Is the Internet Destroying Some People’s Lives? **Mod Warning In Post #131**

retalivity

3 in a row!

https://media.giphy.com/media/FlYgLKL0RuKli/giphy.gif

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121317326#Comment_121317326

So you assume something from my post that doesn't exist, then use your entire post to disprove your own assumption.

Well done.

I wasn't talking about Brexit. I was talking about the US election which was interfered with by Cambridge analytica through a system of social media manipulation which culminated with the US capitol building being ransacked.

But I'm sure you also have an explanation for that.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121317851#Comment_121317851

So you are of the belief that everybody in the entire western lexicon was totally fine with being lied to about Iraq, totally fine with the corporate financial institutions being bailed out by the everybody in the west, to the tune of hundreds of billions, without any single repercussion to any of the financial institutions who were actually responsible?

You think it was Cambridge analytica who manifested the outrage from out of the online ground like some sort of demented electrical cabbage that came out of nowhere from that 10 year timeline? Keep thinking that fairytale. Because anybody who lived through every single semblance of that 20 year timeline knows exactly where the outrage came from, where the voting pattern came from. And it will continue to occur as long as western democracies treat the citizenry, the actual custodians of the entire show, as nothing but idiots, which they aren't.

seanrambo87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121317836#Comment_121317836

I don't get it. I'm on the mobile if that affects it or is it esoteric?

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121317905#Comment_121317905

Well in Ireland the party that helped create the conditions were returned to power before the collapse in the belief that Ireland could continue to be "the richest country in the world", and will continue to vote into power whoever promises them the most.

dxhound2005

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121317905#Comment_121317905

I'm fine with the outcome of the bank bailouts in Ireland. Saved 120,000 depositors in Anglo Irish from losing all their money. Guaranteed the deposits of many more in the other institutions. Prevented all the mortgage holders in negative equity who defaulted, from losing their homes.

Banks and Credit Unions are just a collection of customers who have deposits or who have taken out loans. A bailout is a bailout of customers.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121317905#Comment_121317905

And you think that Donald Trump's lies and populism was the correct answer as chosen by a rational and well informed electorate?

Yeah no....

TinyMuffin

Musk says AI is goin to take a lot of jobs off people in the not to distant future. What will people work at to earn a living. Can’t all go on the dole.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121318508#Comment_121318508

Universal Basic Income seems to be the best solution.

Fred Cryton

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058320748/is-the-internet-destroying-some-people-s-lives

You have something against gaming which doesn't really stand up to scrutiny. Online gaming develops problem solving and team building skills and is immensely creative. Those kids in previous generations would have been playing card games, doing puzzles, reading books or listening to music. What makes those activities superior? Of course everyone needs physical activity but that's a seperate thing ,we're talking about entertainment here.

Why do some people have so much against computer games, but not against other forms of entertainment? It's bizarre.

EmmetSpiceland

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121318508#Comment_121318508

Musk is charlatan and is just scaremongering just because his own AI system isn’t up and running and yet. Did he mention anything about the job losses from self driving cars, and trucks, in the future?

Flaneur OBrien

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121317326#Comment_121317326

This is just a ridiculous opinion, and very probably wrong.

If Brexit vote (2016) was a protest vote against the British Establishment (which it absolutely wasn’t) why in Gods name was the same Government that have been in charge since 2010 won elections in 2017 and 2019? Were people tired of protesting by then? It must have been a very small window of protest as they also voted the same government back in in 2015!

Mr Disco

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058320748/is-the-internet-destroying-some-people-s-lives

Sounds like someone is very angry they were allowed an Atari 2600 back in the day

kowloonkev

If someone is wasting their life with online games that doesn't mean they would have been a big success if the internet had never been invented. They'd have been wasting their life on something else.

No it's not, just needs to be controlled for teens and even more so for those who are weak at school or have any issues or gambling tendancies, the same with smart phones, once someone is an adult earning there own living they can do as they like.

