I was on the phone with Mr S and we were lamenting the hideous range of programmes that we are expected to watch on a Saturday night. Actually, I rarely watch more than an hour a day and he might watch an hour a week, if that. I mentioned a programme called The Virtual Revolution and having just watched it, whilst thought provoking, I could have written the script. The content was basically how The Web is changing the way we think. This going to be a bit of a long one so get comfortable!
I helped my son to put some structure into his dissertation last week. Writing a dissertation used to involve lengthy stays at the local library, reading until you fell asleep on your desk and constant anxiety as you counted how many words you had written for the fifth time that day. Gaining a degree was quite an achievement and the D word hung over your head like a black cloud until you stopped going down the pub with your friends and applied yourself.
By helping my son, I realised that writing a dissertation today was as easy as putting the facts in the right order and adding a personal view point. I am sorry if this will upset those students among us but its true! The wealth of information available on The Web simplifies this process beyond all recognition. Will The Web make us lazier and more easily distracted? Will our children be able to actually read a book from cover to cover? Or is this just paranoia and a fear of the unknown?
Apparently South Korea is the most 'wired' country in the world, where Internet addiction is rife and addicted children are actually so far removed from reality that 20 per cent of those affected are hospitalised. However, South Korean children are also top of the league tables as far as education is concerned.
I wrote a blog last year entitled, 'Facebook, a Scary Premise'? I tried to explore the effect Social Networking sites were having on our relationships with others and our ability to socialise on a one to one basis. I must admit that at the time the whole concept of these sites set my teeth on edge. Now I have to hold my hands up and tell you that I am among the 350 million regular FB users and would cry if you took my account away from me. So whilst I lament the dumbing down of TV and I am a real bookworm, I have become much more accepting of what is fast becoming a normal way of communication with others. The age of Homo Interneticus is upon us (I can't take credit for that fab quote by the way)!
I seriously think we are a nation of voyeurs and the thrill of knowing what an old acquaintance is up to is almost impossible to resist. Think about sitting on the train at night and being able to see into strangers living rooms, discovering seventies wall paper or a big bloke wandering around in his shorts. We can't help it! We are a nation of Nosy Parker's. All FB does is breed this trait within us.
As for FB friends....are we actually stupid or sad enough to believe that everyone on our Wall is a friend? I suppose some do but I personally know or am acquainted with 90 per cent of my friends. I think the the word 'Friend' is a misnomer. It is time to think of some new words. Perhaps Apostle, Nosy Parker or Stalker would be more apt? You could grade your Nosy Parker's couldn't you. A plus would mean, always on FB, unable to switch off the computer and tells us when they go to the loo for a wee. D minus would mean, never picks up messages in their in box, has no picture and why can't I find out more about them !
Before I sign off I must mention how easy sites like FB make it to have an 'Affaire De Coeur'. An illicit, forbidden liaison. Of course moblie phones encouraged and bred insatiability among us all but FB and other sites make conducting this extracurricular activity pretty effortless. Does The Web devalue our relationships to the point where they become disposable?
We cannot stop the onward march of technology, it is better to embrace it and use it responsibly. Actions Do have Consequences, as long as we remember that we will hang on to our humanity and not become a collective.
Be kind to each other
Muse x
No comments:
Post a Comment