Has the internet ruined our lives and made us all self centered selfish snowflakes.

Wibbs · 03-01-2019 01:27PM

Drumpot wrote: »

I find it amusing when people confidently dismiss the possibility of our species regressing. We have regressed, having shiny phones doesn’t change that.

The human species is tragically flawed.

I don't believe that for a second. We're the single most incredible creature to ever burst forth from nature. For all we know we may be the only ones around in the universe at this moment. Do we make mistakes? Hell yeah we do and continue to make them, but we make fewer mistakes as we go along. Go back a couple of centuries and your average person in any civilisation you care to mention was illiterate, lacked basic knowledge of the world beyond the village they grew up in and rarely wandered much further than said village, relying on kings and priests for guidance.

maccored · 03-01-2019 01:29PM

the internet lets people show what they are really like, to strangers. ergo, its not a problem created by the internet. its just many humans have two faces - one for the outside world and one of the real them. Its easier to see the real person when they think they are anonymous.

Wibbs · 03-01-2019 01:31PM

facehugger99 wrote: »

I have a 15 year old niece (by marriage). She did a bit of babysitting for us over Christmas. She literally never took the phone out of her hand the whole time we were talking to her, hardly made eye-contact.

We were making small talk like 'how's school going?' and she's just staring at her phone occasionally tapping at the screen while giving monosyllabic answers.

I'm not sure if she's typical of that generation, but if she is god fcuking help them.

1) she's a 15 year old FH. Monosyllabic answers to old farts is their birthright.

Go back generations and people that were your age were complaining that teenage Sean or Aisling spent hours alone in their bedroom listening to their records and wearing silly clothes. Probably thinking of doing drugs or sex. And disrespecting their elders. And guess what? They turned into people your age now.

2) she was having conversations, just not with you.

Apiarist · 03-01-2019 01:32PM

facehugger99 wrote: »

We were making small talk like 'how's school going?' and she's just staring at her phone occasionally tapping at the screen while giving monosyllabic answers.

Did she actually want to make small talk with you? Do you have anything to say that may be of interest to her? If not, then pretending to be busy on the phone is a quite polite way to let someone know that the conversation is not going anywhere.

03-01-2019 01:56PM

The way people go on about 'snowflakes' you'd swear they were the worst thing ever to hit humanity. Lets think back a bit to what the previous generations had instead, the Churches, the Brothers, the Bean Mhic Mhathúnas etc., far from dehumanised, the current young generation will probably have the least shameful record of abuse when the counting is done

03-01-2019 02:02PM

The thing with phones as well is that they're blasting the sh1te out of your dopamine system, and there's a major addiction element to it..you'd wonder how it is going to work out..

Gimme A Pound · 03-01-2019 02:11PM

I dunno, Wibbs - I mean, I can't stand when people are acting the wannabe old fogey and "Back in my day in 2007"

etc, and yes, every generation has said they fear for the younger generation... but there has been nothing to compare with the internet, social media and smartphones. Nowhere near it - not even cinema, television, rock music or computer games.

Gimme A Pound · 03-01-2019 02:14PM

riffmongous wrote: »

The way people go on about 'snowflakes' you'd swear they were the worst thing ever to hit humanity. Lets think back a bit to what the previous generations had instead, the Churches, the Brothers, the Bean Mhic Mhathúnas etc., far from dehumanised, the current young generation will probably have the least shameful record of abuse when the counting is done

It's a valid term at times I think - for incredible hypersensitivity, but people using it wrongly, just in relation to everything they disagree with, is grating. Ditto people looking for offence to be offended by - i.e. being snowflakes themselves.

Graces7 · 03-01-2019 02:16PM

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

I am at an age where I remember the internet actually becoming a thing.

First it was chat rooms, then facebook, then snapchat, now instagram and twitter.

We have literally unlimited information at our disposal. The Vast Library of Human knowledge, ALL knowledge, in a small phone beside us.

I'm no psychologist but human behaviour has changed enormously as I can see. I was coming back to Dublin on a train over Christmas and a girl was in the carriage travelling alone taking dozens of selfies as you do.

It used to be rude to have your phone out when you were talkig to people but is socially acceptable now. And god help you if you go to a gig or anything scenic. It's just people taking 2 minute videos of things (Does anybody actually watch these things?? or selfies in front of some vista. )

Basically it's all me, me, me, me, me. Whatever vacous thought you have, post it on twitter. Every meal you have on instagram.