A group of male teens ran out on the road in front of us the other night laughing like hyenas, I know from experience in 10 years time they will be the engineers, teachers, IT types, bus drivers, or doctors of the world that's the way the world goes.

ancapailldorcha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121318792#Comment_121318792

Good point. It does rile me up somewhat that games are constantly scapegoated but the lads pissing away more money than they have at the bookies, the people gorging on red meat and fried foods, the lads at the pub and so on never get criticised. For instance, just before I emigrated, I'd a friend in rural Ireland and he was going on to me one day about a character on a kids TV show with an innuendo for a name. He'd been sat in front of RTE all day watch kids' shows pretty much all day every day instead of trying to find work or make something of himself. Last I checked, he's on welfare with numerous children.

taxAHcruel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058320748/is-the-internet-destroying-some-people-s-lives

It is very easy to blame the object of excess for the issues caused by that excess. And it is not always wrong to do so. We can blame alcohol or gaming or social media or whatever for destroying someone's life and in some cases be correct. Such things are addictive and can grab hold of someone in an awful way that ultimately leads to their demise.

All too often though - and my own entirely subjective feeling based on anecdote and experience is that it is the vast majority of the time - the object of excess is a symptom not the disease. Something entirely else is wrong in that person's life and the outlet they turn to in excess to self medicate is just a symptom of that.

Without a deep dive into your neighbours lives we are all just arm chair psychologists therefore - engaging entirely in guess work. We simply do not know what is going on there any more than you. Which is to say pretty much not at all. But my first guess would rarely be that he is a casulity of gaming or the internet that has made him a "lost boy". I would first be looking for what else is missing or awry in his life that he is hiding from - to find if he has already been "left behind" and has retreated to gaming and the internet to escape.

I can say no more than that therefore from what you have written. Save to say that if it was me in that situation as one of the parents of said boy - the absolute first port of inquiry I would be turning to would be myself. Failed or bad parenting. I would be looking to see if I have failed the child in some way and looking to see what I could do. Starting with tossing every screen and electronic in the house into the nearest charity store so they can make some money and then looking to rebuild by child's future from the ground up without them.

I do not know your neighbours or anything about them. So I do not know if they are good parents or bad parents or what else is going awry in their child's life. All I can say is that I would be looking at myself first and foremost as a parent if I was in that situation - and checking the boxes there first before moving on to further inquiry.

On a side note - somewhat related - I have mentioned before that my kids are relatively electronics free. With at least one user getting antsy because I have mentioned it once too often for their liking. No televisions in my house. Little access to phones. And I see the teenagers in my daugthers life staring at their phones a lot as many of us have. But if their friends come to my house they leave their phones at the door. They do not have to do that when they visit other friends houses. If there are all so addicted to the phones and so forth therefore - then I often wonder why it is my house they most often always want to come to. Could it be they are not all as addicted as we like to think and when a stimulating, engaging, interesting alternative exists they happily take it? Is it therefore the internet, the phones, the social media and the gaming that is failing our kids? Or is it us? The adults?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121318847#Comment_121318847

While I agree with you to an extent that like saying unless the teen is entertained I.e provided with entertainment they will turn to gaming. The issues is managing themselves and not expecting something outside to provide them with entirtainment or stimulation.

taxAHcruel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121319123#Comment_121319123

Indeed. There are happy mediums there I find. Like I do not stand over my children 24/7 screaming "Are you not entertained" in my best Maximus Decimus Meridius voice. They have their own paths in life and entertainments and so on. But I set them on a lot of those paths. And I tended to walk the first steps of those paths with them and in some cases still do.

For example my daughter loves to fire rifles and other guns. I do that with her too. The same with Jujitsu and combat sports. I was building in the muscle memory of certain aspects of self defence and attack since they were toddlers. If you grab any of my kids from behind for example out of nowhere they will instantly adopt a position/posture without even thinking about it that is designed specifically to allow them to slip out and escape when they choose to. Similar to how people can fill out space when you put hand cuffs on them so they can drop that space again and have space to play with to skip the cuffs.

