Surfing the internet on a kindle

[spidergoat]

I think that in some ways internet connectivity is becoming a kind of social crutch for some people. On public transport, for example, I think that staring at your phone (or pretending to stare at it) can be a way of avoiding making eye contact with other people, a way of creating the illusion of a sort of private personal space when you're surrounded by strangers.

I kind of worry about whether the internet-native generation (those who were born after about 1995, when the web really started taking off) might be missing more of "real life" than is healthy, by spending so much time on devices. Instead of looking out at the world, they are kind of looking into a limited bubble. The risk is missing out on the unexpected - never really seeing the diversity of other human beings, and also to an extent becoming insulated from the everyday natural world.

On the other hand, no doubt some would say that I'm an old fogey complaining about "kids these days".

No one likes to look at the world most of the time. That's why we had newspapers.

 

[RainbowSingularity]

That's why we had newspapers.

that was when information was power
now material possessions are power

it is a change in culture

when newspapers were the primary source bullying and social conformity was paramount as social priorities.
people would be expected to act a certain way in public.

that has changed. some things for better, some things for worse.
if your only judging by what is the worst, then your always going to be drawing from the bottom of the deck