And people consume this tripe.

The unbridled vastness of information and people want to watch someone apply make up or take selfies at the gym.

I was watching a documentary about an air show crash that happened in post war britain. They had the crash and they cleared the dead pilots and spectactors and got on with the rest of the show.

Despite all this vast information people are less educated, less knowledgable, less considered because they spend their day watching cat videos or equally vaous twits or reading issues that have been condensed to 160 characters. Journalism has been reduced to ctrl C ctrl V and throw in a few comments from twitter users.

The poster boy of course is Trump who is literally throwing a hissy fit in the US until he gets his wall. A 70+ year old throwing a 5 year olds tantrum.

But the consequence of this me me me me me culture without any engagement or empathy has very real consequences. It dehumanises and simplifies issues. It divides people. The consequences of the internet has meant that all the village idiots could get together and starting spreding nonsense like anti vaccine propoganda.

It seems to be accelerating. Brexit which was a bum fight in the conservative party is a disaster. Politicians literally said "we can have our cake and eat it". What sort of idiot says that. What sort of idiot actually believes that.

I know that the genie is out of the bottle and I realise the inherent irony of complaining about the internet, on the internet but Its really profound the negative consequences or the darker side of humans it has helped amplify.

TLDR. Is the internet actually destroying us as a species or are we basically a bunch of selfish bastards anyway.

I would not recognise my useage or that of anyone I know from your scathing words... You seem to use it a lot too

Drumpot · 03-01-2019 02:34PM

Wibbs wrote: »

I don't believe that for a second. We're the single most incredible creature to ever burst forth from nature. For all we know we may be the only ones around in the universe at this moment. Do we make mistakes? Hell yeah we do and continue to make them, but we make fewer mistakes as we go along. Go back a couple of centuries and your average person in any civilisation you care to mention was illiterate, lacked basic knowledge of the world beyond the village they grew up in and rarely wandered much further than said village, relying on kings and priests for guidance.

I believe that its this sort of self centred species adulation that blinds people to the counter balance to our achievements. We have never been more informed and more ignorant in the history of our species. I think of all the possibilities of our species and we fall awfully short of our potential because our basic human desires that are all about the now and less about the long term bigger picture.

Why is racism or Xenophobia even a thing ? We are all made of flesh and blood and yet irrational, non existent things like borders (Brexit) still dominate our lives. If we were so intelligent and progressive we would of casted these distractions aside long ago. But our monkey brains ultimately take control and drive us into wasting vast resources on man made constructs and prejudices that only exist in our heads.

How can a mind-numbingly idiotic, self absorbed , silver spoon narcissist like Donal Trump get to be the leader of the supposedly leading nation of our kind ? He represents "the working man" ? That is idiotic on any barometer. That wasn't progress, it was an effort to go back in time "make America great again". . I understand why it happened, but its again an example of how thick the human species can be when it tries miserably to address corruptions it perceives in the status quo.

Why don't we work harder to address climate change or at least try to be less part of the problem? Or try and expand on our understanding of the universe ? Explore the cosmos by investing more resources ? Oh yeh, its because we have a thing called capitalism, a very flawed but popular system that promotes profit as the primary target. If something isn't profitable its generally not worth exploring. Therefore the future of humanity is on a whim of what we want . . More sex toys, More apps on our phones, more "cat videos" as somebody put it. . The resources of minds and labour are focused on profit, which is not an intelligent use of our potential.

But benchmarking our progress against darker times is not a good way of measuring Progress IMO. Its a way of lowering the bar of expectation and excusing our primate priorities that still rule our motives. Kings of old ages didn't stock pile nuclear missiles that could literally end the whole world, as deterrents to ward off rivals . . The reason why this has happened is irrelevant. We are monkeys who have a bit of knowledge and the more knowledge we attain the more dangerous we are to our own survival.

eviltimeban · 03-01-2019 02:35PM

I loved the advent of the internet, I used message boards in 1992 and had an IOL email account when it was run by three guys in town. So I'm all for progress and technological developments.

However, the development of social media has given a small vocal minority a place to shout louder. And be heard. Most of us check their feeds and maybe retweet the odd thing. Most people don't shout about how offended they are about something, or outrage about something else; they just want a quiet life.