There are other pursuits my kids have though that I started with them but then backed off. But they still do them. And every so often I will try out another one with them and see if they take to it - or if I will take to it - and then either continue it with them or back off.

Contrast this to the parenting approach of handing them a screen every time they pipe up in any way. Anything for "peace and quiet" and to get rid of them and get them out of your face. That approach is not for me. If it works for others so be it. I am not here to critique what anyone else does or does not do. I just certainly would not do that myself. I see for example toddlers sitting in buggies in the supermarket staring at a phone so the parent can get peace while shopping. Certainly understandable. But the parents later wonder A) why their kids are addicted to phones and B) why they are picky eaters and will not eat vegetables and the like. Both issues I think can be approached and often bypassed by a completely different approach to supermarket shopping with a small child.

But as you say the ultimate goal is self management and self motivation. That has to be built into the equation too of course as you rightly point out. I just think there are many ways to get there and for me, the approach I have taken, is a very hands on early in the process one where you walk many paths with them before letting them set off the rest of the path on their own. It certainly a much higher effort / input approach that many others. But it's the one that works for me.

Ultimately though if a child is sitting around scrolling social media for hours and then screaming into a headset on games for the other hours and failing at school and social life and personal health and hygiene and so forth - then I will not automatically assume its a failure in parenting - but a failure in parenting would still be the first thing I would be moving to look at. Rather than assuming it's all the fault of the games, the internet, or the social medial algorithms. But generally in life when I start pointing fingers I always try to point it at myself first - just to be sure - before I point it anywhere else. A scapegoat is always easier than taking too close a look at ourselves I find.

Rothko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121318659#Comment_121318659

It's a very middle-aged mindset tbh.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121318508#Comment_121318508

I’m more worried about clowns like Musk being elevated to wise sage status. He’s just pissed off he wasn’t first to develop it.

Rothko

Lol, what an ironic comment.

thegame983

Imagine having multiple accounts.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320606#Comment_121320606

....

Rothko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320606#Comment_121320606

That's a whole load of drivel lol

eightieschewbaccy

Honestly I was a pretty introverted teen and spent plenty of time on forums and online gaming. That would have been fifteen or twenty years ago. I've turned out pretty grand, good job etc.

The biggest issue is fact versus fiction is a thing that plenty of people can't differentiate between and the increasing divisions politically were growing. The internet has definitely sped it up and a clear way to counter bullshit isn't really there when you consider the number of people who subscribe to QAnon, Pizzagate, climate change denial and vaccine conspiracies. (Pretty sure at least one of these will draw out some annoyed posters)

Paterson Jerins

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121320891#Comment_121320891

Apparently the good Doc Bobson is only on the internet 90mins per day.

Talking absolute nonsense as usual. Trolling non stop

Potential-Monke

My time has come again! But I'll start a bit differently this time, because of TaxAHCruel's recent posts.

I was born early 80s, so have a good childhood of outdoor activities and imagination to keep the days busy. I took part in the school sport requirements, and even attended clubs outside school, mainly because being a country boy you had to, it was the law even if you didn't last, you had to try. But also because there was feck all else to do other than use your imagination and farmers fields/barns. I kept up the sport side of things into secondary school, but gave up soon after that. Why? Because I was a: too short, b: not popular enough, c: not friendly with the managers son (who was the superstar), d: ginger. All that led to not being picked, so why bother. That's the lesson I learned from it.

But, I'm also a child of technology, and specifically gaming tech. While I didn't have the rich family, we did have a pong machine an Atari 2600 (or 4, thanks liquid damage!). Mother upgraded me to a SNES, and then a PS1, and I've bought the PS2, 3, 4, 4 Pro, 5, the Xbox 360, Series X, a Wii or two and built a (now defunct) gaming PC. I can't say gaming has ever let me down.

