I think pretty much related to the above Joe and Niall discuss what is going on on the Internet in general and what it does with us. I also noticed like they did that you can‘t even escape mind numbing nonsense on good outlets like RT and Sputnik. I actually think there was less of that in the past there as well. I keep thinking about the C‘s comment that Computers will overpower us.
I'm just so struck by the realization that what actually happened the last 20 years or so with the emergence of the internet, computers, cellphones and the like is such a huge and incredibly successful story of changing so much in our society, most importantly also on the personal/humane level, that it almost begs believe to comprehend the extent of it. I would really like to encourage everyone to closely listen to Joe and Nialls Radio Show above and the points I brought up earlier as well.
The other part of this that makes me so utterly speechless is the utter normality this Internet/Computer thing has become in most lives on the planet today. If you put everything together, the sheer cleverness and you might call it deviant success of this "program?" is beyond believe. There is still an older generation that is not quite so effected by it, but it is dying quickly and is already effected by it.
Here is another video that sort of explains a part of the question I asked above on what the internet in general and social media in particular is doing with our brain and thinking (when you scroll over things, click on something new, etc):
Nicholas Carr – What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains
If that doesn't scare the hell out of you I don't know what does. You could also basically view it under the light of the dopaminergic mind, which is also what he explains. The point he is making is that this is not only a drug pretty much everyone is addicted to nowadays, to one extend or the other, but that the way it is set up and you engage with it, creates a state of mind that doesn't care and is devoid on any deep thinking and problem solving among other things. And isn't that exactly what we are seeing today all over the board globally???
At this point we might want to say that this isn't so black and white and if you have the knowledge you are protected, but frankly I'm not so sure that is the case.
Let's say you know that this or that thing is a hard drug that not only makes you numb and uncaring but also effects your very humanity itself and your interactions with people and life in gerneral. What do you do with that knowledge? Are you really protected from all effects of it if you say "I just use it carefully and sparingly?".
Also the point Putin made a while ago that the internet was a CIA project from the getgo might be a thing to think about. I also find it frightening and surprising that when I first saw the title of Joe and Nialls show about the internet and listened to the first couple of minutes, I thought "Well that isn't a good idea isn't it (shutting the internet down)!" and thoughts like "surely that is a foolish idea, that is simply impossible!". And that even with the knowledge I already had about it's evil effect on so many things (mentioned in my post above)!!! Then I further listened to the show and found myself totally agreeing with the things Joe brought up and thinking about the sheer power this thing has over us. "Computers will overpower us" anyone? I keep thinking that the whole thing might be one of the big trojan horses that was introduced into humanity by some nefarious forces. The thing about this trojan horse that is so scary is that it is so effective that it stares you right into the face everyday and you still don't realize it.
So in the coming days I was rather dismayed to realize how much of an effect this actually has on me (and I'm afraid many of us here in general as well) even though we have a lot of knowledge about it.
I also found it utterly interesting to watch my personal reactions (that also Niall exhibited in the show) to some of the things Joe brought up and proposed which pretty much tried to justify the "benefits" or "impossibilities of not using it" in all sorts of ways, even though just 20 years ago the world was running just fine without it! It is true that this has been integrated into pretty much every aspects of our society and how it is run now, but why is it that we now automatically tend to think it is "impossible without it"? Why exactly is that? What makes us think that this is so impossible when it wasn't so impossible just 20 years ago? And what about the chinese that Niall brought up? Isn't it astounding how they manage to restrict the internet in big parts and they are still doing a pretty darn good job on many many levels? And why is it that even I, who should know better, thought about the Chinese approach to the internet "as not good and wise" just prior to Nialls and Joes Show even know I wrote the post above? Something just dropped like scales from your eyes when I listened to that show.
A little thought experiment on that regard; what would you do if you would just stop using the internet altogether in your daily life? And I mean, not just cellphones but PC-Internet as well? What could/would you do with the enormous recourses of time/energy/thinking that this frees up? How sure are you that you are not effected negatively by it? How much of it has become a habit for you and especially in the way you interact with it and life? What is the first thought/urge that usually enters you mind in the morning? Check the internet maybe? If so, shouldn't that give you something to think about?
Another thing that bears repeating here is the fact that arguably one of the most busiest and positively productive persons on this planet at this point with the name of Putin, still refuses to use cellphones in any way! Isn't that astounding?! And as far as I know he is also not that much into the Internet/PC world himself. Despite that (or because of it???) he manages to literally do the impossible daily. So you can hardly tell me that it is impossible when he can do without it.
On a similar note, there are quite a number of studies out there that clearly show that the mere presence of a cellphone, even far away from you (in another place in the house for example) makes people stupid and anxious. We are not even talking about the radiation here, just the mere knowledge of it being present/available quickly!!! And don't fool yourself that this doesn't effect you. I clearly notice those effects even though I avoid it.
I think what is going on there is that we are slowly but surely giving all our crucial mental resources and capabilities (like deep thinking, problem solving and caring) away to an device, be it a cellphone or computer, connected to the internet. Since we can solve, can get excess and find solutions to everything "just a click away", without any noticeable mental effort on our part, even if this thing (be it cellphone or computer) is not present, we tend to get very lazy mentally. Since, even if you know that you don't have access to it near you, (you don't own a cellphone or computer connected to the internet for example) there is still the safeguard in the back of your mind that tells you "don't worry, if need be, you can excess the information at some point somewhere quickly without much effort". I think this fact alone already makes you not so determent and engaged fully on solving problems within your mind with considerable effort and concentration.
For example; imagine a situation in which you have to discover (hard mental work on finding) crucial information because you need it at this moment to help someone else or find a solution to a deep problem. Now imagine internet doesn't exist at all anywhere on the planet. What will you do and what efforts, both mentally and physically, will you have to make, to find that solution?
Now imagine the exact same situation just with the additional equation that the internet is available somewhere not far away from you if you need it (meaning you don't have it personally but you know that it is easily accessible if you really need to find a solution). Now the question: How inclined are you in this situation to think and work as hard as in the previous case? Is the mere fact that you KNOW a easy way out exist not far away, "just a click away", making you lazy and in fact inclined to get stupid and diminish the capabilities of your thinking apparatus?
Further, in the first scenario, wouldn't you be much more inclined to personally engage with another human being to find a solution preferably together? Like asking someone personally for their input to the situation? In the second scenario, how much of your resources go directly into a machine rather then an direct interaction with another person?
At least for me I realize now how much of an effect this technology has on me, despite the foolish idea "that this can't effect me, because I know better" since I can observe it clearly now that this in fact is not the case and some not so good effects it clearly has on me.
So at the very least I think I have to put some very strict rules into place that diminish the risk of getting effected by it too negatively especially also on the PC-Internet. Some of those rules might indeed be not to use Facebook and Co, and if you do something, like working on this forum, just concentrate on this alone at that moment and nothing else, avoiding the "spring from this to that information quickly" mindlessly.
This is a very strange behavior, and that's why I also periodically want to just remove accounts from all social media sites.
And it can be used to share Sott articles, and keep up with the news. It's true that most of the "information" on various social network is nothing but empty calories and noise. But perhaps with awareness and proper intentions it can be kept on a manageable level. Everyone just should know there's.