PS yes, I also didn't get the reference to the air show crash in the OP - can you explain?

Raheem Euro · 03-01-2019 02:41PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmXcjvL9VSc

dense · 03-01-2019 02:42PM

victor8600 wrote: »

Did she actually want to make small talk with you? Do you have anything to say that may be of interest to her? If not, then pretending to be busy on the phone is a quite polite way to let someone know that the conversation is not going anywhere.

No, it just shows she has neither manners or social skills.

eviltimeban · 03-01-2019 02:48PM

No different from someone staring at a Gameboy / walkman / iPod / magazine / book.

Zorya · 03-01-2019 02:57PM

We used to be such social unselfish creatures

Apiarist · 03-01-2019 03:05PM

dense wrote: »

No, it just shows she has neither manners or social skills.

I would class the successful disengagement from the meaningless small talk as a social skill. I think she dealt with it correctly. Let's abstract from any concrete person here, so I would like to make absolutely clear that below I am not talking about facehugger99 or his or hers niece.

In that hypothetical scenario, what would you do if you were a 15-year old girl when a middle aged man tries to chat you up? Would you put on your manners and make an impression that he is charming and interesting? You would need a crowbar to pry him from you next time, you will spend all the time listening to him. Or you lay it straight and say -- "Look, please stop harassing me and let me babysit in peace?" Chances are you will not be babysitting again in this house. So the reasonable approach is to avoid and deflect. Mumble something, look at the phone, etc, in the hope that the uncle gets tired of asking stupid questions and gets the message not to bother you again. Nobody's hurt, no false hopes of companionship raised. Win-win.

Wibbs · 03-01-2019 03:06PM

Richard Zealous Stock-still wrote: »

I dunno, Wibbs - I mean, I can't stand when people are acting the wannabe old fogey and "Back in my day in 2007" etc, and yes, every generation has said they fear for the younger generation... but there has been nothing to compare with the internet, social media and smartphones. Nowhere near it - not even cinema, television, rock music or computer games.

Well I look around at my mate's kids and all I see are kids of all sorts and all doing pretty well. Maybe why I'm not so concerned is because I don't have kids? So that I have some remove from it. Parents naturally worry as parents will.

Wibbs · 03-01-2019 03:15PM

Drumpot wrote: »

I believe that its this sort of self centred species adulation that blinds people to the counter balance to our achievements.

Not really. "Species adulation" is not fashionable at the moment for a start and more the "we're just glorified apes" of the 60's counterculture stuff. An overswing from the previous judeochristian we're the top of the tree stuff.

We have never been more informed and more ignorant in the history of our species.

That's a bit of a contradiction.

Why is racism or Xenophobia even a thing ? We are all made of flesh and blood and yet irrational, non existent things like borders (Brexit) still dominate our lives.

Because we're at heart abstract creatures. It's one of the major things that made us different. Money is "non existent" too. As is art of all types.

But benchmarking our progress against darker times is not a good way of measuring Progress IMO. Its a way of lowering the bar of expectation and excusing our primate priorities that still rule our motives. Kings of old ages didn't stock pile nuclear missiles that could literally end the whole world, as deterrents to ward off rivals . . The reason why this has happened is irrelevant.

It;s anything but irrelevant. Never mind that your basic average life and options and opportunities would make the greatest of pharaohs look "poor".

We are monkeys who have a bit of knowledge

We are so much more than that. Demonstrably so.

dense wrote: »

No, it just shows she has neither manners or social skills.

or that she's a moody teenager.

Zorya · 03-01-2019 03:23PM

When I was a 15 year old babysitter the small yappy dog used to hump my leg while the husband made small talk and awkward passes at me. I wish I had had a phone at the time to swat him on the head. Either one of them.

Women without Makeup · 03-01-2019 03:23PM

I can resist all temptations on the internet except porn!

facehugger99 · 03-01-2019 03:28PM

Wibbs wrote: »

1) she's a 15 year old FH. Monosyllabic answers to old farts is their birthright.

Go back generations and people that were your age were complaining that teenage Sean or Aisling spent hours alone in their bedroom listening to their records and wearing silly clothes. Probably thinking of doing drugs or sex. And disrespecting their elders. And guess what? They turned into people your age now.

2) she was having conversations, just not with you.

I totally get all of that.

