Is the internet slowly eroding our diurnal nature?

JC 2K3

And if so, is this a case of technology prompting evolution in humans? And should we be scared?

brianthebard

I don't really believe we are meant to be diurnal at all,i think its just a system imposed on us by the needs of society.

MizzLolly

Of course we shouldn't be scared. Being scared is for babies.

Are you a baby JC 2K3, are you?

tribulus

Haven't a group in Denmark pioneered a "bodyclock" approach to working? I'll try and find the link.

It was basically a step beyond flexi-time with workers coming in between a certain time period but it was later in the day and went according to the individuals bodyclock. Can't see it catching on.

Edit: I think this was the one I read http://www.skewlbuoy.com/forums/showthread.php?t=289

JC 2K3

MizzLolly wrote: »

Of course we shouldn't be scared. Being scared is for babies.

Are you a baby JC 2K3, are you?

Yes, but my psychiatrist insists otherwise. Quite a likeable chap, but he does have rather peculiar delusions.

brianthebard

Yea heard something like that trib,although its most suited to us creative types who are i believe more likely to be night owls?Might check that up tomorrow.

JC 2K3

Creativity is generally associated with deviation and eccentricity, which staying up late at night would fall into the category of being, right?

brianthebard

JC 2K3 wrote: »

Creativity is generally associated with deviation and eccentricity, which staying up late at night would fall into the category of being, right?

thats very true.Although from a cynics point of view,the image of an artist as outsider/tortured genius has been carefully cultivated since the romantic period.Although da vinci is said to have only slept a few hours a night,or followed a polyphasic sleep pattern of sorts.Its a bit of a chicken or egg issue.

MCMLXXXIII

I say: yes and no.

Yes: people would rather work from home if they could, order their clothes online, and some of my friends even order their groceries online or use sites like drugstore.com. We aren't moving about or talking to new people.

No: people are not as physically tired as they would be if they run around all day, so they go out at night. After UPS drops off my friends' new shirt from online, they can't wait to put it on and go out with friends.

People may become less constructive with their free time, but I think people hang out with friends less without the internet. With my friends' party invitations, photo albums, email notes, (everyrthing), we go through sites like Facebook, but you end up seeing your friends more because people tend to send mailings out to ten people at a time, so no one is really forgotten and more people are invited.

It's a sociotal change, and the different generations really don't understand each other...but did they ever?

Doctor DooM

I would say it's technology, but not specifically the internet.

Take more for example. Part of my IT job is looking after American customers. To do this, sometimes I must work when they work (11pm at night).

Remote logins to customer systems make this possible- and save alot of money for companies.

I come home and sit down. I flick on the television- digital TV, always something on. If not, I can play a game on my PS3box60wee or watch a bluray or DVD.

I dont have to go straight to bed for the lack of something to do.

I get hungry, no problem, hit the local 24 hour Tesco and fill up on what I need.

Society itself is getting less diurnal, definitely, personally I like it. I like the dark and the calm and the peace.

KnifeWRENCH

I think the real questions here are:
(a) Do day and night REALLY exist?, or
(b) Are day and night just figments of all our collective imaginations?

And the real answers are:
(a) Yes.
(b) No.

So to summarise: I don't know.

Adamcp898

But for humans is diurnality not just a choice?

We all could adapt to ''living'' during the night and sleeping during the day if we so wished to with or without the internet and all other technological advancements.........................................except maybe the light bulb

JC 2K3

But what about sunlight? Surely there'd be adverse consequences if we didn't get enough exposure to it.

Doctor DooM

JC 2K3 wrote: »

But what about sunlight? Surely there'd be adverse consequences if we didn't get enough exposure to it.

If you REALLY wanted to never go out into the daytime, you can actually get lights which simulate the effects of the sun on the human body. I don't know how accurately they do that, and TBH when I sold them they used to give me an awful headache.

JC 2K3

My friend's has one in the kitchen of his house. His parents only put it in a while back, and tbh there's something really unsettling about it that I can't quite pinpoint, but he understands what I mean. It's just plain weird....

Adamcp898

JC 2K3 wrote: »

But what about sunlight? Surely there'd be adverse consequences if we didn't get enough exposure to it.

There probably would be yes, we have other sources of things like vitamin D though, I can't think of what other things we'd be lacking in if we didn't get enough of the sun off the top of my head atm other than we'd be lacking a bit of colour in our skin

But then again there's adverse effects from exposure to the sun

Doctor DooM

JC 2K3 wrote: »

My friend's has one in the kitchen of his house. His parents only put it in a while back, and tbh there's something really unsettling about it that I can't quite pinpoint, but he understands what I mean. It's just plain weird....

I think I know why.

