false information was never printed, but it took longer to get out to people than some bogus report on Facebook.

I think technology is great, so don't confuse me for someone who thinks it was "better back in my days." I'm only saying that technology + stupid, gullible people = turrible.

The printing press revolutionized knowledge. It took information out of the hands of the few and put it into the hands of the many. It made it cheaper and more accessible. The Internet has done the same. And of course the printing press allowed mistakes or lies to be mass produced as well.

 

[buckweaver]

Let's say everything else stays the same, but this mass communication network, along with its application in all phases of technology, goes poof.

Better or worse?

Far worse. The "good ol' days" never existed.

 

[LongTimeListener]

It's better overall. In third-world countries especially, people are living who wouldn't be. I just went to an event honoring the founder of Infosys, the Indian company that invented outsourcing. There are literally tens of millions (hundreds of millions?) of people alive today who would not be alive if not for that boost to the economy and all the health and quality-of-life gains that came along with it.

However, the world -- especially the first world -- is a much less happier place because of the Internet, and it always will be.

 

[dooley_womack1]

I for one do not want to ponder for one second a world without Ceiling Cat

 

[Batman]

I for one do not want to ponder for one second a world without Ceiling Cat

Or free, easily accessible porn.

 

[dooley_womack1]

I didn't think that needed to be said.

 

[dooley_womack1]

Oh, and why is this being asked? Is 21 being given the keys to the whole thing?

 

[jlee]

Let's say everything else stays the same, but this mass communication network, along with its application in all phases of technology, goes poof.

Better or worse?

I often wonder that myself.

I sometimes think we're in an information overload era, and that there's a lot of misinformation out there that wouldn't be there without Facebook/Twitter/etc.

It's like saying the world would be better off if the printing press were never invented.

How is it the same? Facebook/Twitter is instant and doesn't require any credibility. Anyone can post anything they want without any real fear.

I'm not saying false information was never printed, but it took longer to get out to people than some bogus report on Facebook.

I think technology is great, so don't confuse me for someone who thinks it was "better back in my days." I'm only saying that technology + stupid, gullible people = turrible.

I get what you're saying, but I don't think there's a substantial difference in the portion of people who are misinformed, devious or ignorant. "Mein Kampf" wasn't a blog post or RTed.

The volume of misinformation has increased, but accurate info and the debunking of otherwise-believable misinformation seems to have risen proportionally.

 

[J-School Blue]

My only real concern about any "harm" the Internet might be doing to society is the erosion of privacy and, maybe even more, the erosion of the idea that privacy is important and that it's actually not OK to track every human being on the planet at all times.

The rest of it, it's easier to get over-saturated with bull**** than it was before, but it's also made quality stuff more widely available. There's also a whole element of social change going on in societies far more censored than anything most Americans have ever dealt with, and it's being largely driven by the Internet. As much as I personally find Twitter irritating as hell and have never managed to mine any personal value out of the damn thing, I recognize that, in cases like bits of the Arab Spring, it's allowed important communication of ideas that would've been squashed in other mediums far more easily.

 

[Frank_Ridgeway]

My days off seemed longer before. But then they might be shorter now not because I am spending time online but because I am older, fatter and married and two days aren't enough rest.

 

[Gold]

Absolutely not. My family is spread across the country, and my daughters are able to stay in touch with their cousins in a way that would be more limited without the internet.

 

[Lugnuts]

Love ya to bits, Verse, but this is one of the most moot discussions we've ever had. I mean, this isn't just the toothpaste out of the tube, it's the hand lotion out of the pump, and the shaving cream out of the... um... shaving cream thingy, and the soap off the bar all rolled into one.

It's here, it's done. Use it to your advantage.

Hey - at least you got us out of it.