Cyberspace Ruining Society?!?!

Cyberspace Ruining Society?!?!

(Since this subject is about the internet and civil unrest, I am unsure about where this topic should be placed. Please feel free to move this thread. ~ Section 31)

In order to put this conversation into context, I submit the following quotes by author Andrew Keen. Keep in mind that this thread will contain some irony behind its existence.

Link: Is cyberspace ruining society?

You say the Internet isn't inspiring real debate. Instead, it has become a place where we confirm what we already believe. What do you mean by that?
The problem I think in society generally is that people aren't talking to one another. There is less and less debate, which is one of the reasons why people are reading newspapers less and less. People are more and more confirmed in their opinions. They are, if you like, ideological, more radical. And so the Internet just confirms that.

Are we on the verge of an anti-Web backlash?
People who are defensive of technology, if they think I'm a Luddite, just wait. Just wait until the next generation of kids, who are going to react against these kids. Because I guarantee you that we're in the '50s now. And the '60s are going to get very ugly when all these kids who grow up as children of the YouTube generation smash the computers.

Where it all began...
When chat rooms first arrived on scene, people were amazed about having the ability to talk to everyone. Chatting was a fun recreational activity, which provided several months worth of entertainment. Once forums and social networks started to make their premier, the nature of everyone's feedback and commentary started to change. As more and more forums began to pop up, people were able to join groups with like minded individuals. While conversing with like minded individuals, people slowly lost certain social and individual characteristics. Some of those characteristics include creativity, tolerance, empathy, and individuality. Instead of stepping outside of the collective box, people have started to conform to a forum's or social network's perspective. When someone with an alternative opinion arrives, the forum or social network cult does everything within its power to reject the individual. Unique individuals are either thrown out of the group, or they allow themselves to be broken verbally by the collective. As a result of this collective rejection and collective unity, people have started to react irrationally within society. Since people are now more aware of their differences, they are socially rejecting the concepts behind tolerance, individuality, and empathy. While looking at recent current events, you can see how people are becoming proactive.

Where we are now... Where we are heading in the short term...
During the next five to ten years, the level of social unrest will drastically escalate. Since media networks do not understand what is happening, they will use social group conflicts to divide everyone. Cultural differences base upon religion, ethnicity, class, gender, and origin will be exploited. Almost every aspect of life will be turned upside down; thus, we will be sent hurtling into an uncontrollable world of intolerance. When someone publicly disagrees with someone's actions, they will be called haters, bigots, and racists. Regardless about how objective the disagreement may sound, the individual with an alternative opinion will be branded. As a result of living in a tense society of intolerance, the most innocent among us will be irreversibly damaged.

Once society realizes what has happened, everyone's voice will be silenced with regulations. Political correctness will rule the world, and society will start heading down a dark path to social deterioration.

“With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censored, the first thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.” ~ Jean-Luc Picard', Star Trek.

...and, then there was Generation Z, and the rebellion against cyberspace and socialism...
Within approximately fifteen years from now, Generation Z will reignite the movement that was started in the 1960s. As a result of all the regulations imposed on society, due to the negative impact of online interaction, the rebellion will begin with a generation's refusal to conform to socialism. Instead of using the internet to voice their opinion, this new generation will take their displeasure to the streets. Unlike the generation that came before it, Generation Z will reject social online interaction. Since it will represent the ugliness of society, kids and young adults will do everything in its power to ban the practice. Generation Z will reconnect society with tolerance, individuality, unity, and freedom. Even though information technology will take many forms, Generation Z will reduce their usage to information gathering. Tablets will be used for communicating with family, friends, and relatives. When it comes to world wide web, it will be replaced with a regulated compendium of knowledge. Generation Z will turn the entire system into a vast library, which will be maintained by colleges, schools, scientists, philosophers, doctors, and governments from around the world. Public domain will be turned into private domain; thus, Generation Z will impose a new civil doctrine that ensure individual responsibility, freedom, and tolerance.

What do you think?

How do you like the future?

How bad do you think cyberspace is going to change society?

----------------------

Unlike many-many other forums online, "Above Top Secret" is one of the few places that promotes individuality. Why? Skeptic Overlord and company understand the social importance for alternative perspectives; thus, they designed a set of forum rules that protects everyone's unique vision. Unfortunately, "Above Top Secret" may be one of the last few forums that promotes social tolerance.