But, it struck me that the phone has become like a comfort blanket or a soother for a small baby. From what I gather from her parents she's practically consonantly on the phone - again I'm not sure how typical this is.

My kids are too young for phones but I would like to think we'll have a bit more structure as to when and where it's appropriate to use them and when you put them away. I just think most parents these days will take the path of least resistance when it comes to enforcing rules and it's not healthy (for a child that age) to be seemingly incapable of interacting with real people for 5 minutes - regardless as to how boring and uninteresting we must seem to her. It's a life-skill.

PhiloCypher · 03-01-2019 03:29PM

Drumpot wrote: »

Ger Roe wrote: »

Here's an opinion that I will offer.... to be shot down in flames.

I think the problem arises when you make anything easy to access by those who would otherwise have no idea about how it works, what it could do, and how to use it. When you 'App' everything so that there is no effort required to use it or no consequence, then that service or facility or technology descends rapidly towards the lowest level possible.

The internet hasn't ruined our lives or made us ALL, self centered snowflakes, just those who would have otherwise had no interest (or ability) in being on it in the first place. Microsoft, Google etc have made it easier and easier for people to have access to very powerful resources that they don't understand and wouldn't have been bothered with, only for the fact that it was made easy for them so that they could be targeted for exploitation by very clever marketing focused companies.

The sad fact is that most people don't understand that they are pawns in the biggest corporate games that have ever been played and we are all in a worldwide social experiment.

My tinfoil hat is firmly attached, for my own protection.

I don’t think it has to be either or when having these discussions.

The derogatory word “snowflake” , as I understand it, is about the hyper sensitivity of a certain section of society? Given the way political correctness has gone into hyper overdrive, I’m not sure how this can be disputed. The internet and mobile phones access has become an extension of people and given them a voice that they might not of used previously.

I wouldn’t say the internet has made snowflakes in so much as it’s allowed that self absorbed , sensitive part of people thrive. It’s given it an audience and a stage and many people have lost the art of “if there is nothing nice to say, say nothing”. We have also turned back the clock to the age of burning witches . Death by media shaming is now an acceptable method of justice being served. It’s like the Wild West of courts where anybody can string up somebody they don’t like and there is little to no ramifications.

I agree with most of what you're saying, with the caveat with regard to the bolded part , that the right (anti-PC movement) is every bit as shrill and annoying as the PC one at this stage. What started out as a bit of 'needed' push back at the excesses of political correctness by your average Joe about frivolous topics like "it's cold outside" has been used by many to push a hateful message about refugees or the right to just be an asshole to minorities in general.

Just taking boards and after hours as an example , while there's certainly plenty of virtue signalling going on(on both sides) in threads, nearly all the social/political threads are started by someone on the right getting on their hobby horse and having a bit of a whinge. Like as if their plight in not being allowed to say *insert racist/homophobic insult* is in anyway comparable to a gay/black person having said insult shouted at them on a daily basis. So you have to ask yourself who the snowflakes really are these days.

The problem is both sides see the other as this monolithic movement to the point where a person can be asked in an interview whether he likes the use of '******' in FTNY, he answers truthfully he doesn't, and suddenly its 'PC movement gone mad'. He's not, he's one guy who was asked a very direct question and gave his opinion.

It's even worse in the Twittersphere, all it takes is one person brainfarting something completely daft, possibly even tongue in cheek, like say banning Gingerbread men being offensive to gingers and if it gains enough shares/retweets it becomes fodder on forums everywhere as an example of political correctness gone mad, it's not, it's just one person on the interwebs , not the big bad politically correct bogeyman coming to take away your tasty ginger treats . Calm down and take a breath.

Cee-Jay-Cee · 03-01-2019 03:58PM

facehugger99 wrote: »

I have a 15 year old niece (by marriage). She did a bit of babysitting for us over Christmas. She literally never took the phone out of her hand the whole time we were talking to her, hardly made eye-contact.

We were making small talk like 'how's school going?' and she's just staring at her phone occasionally tapping at the screen while giving monosyllabic answers.

I'm not sure if she's typical of that generation, but if she is god fcuking help them.

She is the perfect example. My niece went from being a great camogie player and socially bright to someone who only comes out of her bedroom now for meals and always has her face stuck in her phone when in the company of others.