Up to 7/8 years ago, I was following the typical life; college qualification (Cert), state job (Garda), long term girlfriend, mortgage, potential for kids, nearly a pet. I tried to stay social with the weekend dos, the drinking for any occasion, trying to follow sport so i could be part of the conversation... I was deeply unhappy and just didn't realise. I made a massive life decision, ended the relationship (she wanted kids, I didn't), gave up the soul destroying job and am now back in "Customer Call Centre Agent" (as per my car insurance options). I sold the house at a loss and moved home. I don't have any kids or dependants, but I do intend to continue to assist and probably eventually look after my mother. My siblings (4) all have their own lives and kids and problems, so it makes sense I do this part, especially as my dad, her husband of over 50 years, died last year.

Anyway, because I'm not part of that lifestyle, I don't really have much in common with people with kids. I've given up trying to follow boring crap like sport. I don't drink anymore. I work full time, I pay all my bills and continue to pay my negative equity. I get no handouts or assistance from the government, but I pay my fair share of taxes on all my earnings, no under the table shenanigans.

The ONLY constant in my life has been gaming. It has never disappointed me. It has never left me down. It has never judged me (well, except the games by From Software). It has always been there for me. It has brought me more joy than 99.9% of the humans I've encountered. It allows me to experience worlds that don't exist, crafted from the imaginations of thousands of other people working together to create these games. I've travelled to distant worlds, I've saved humanity countless times in various ways. I spent 26 hours of last week being Spidermen. I regularly play car soccer online with people around the world. I've actual real life knowledge gained from factual games. I've come to respect my mechanic more because I've played Car Mechanic Simulator, and indeed I could have become a mechanic if this game was around in my teens.

I give a lot and take nothing. But because I spend most my time gaming there's something wrong with me. Well, just like the people in charge of sports in my childhood/teens, it's people like you who are doing nothing to change the mind of people like me. Why would I want to venture back out into the world when there are people like the OP out there? Such judgemental, holier than thou gowls who seem to think their opinion is the only one worth weight. People like you are why I am the way I am, and I've no inclination of ever changing. The gaming world evolves, humanity is devolving.

Tonight, I'm taking on Hades as Kassandra in a stunning visual representation of Greek mythology. You continue to mull over things that are most likely caused by people with opinions like yours. I know who will be having the better time (it's me).

taxAHcruel

I appreciate the shout out. I have to admit that I have read many of your posts for a long time and they have always plucked my heart strings.

EVERY conversation is a continuum. That is the one rule I have learned in life. And possibly the only rule that has not yet been proven false.

We sometimes look at the extremes of something like alcohol or gaming or gambling and think that the people who have ended up there are in a bad place. And in most cases we are right.

But. For some people. That is their best life. Who are we to say otherwise? You can plug them into a playstation at age 3 and they can die there from heart attack at age 70 - and they would not have had a more pleasurable life no matter what other path your well intentioned meddling would have wanted to put them on. We can wag fingers at them from our high horses and be totally fecking wrong.

If you are truely on your best path in life - I am nothing but happy for you :) Truely!

But - a little part of me wants to get you down on the mats :) I reckon there is a fighter in you still :)

(my own gaming path went from 2600 to Vic 20 to C64 - quickly through sega - and then mostly the Indiana jones games on PC until I discoverd Gabrial Knight)

AyeGer

I normally like twitter but I noticed recently it’s all Israel / Palestinian that is appearing on my timeline. A lot of the people I follow are talking about it too. I’ve blocked a few as some of it is quite disturbing. And if I see some heartless comment I can get drawn into responding. It’s all a bit depressing atm. Twitter has its good parts but it can bring out a nasty side in people too.

I woke up one morning last week and opened twitter and as I was scrolling through there was a Palestinian man holding a charred baby that had been pulled from the rubble. Extremely distressing image that can’t be unseen. Devistating for the man himself, its not good for peoples mental health to see it either.