The internet is changing society

The way people debate online now removes intimidation, emotional pleas, etc...and allows for a hard logic debate.
Some people have trouble adjusting to this new method, and are therefore angry that they can't gain the advantage of an argument by flexing their muscle or shedding a tear in hopes to turn the discussion, they make long winded arguments on how debate is dead and cyberspace is ruining society

Some people simply don't like change...especially when they mastered the old ways.

reply to post by SaturnFX

For every generation there is a counter movement. As one assimilates and adapts to new technology, the following will find a way to reduce its usage. Its an endless cycle triggered by a rebellion against post-modern thinking.



As I said in my opening post, I knew the irony in making such a thread.

I like to call it "cyber-ism".. And no Cyberspace is not destroying society.. PEOPLE are destroying society.. The internet is the last great unregulated frontier..

So Log on, plug in, and enjoy while it is still "readily available".. Because the war on the net has already begun my friend..

Originally posted by TechVampyre
I like to call it "cyber-ism".. And no Cyberspace is not destroying society.. PEOPLE are destroying society.. The internet is the last great unregulated frontier..

My psychology side is saying that - people are influenced by elements found within the environment. Cyberspace is making society more aware (pro) and intolerant (con). Our online interaction has negative and positive impacts on offline social interaction. Does the internet have more negative than positive affects? At this point in our adaptation to new information systems, only time will be able to answer that question.

Originally posted by TechVampyre
So Log on, plug in, and enjoy while it is still "readily available".. Because the war on the net has already begun my friend..

I agree with this analysis. Technically, we have entered into stage two. Regulations to reduce radical online behavior (meaning of the world 'radical' defined by government) is already within the pipeline. Those regulations will have some sort of impact on how we behave online.

reply to post by Section31


I find that the only trouble the internet causes is this, People gather on social networks "ATS" included, share view's, complain and log off and that is the extent of it..

The real problem with the internet is that people are not going out actively protesting and getting involved, Or standing up for them self's for that matter..

Instead they log on complain, talk about ideals, and injustices ..

When the same power, and passion could be put to good use in the real world.. There is no point to internet activism.. (Period).

Originally posted by TechVampyre
reply to post by Section31

 

I find that the only trouble the internet causes is this, People gather on social networks "ATS" included, share view's, complain and log off and that is the extent of it..

The real problem with the internet is that people are not going out actively protesting and getting involved, Or standing up for them self's for that matter..

Isn't that interesting?

If we think about it in that manner, the internet is an obstacle in the way of real social change.

Originally posted by TechVampyre
reply to post by Section31

 

Instead they log on complain, talk about ideals, and injustices ..

When the same power, and passion could be put to good use in the real world.. There is no point to internet activism.. (Period).

Too much online ranting, and not enough physical activism. Very good point.

I wonder if all this inaction-vocal action will be our undoing.

If the internet does get heavily regulated, we will only have ourselves to blame.

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Some people have trouble adjusting to this new method...

When the next generation sees all of this, what do you think they will do as a counter movement?

While I was growing up in a strict conservative household, I rejected my parent's way of thinking and behaving. As a result of this rejection, I turned myself into a counterpoint to their argument. I became liberal.

After I finally got my first paycheck, I became a centralist/libertarian type of thinker.

Will the next generation reject cyberspace, for it brings out some of the worse qualities of humanity?

Or. will the next generation embrace cyberspace, for it brings out some of the better qualities of humanity?

Which do you think is winning? Negative or positive impact?

Link: Chinese Parents Sold Their Three Children To Get Money For Online Video Games

It may sound like a bad joke to you, but a couple in China has sold its kids in order to get money to play games online at a local internet cafe. A Chinese newspaper called Sanxiang City News reports that the two people met four years ago at the internet cafe where they would eventually spend the money received for their children.

I do not know if this story is true. Sounds like online gaming may have a serious impact on society. I wonder how far this will go. Online gaming is considered as a form of online social interaction. Even though the interaction does not happen on a forum board, it does occur within an social network type of environment.

Cyberspace is having a negative affect on society. Its not all roses.

Where do you think this will lead Generation Z?

What type of consequences will it have on society?

Originally posted by Section31

Originally posted by SaturnFX
Some people have trouble adjusting to this new method...

When the next generation sees all of this, what do you think they will do as a counter movement?

While I was growing up in a strict conservative household, I rejected my parent's way of thinking and behaving. As a result of this rejection, I turned myself into a counterpoint to their argument. I became liberal.