I have two daughters who are thankfully a few years away from being teenagers but if the trend continues, they will not be getting phones at all. At present they are the only ones in their classes that don't have technology at home, no phones, ipads, Xboxes/playstations etc etc and they play outside on their bikes, go-karts etc regularly. I will do everything in my power to steer them away from that way of life. They can make their own decisions when they are 18 and old enough to make their own decisions but for now, I will make the decision for them. Its a pity that more parents don't do the same rather than the lazy way out by giving them phones/ipads to keep them occupied so that they as parents don't have to bother entertaining them.

I dread the world that my children are growing up in, it is not a nice place.

0cp71eyxkb94qf · 03-01-2019 03:59PM

It's rife with hypocrisy unfortunately.

You will get banned from boards for using "feminazi" but not for "alt-right" as there are no impartial moderators.

Boards has a lot of potential but, like most media outlets, its kowtowing to The permanently offended morons.

topper75 · 03-01-2019 04:17PM

realitykeeper wrote: »

We need Christian Brothers to beat the internet out of the young.

No good.

The young would only 'revenge porn' the good leather-wielding brothers by taking 'up cassock' pictures with their phones.

Floppybits · 03-01-2019 04:23PM

The internet didn't create "snowflakes" it was society that did that. Yes the internet/social media gives a voice that they may not have had otherwise but it gives a voice to everyone. It was society that created the "snowflake" this attitude of giving Children everything they want, never being told no, every child in the race gets a medal mentality, it is this that has created the "snowflake".

I don't see the internet as the problem itself, it is the supporting infrasturcture, such as wifi and individual devices such as the phone and Ipads. We have gone from having one PC in the corner of the room that everyone used which was connected to the one phone socket, to each person in the house having their own device and being able to access the internet from anywhere in the house. On top of this then you have social media, in the beginning I thought it was great, you can keep in touch with Friends and family in any part of the world but now it is full of companies trying to sell you their products or snakeoil sales people (social Influencers) trying to sell you their wonder cure so that you too can be like the beautiful people.

gandalf · 03-01-2019 04:36PM

Where's Snake Plissken when you need him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHUqNCDwQj4

nthclare · 03-01-2019 04:47PM

Lamar Breezy Windburn wrote: »

It's rife with hypocrisy unfortunately.

You will get banned from boards for using "feminazi" but not for "alt-right" as there are no impartial moderators.

Boards has a lot of potential but, like most media outlets, its kowtowing to The permanently offended morons.

Exactly.

There's an emergence of funny clips on YouTube about sjw's, lefties and snowflakes having meltdowns etc

The tide is turning, people are starting to wake up to their nonsense,gaslighting, manipulation, lying and crying...

Too much soya I think

Agricola · 03-01-2019 04:57PM

I think that bastion of all knowledge, Noel Gallagher, captured this very well in the Oasis documentary, Supersonic.

I suppose today's equivalent would be Ed Sheeran, from busker to superstar.
But would he sell out Knebworth 7 nights in a row...........................?

Probably!

jmayo · 03-01-2019 05:30PM

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

I am at an age where I remember the internet actually becoming a thing.

First it was chat rooms, then facebook, then snapchat, now instagram and twitter.

Jaysus this is my idea of the beginning of the web as we know it.

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

The unbridled vastness of information and people want to watch someone apply make up or take selfies at the gym.

I was watching a documentary about an air show crash that happened in post war britain. They had the crash and they cleared the dead pilots and spectactors and got on with the rest of the show.

This blew my mind. They literally cleared their dead relatives, popped everyone off to hospital and got on with the day with the kiddies. One of the survivors was interviewed and said it was just after the war and people were tough and resilient and just got on with things. If that happened today there would be an hyper orgy of media grief for months. Just look at how recent disasters have been treated.

I can remember watching Grand Prixs where there were major crashes with people dying and they kept on racing.

Likewise I remember the night in May 1985 when English hooligans, linked to a favourite club of Irish people, charged and killed 39 people and injured over 600 in a Belgium stadium.
The game went ahead.

The viewers did not really realise the scale of the disaster before kick off.
I think listening to players talk they did have an idea of just how bad it was and most were not interested in the game.
Officials had thought it was better with less risk of violence to play it.

I think things changed around the time of princess Di where suddenly there was this mindset of huge collective mourning or sadness.

Things have gotten worse I think since social media has taken hold.

Has the internet ruined our lives and made us all self centered selfish snowflakes.

Comments