When you stand in sunlight there is actual reflected light coming at you from all around. Although the majority of sun light is coming from one direction, there is alot of reflected light. During daytime you are being lit from all angles.

Those SAD lamps are like a sun in one direction. It's not "natural" lighting.

The human brain is a processor which notices things out of shift like that.

Thats my guess.

kowloon

Hunting in the dark is difficult.

Doctor DooM

kowloon wrote: »

Hunting in the dark is difficult.

This is why they invented 24 hour tescos.

Dyr

So when are we all going to start flying kites at night?

DenMan

I suppose my correct answer to this question would be both yes and no. However no two days are the exact same, similar maybe but there can be subtle differences, plans change, the unpredictability of it all. If they were always the same life would be very mundane.

Pros
I do a lot of computer work (writing, 3D Studio Max, Avid work etc) so I require internet access for my work. I have to send off drafts and get feedback, so the responses I get are almost instantaneous. This can be done on a daily basis too. I only got broadband a year ago so as you can imagine being on the fast lane is now a luxury for me as opposed to dial up. I can also concentrate better at night.

I have to admit I am starting to develop a taste for buying things online, especially music. I do prefer to go to a music store and buy music there as it is part of the overall music experience. Being pressed for time now and the convenience of purchasing online I now do some of my shopping online. I like to support the bands I like and have that feel good factor knowing they have received my thanks for all the hard work they have spent putting an album together.

Cons
It can be very time consuming and a hour or two online can turn into an evening very quickly and other things can suffer from it. I have a bad habit of putting things off and not deciding what to do (procrastinate) and the interweb is responsible for this. Other things that I like doing (reading, listening to music, learning to play the keyboard, writing etc) can unfortunately be sidelined because of my internet access.

Taking time away from it is a good idea. So good in fact that I am going to start to take up surfing, and I will be doing that during the day.

MCMLXXXIII

square_igloo wrote: »

I think the real questions here are:
(a) Do day and night REALLY exist?, or
(b) Are day and night just figments of all our collective imaginations?

And the real answers are:
(a) Yes.
(b) No.

So to summarise: I don't know.

I might disagree...
Yes, there is a time when the sun is shining and a time when the moon is out.
As for our collective imaginations - it depends. "Day" as a time to work and have fun, is not that much different than "Night" in some places.

I live in the US Midwest, where there is a lot of manufacturing. There are not two, but three "rush hour" driving sessions. One from 7-8, one from 4-5, and one from 12-1. They coinside with the three sifts worked at the plants: 8-4, 4-12, and 12-8. No, all government institutions, most offices, and some medical facilities are not open all night, but there are still people working and you can still get your buisness done if you really want.

Have you been to New York? 8 million people on an island...bars don't close until 6...plenty of retail-oriented jobs with irregular schedules. If you "close the bar," the sun is coming up before you get home. Get home at 6:30am and sleep until 2pm. What is the difference between night and day in NYC?

andrew

Well, it is mine anyway. I've stayed up long enough to see wayy too many sunrises lately. Stuff only starts happening online during the night here when americans are online. Sites like Reddit and Digg are (probably) most active during the night. Sleep and you miss the good suff!

pirelli

I got the extract below from wikipedia, it seems that we don't evolve and that we are instinctively diurnal (whatever humans truly are and also taking Exogenous factors into account ) and humans might adapt other patterns but essentially we never lose our diurnal or what ever instincts we have, and they are i would imagin it's easy to return to a natural instictive state.

If you work late your body has to adapt continously, until you balance out the rest you owe it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diurnal_animal

Some mainly nocturnal or crepuscular animals have been domesticated as pets and have changed into diurnal animals to coincide with the cycle of human life. Examples are pet dogs and cats, which are derived from the wolf and the wild cat. However these animals may exhibit their species' original behavior when they are born feral.

cyberwolf77

Twas not the internet that made me nocturnal, rather twas the jobs I chose to take that led me to embrace the night. Personally I love it. People in general irritate me so now I see far fewer of them and yet I can get everything I need twenty -four hours a day thanks to the internet.


YAY INTERNET!

rainbow kirby

I've never really been a diurnal person anyway, even as a teenager I'd happily sleep most of the day and do things at night. I think I just preferred the peace and quiet of doing things at night.

However over the last 2 years (through working a tech support job with very early mornings last year, and now as a 4th year student) I've somehow managed to reduce the amount I sleep during the week in general. I still go to bed at 1-2am most days, but I have to get up some time between 6.30 and 8 in the morning. I just make up for it at the weekend. It's weird - for 4 days of the week (no classes on Fridays) I seem to have forced myself to be both a night owl and an early bird.

I think I'll always be a night owl at heart though - left uncontrolled, my sleeping pattern tends to limit to something resembling sleeping 4am-midday.