After I finally got my first paycheck, I became a centralist/libertarian type of thinker.

Ahh
I started off as a centerist overall, no real opinion...I did lead a bit right fiscally, and very far to the left edge of the universe socially..aka, normal.

When I started my first job at burger king at 14, I still had no opinion..end of the day, I had to drive down a government paved road to get to the job sorta thing,
I started having opinions when I travelled the world through work though and seen how others lived, both extremes..and my opinion was formed through first hand experience, witnessing highly socialistic countrys, and the capitalism unhinged places also. I preferred the socialist leaning capitalistic areas and their quality of life.

So, I guess I never really got that counter movement desire...perhaps my family is too diverse for anything to really form, from deeply religious, to atheist, from liberals to conservatives, we got em all in the house...diversity forces one to seek answers themselves I guess verses being instructed on how to think.

Question, you say you were basically a liberal until you started disagreeing with losing your money through taxes or whatnot...did you then decide to adopt the full social array of conservative thinking?
I personally don't like my taxes going away, but again...I point to the roads I travel to work on, the water I drink that isn't full of corporate toxins dumped in the supply, etc...so, I do understand I gotta toss some money towards the state to keep things going...some don't understand that, but then again, some don't understand basic math

Will the next generation reject cyberspace, for it brings out some of the worse qualities of humanity?

Or. will the next generation embrace cyberspace, for it brings out some of the better qualities of humanity?

Which do you think is winning? Negative or positive impact?

Yes
Cyberspace is not walmart...there is no single destination...its more like...roads.
Roads today lead to certain places...tomorrow, they will be directed down different areas...the next generation will gladly be using the roads as we do today, although they may not be going to the same places we go to.
Nobody will ever reject a medium like the internet (well, ok, the amish will, thats their thing..but "normal" people)

Its not a specific topic, or method...it just is..like roads, or electricity..the internet is a medium, not an entity..and to reject a medium (music, reading, television, etc) simply has never happened in the history of mankind unless there is something better.

Link: Chinese Parents Sold Their Three Children To Get Money For Online Video Games

It may sound like a bad joke to you, but a couple in China has sold its kids in order to get money to play games online at a local internet cafe.

To be honest, there are some seriously awesome games out there...

A Chinese newspaper called Sanxiang City News reports that the two people met four years ago at the internet cafe where they would eventually spend the money received for their children.

I do not know if this story is true. Sounds like online gaming may have a serious impact on society. I wonder how far this will go. Online gaming is considered as a form of online social interaction. Even though the interaction does not happen on a forum board, it does occur within an social network type of environment.

Same argument with board games or roleplaying games...friends get together and game...live out different lives while simply enjoying company with friends.
This is no different than marathon dungeons and dragons games I used to go to..they just are starting with a far more superior interface than dice and paper...still, lacks the same creative dynamic, but the tradeoff is fair. I see no issue in this, and frankly, I find it far better to game with friends for 3-4 hours nightly than to have the same friends over and simply melt your brain in front of a television, which was ultimately the thing to do before the internet became so popular...at least this engages peoples brains.

Are there always extreme crazy examples? sure...thats in everything, be it someone breaking down from psychosis playing dungeons and dragons, or going on a 70 hour marathon WoW fest and dying in front of your computer due to hemmoraging...mhmm, but the exception is not the rule, its the exception.

Cyberspace is having a negative affect on society. Its not all roses.

Its changing society.
Its like saying roads had a negative effect on society because it kills people, sure...but the alternative was to travel on horseback through wide open fields and take 2 weeks to travel what can be done in about a day.

Where do you think this will lead Generation Z?

Zombification clearly...

(not sure what that question was)

What type of consequences will it have on society?

edit on 7/27/2011 by Section31 because: (no reason given)

A new way of thinking..global neural net thinking.

There is a very strong theory that suggests the reason we humans evolved into intelligent beings is from our former monkey selves working through the web of vines and multi-level canope's of the forest..the overload to our brain forced us to evolve our brain for greater navigation purposes, and voila...here we are many a millions of years later.

Now we are running around on a virtual jungle, with even more complex vines and branches to navigate to...frankly, the end result may be yet another great leap for our brains...however, due to its rapid development, a rapid change may also be required here...and since I personally see man as not just some free thinking conscious entity, but a force of nature, we will evolve ourselves through implants to increase our intellectual fortitude to run through this new jungle...aka, it will lead, eventually, to the internet plugged into our brains direct, and eventually our brains will be part of the internet...a global hive sort of senario.

