Comments on: A Little Less Online [Opinion]

By: Chase Chick

Chase Chick — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:14:00 +0000

I think the tone of your article suggests that the internet is taking over our lives and we are becoming slaves to it in lieu of genuine social interaction. To me, this is the same error made of every generation, starting with our good friend Socrates who said,

“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.”

It’s an error of every generation to feel like we are losing our humanity, and losing the culture war and just losing in general as a species.
To the contrary, I feel like all these new forms of communication keeps us in contact where we ordinarily would have not been in contact at all.
And for the people who do become hopelessly addicted to the internet, these are the same people who would have been hopelessly addicted to some other form of mindlessness in past times. Suppressing their internet use is not going to do anything to stop them from being mindless.

By: sssbbb

sssbbb — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:30:00 +0000

I work in enterprise IT and am definitely overly-connected with my phone. One of the most liberating things I do is go on multi-day hikes without the use of any electronics (save for a headlamp and powered-off cell phone for emergencies). I always feel a deep jolt of humanity and perspective shift, but I never get out hiking as much as I want to. Perhaps I should attempt to limit my internet usage regularly in daily life as well.

Thanks for sparking the ideas!

By: iNfAMOUS70702

iNfAMOUS70702 — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 04:18:00 +0000

sadly my phones are my life…my father in law brought me into the family business and i spend the majority of the day on my iphone/One X making business calls and text messages….i hear ringtones and notifications that never were just because im used to hearing them all day long….HOWEVER…when its time to relax with the GF and kids i do just that

By: Ron Offringa

Ron Offringa — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 06:44:00 +0000

It’s not about having less forms of communication or rejecting technology as part of our future – it’s about ensuring that the technology we use to stay connected isn’t the only thing we interact with. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use Skype or never use the Internet, I’m saying we should make sure those things don’t take precedence over the people in our lives.

By: Nathan Thomas

Nathan Thomas — Sun, 17 Jun 2012 00:34:00 +0000

Leben ist für alle da

By: Chase Chick

Chase Chick — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 21:06:00 +0000

Still not buying the argument that we need less forms of communication… that’s a non starter for me. Look at the recent news in Ethiopia. Jail for the use of Skype. Wanna live there? Me neither…

By: tjhrulz

tjhrulz — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 01:19:00 +0000

Would you like me to edit it and say all proofing was done by my chief editor Poker Face Moose. Also I wrote that from my phone so it is hard to read as chrome sits on a different part of the Page than where I am posting, it also makes editing impossible

By: PokerFaceMoose

PokerFaceMoose — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 01:10:00 +0000

I,(punctuation)personally,(punctuation) hate the shallows, (book title should be punctuated and capitalized accordingly) which is based on Carr’s previous editorial on is Google making stupid(fragment) Too (For)me, as a CS major and someone who understands how computers multi-task, (punctuation)their studies are going about it all wrong and are looking for something I dubbed Simul-taking (what?)(Simultaneous Tasking). Personally, (punctuation)I just see it as an evolution similar to reading, when we became a written based society,(punctuation)instead of a verbal one,(punctuation)a lot changed, it had many positive affects(effects, wrong word) as well as negative. To me,(punctuation) that is what this is,(punctuation) just another step up the ladder for humanity. – Just to name a few….

By: tjhrulz

tjhrulz — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 00:15:00 +0000

I agree it may not seem the most obvious progression but then again I am sure writing was not from spoken but it seems accepted now that it is the next step so maybe connectivity will become the next step. Or maybe these are all equal and sidesteps, Idk food for thought though.

By: Michael DeAmicis

Michael DeAmicis — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 00:10:00 +0000

I just came back from a week long family vacation at out timeshare resort in Las Vegas. I am enrolled in an online class and have to respond to online discussions 3 times a week. I made 1 post so that was a fail . I did log onto the web to do research for an architecture project for about 3 hours one night. I delegated my mmorpg account to a friend for the week. I checked my email about once a day from my notification on my lockscreen (lockscreenwidget!). I did not use my phone much except for gps and a few phone calls. I was having a good time with my family and almost forgot about my phone completely.

Normally it is like a BORG implant though and I do not mind. I think in many ways it makes my life easier. I have reminders, schedules, lists, contacts, maps, and countless infosuorcing. I do not feel burdened by my phone at all.

By: tjhrulz

tjhrulz — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 00:08:00 +0000

I see not a single spelling error and as far as grammar is concerned it is a comment I am not going to proof it. I am a programmer not a writer, if I was a writer I would be worried about it.

By: PokerFaceMoose

PokerFaceMoose — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 23:56:00 +0000

Your spelling and grammar proved Carr correct.

By: Ron Offringa

Ron Offringa — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 21:01:00 +0000

Of course. The point of the post isn’t to say if you miss some moments you’re a bad person or if you record your children doing something for the first time you’re horrible. Quite the opposite. Technology enables us to be able to see those moments again (or for the first time if we can’t be there the first time). The point was that sometimes we get sucked into the Internet and our phones when we should’t.

By: Adam Truelove

Adam Truelove — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:32:00 +0000

Exactly. I’ve seen parents complain that their kids are always on their phones, yet they’re the ones who bought the kid a brand new iPhone in the first place.

By: kidheated

kidheated — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 20:28:00 +0000

This whole unplugging thing is ridiculous. Of course the internet is both good and bad. Like life, bad things happen, there’s no stopping it. The internet is life in a condensed. easily searchable, digital form. Also, some individuals are good with people, some are not. It is a personal preference on top of an innate personality trait… again, not much to be done about it, besides therapy (and that’s not 100% guaranteed). In terms of children, use parental locks, set specific hours and conditions of use. But most importantly, talk to your kids! Stop blaming your families’ problems on society at large, both right outside your door and on the internet. Parents are the most influential educators in life! In terms of adults, if you like the internet so much and your good with computers, get a job in it and make new friends that are just like you. Technology is the way of the future and there’s always a need for competent workers who love their craft. As far as all the other adults who spend too much time on the net… Whatever! You’re full grown, grown-ups. Do what you want, just keep it to yourselves. The phrase “don’t believe everything you read” has kinda become lost with the advent/acception of the internet. To many, Internet = Truth, therefore the less intelligent stop thinking on their own. That’s fine, someone has to do it. The world still turns.