But then again, your talking to a futurist, I tend to see all the advancements under the best light full of hope and find anyone suggesting we install breaks on the speeding car to be insane, if not totally evil. heh...so, my opinion may be a bit jaded here

reply to post by TechVampyre

I disagree. I think people who have the knowedge to make a firm stand are the ones that protest. People go on the internet to LEARN so that they can have a firm stand on something. You don't automatically step outside and start protesting. You have to have an understanding that has grown in you and affirmed to you its importance. That doesn't happen automatically! It requires that you LEARN. You don't have to learn online. You could have learned it somewhere else. If somebody doesn't feel firm in their belief or values or ways or so on then they're not going to protest based on those same things until they have learned more.

The internet is a frontier. Another post i just made, says it better: link. Cyberspace removes distance from the equation. It allows us to live on a chip, one day in the subatomic world. It offers something but we're not utilizing it effectively yet. People have a natural impulse to expand onto it. Once we tap into it fully, we will be a completely new being. This isn't about the destruction of society, this is about the creation of something new. Not everything that evolves works or succeeds. There're no guarantees that this cyberspace free range is going to do us any good, but to pretend we have any idea at this point where it will go is pure and simple pontification.

Me saying it doesn't make it real any more than people who say it's bad for society. We're on the edge of a whole other universe, essentially. We're afraid of what it means for our future.

I do have a question. Could it be possible one day to transmit our consciousness across the planet? Because if it's possible, then I would think that it would be a potential evolution. The evolution away from biology dependence to something..... else. But would it be possible to transmit our consciousness to another planet? It seems to me that would be a LOT of data. And our consciousness is intimately tied to our body parts. So it's not just the brain that needs to be transmitted, but possibly the makeup of our body. But if this ever became possible, it would be an entirely different world, would it not? It even makes me somewhat afraid to contemplate.

What is consciousness? If your body was destroyed and a duplicate synthetic copy was made alongside it, would the duplicate still be you? If cell by cell your entire body was replaced over a period of time with synthetic parts would you ever come to a point where you felt like you died?

Plays with women in them.

The printing press.

The radio.

Moving pictures.

Talking Moving Pictures.

Television.

Rock and Roll.

Rap.

Video games.

The internet.

All of these things have destroyed civilization at one point. Each and every one of those things at some point in history were positive to be the cause of a coming apocalypse.

All of them.

So cyberspace is just as bad as all of the other things that destroyed the world. But then didn't.

Everyone has made some great observations.

I will start with this one...

Originally posted by jonnywhite
reply to post by TechVampyre

 

The internet is a frontier. Another post I just made, says it better: link. Cyberspace removes distance from the equation. It allows us to live on a chip, one day in the subatomic world. It offers something but we're not utilizing it effectively yet. People have a natural impulse to expand onto it. Once we tap into it fully, we will be a completely new being. This isn't about the destruction of society, this is about the creation of something new. Not everything that evolves works or succeeds. There are no guarantees that this cyberspace free range is going to do us any good, but to pretend we have any idea at this point where it will go is pure and simple pontification.

Me saying it doesn't make it real any more than people who say it's bad for society. We're on the edge of a whole other universe, essentially. We're afraid of what it means for our future.

In order for us to make some real progress, the internet must be separated into individuals hubs. Each hub must work as an independent system, so that credible information is separated from hobbyist, journalist, and hacker manipulation.

Generic hub breakdown:

Hub - 1: Communication devices, emails, and video.
Hub - 2: Scientific research based upon theories, testing, and implementation.
Hub - 3: Literary: journals, theses, history, etc...
Hub - 4: Literary: novels - fiction & science fiction.
Hub - 5: Government: local, state, and federal information.
Hub - 6: Entertainment: Movies, TV, music, etc...
Hub - 7: Government & Government contractors.

Who has control of each hub:

Hub - 1: Public, Private, & Government Domain
Hub - 2: Government, Professors, Scientists, Doctors, and Engineers.
Hub - 3: Government, Professors, Scientists, Doctors, and Teachers.
Hub - 4: Colleges, Writers, and Schools
Hub - 5: Complete Government Domain
Hub - 6: Complete Public & Private Domain.
Hub - 7: Government & Government contractors.

Even though we will all have access to each hub, our ability to manipulate each of them will depend upon access limitation.