5 ms·

I Used to Be a Human Being – How we are all becoming information addicts

62 points by jack-bodine 5y ago

jack-bodine 5y ago
One thing that I like about this article is the authors point that digital human interaction is incomparable to real human interaction. I spent much of my teen years on Skype or Discord playing video games with friends. Although, I still consider these close relationships, I feel we missed out on a lot of bonds and development that we could've only gotten by spending more time in person.
- brewdad 5y ago
  I agree with the sentiment but my teen set up a couple of discord servers at the beginning of lockdown last year that allowed some of his far less technical peers to keep in touch with him and a number of their peers when face to face wasn't possible. Even now, with some students in person for school and others remote Discord serves as their side channel for the little side comments that would normally happen in the back of the classroom. There is value in both forms of interaction.
- Jarwain 5y ago
  I've noticed that as I've gotten more and higher quality irl interactions, I tend to neglect my digital or remote friendships more and more. It just doesn't feel the same, which makes me kinda sad
rkk3 5y ago
"Since the invention of the printing press, every new revolution in information technology has prompted apocalyptic fears. From the panic that easy access to the vernacular English Bible would destroy Christian orthodoxy... And yet society has always managed to adapt and adjust" How is Catholics & Protestants killing each other for hundreds of years in Europe considered a good example of society adjusting to innovation?
- F_J_H 5y ago
  How is Catholics & Protestants killing each other for hundreds of years in Europe related to easy access to the vernacular English Bible?
  - rkk3 5y ago
    The Bible was originally in Greek/Latin which only the Clergy were trained in, not the language of the people (Vernacular). Democratizing access was a direct result of the printing press and was a very contentious part of the protestant reformation [1]. I wouldn't have specified "english" vernacular, but England, like the rest of Europe, has a very bloody history [2] here see "bloody" Mary and Henry VIII. Until eventually King James approved of what is known as the Kings James bible. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Bible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Bible 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English_Bible_translations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English_Bible_tra...
    - tim333 5y ago
      People were dividing into groups and killing each other long before the 1600s. Graphs of killings dropping: https://media.gatesnotes.com/-/media/Images/Articles/About-Bill-Gates/Better-Angels-of-Our-Nature-in-Graphs-and-Numbers/Steven%20Pinker%20-%20Better%20Angels%20in%20graphics/BA_WestEuropeHomicide.ashx?h=337&w=600 https://media.gatesnotes.com/-/media/Images/Articles/About-B... (from pinker and gates notes) Also having some familiarity with the conflicts in Ireland it was never much about varieties of Christianity - it was about the English colonising Ireland and pushing the native Irish around as second class citizens - see the potato famine and the like. Catholic vs Protestant was just a way to identify the two sides.
      - rkk3 5y ago
        Henry VIII and Bloody Mary were 1500's. Not sure what point you are trying to make but that graphic is for homicide which is very different than deaths from state genocide and war. The Irish oppression started in large part because of the Irish were Catholics & Henry VIII was excommunicated by the pope. The potato famine was in the 1840's which is over 300 years into the conflict, ignoring the role religion played over that time is missing a massive historical context. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwellian_conquest_of_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwellian_conquest_of_Irelan... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_in_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_in_Ireland
throwaway284534 5y ago
My father was an early adopter in home computers, dial-up internet, and IRC communities. While we weren’t poor, our lives weren’t exactly laden with many luxuries. My father saw computers as something to learn from and use as an advantage that other people in our income bracket didn’t have. And so I grew up with the internet, chatting on forums, instant messengers, and even MMORPGs. Aside from a few friends from school, my social network was online. People like me who grew up in communities that didn’t understand them whether they were nerdy, queer, or just non religious. In my opinion, the Midwest is a cold, lonely place to grow up without the internet. I’m a queer agnostic narcoleptic without a drivers license —- AKA absolutely screwed for social connections in the Midwest. I’m sure the author is speaking his truth. I just don’t think he can appreciate what technology has done for people that weren't served by traditional societies. The silence of an open field reminds me of how alone my home town made me feel. The silence of a church weighs heavy on the person considered most sinful. Some of us were born on the internet and our lives are better for it.
- dopidopHN 5y ago
  I share that sentiment, I think that particular internet you are referring to is gone, or at least for me, but it did provide connection and windows to other things for me as well.
  - throwaway284534 5y ago
    It does feel like that internet is gone, or at least in the rear view mirror. If there’s anything incredible about the modern web, it’s high definition video. Being able to watch shows with a group of friends over zoom still feels like magic.
- okareaman 5y ago
  What a great comment. Thanks for sharing. Self-driving cars may be in your future to enable you to get around freely.
  - throwaway284534 5y ago
type0 5y ago
To cite zuckerborg in his famous Freudian slip - "And try not to let stuff bother you as much as possible, but it is going to bother you because you're human. And I was human... I am human still... but it, I was just referring to myself in the past, not that I was not human." Dehumanization on social media is a real threat to mental health. The Zuck seem to have transcended us mere mortals in that regard, good for him. It's not the "addiction", it just that you are a digital cattle, consciously or subconsciously you know it and behave accordingly.
- tim333 5y ago
  I too used to be human and am now connected to the internet. Resistance is futile.
RGamma 5y ago
I believe the marvels of early information technology / pre-corporate internet culture can be rekindled (and are still partially with us). But for that the shallow and overly rapid and disjointed endeavors, however addictive, will have to cease. In early public internet times I feel me and my friends had hit a true sweet spot of mixed RL/virtual interaction and mixed RL/virtual shared experiences (via video games mostly): A parallel world much more interesting than the slow, dull and formal real (public) life. However, lacking personal records of that time, my memory fades (a personal archive helps with that)... Now many have fallen victim to the consume, engage, forget, repeat cycle (myself included, but recovering) :( Here's to the coming era of self-moderation.

62 points by jack-bodine 5y ago

One thing that I like about this article is the authors point that digital human interaction is incomparable to real human interaction. I spent much of my teen years on Skype or Discord playing video games with friends. Although, I still consider these close relationships, I feel we missed out on a lot of bonds and development that we could've only gotten by spending more time in person.

brewdad 5y ago
I agree with the sentiment but my teen set up a couple of discord servers at the beginning of lockdown last year that allowed some of his far less technical peers to keep in touch with him and a number of their peers when face to face wasn't possible. Even now, with some students in person for school and others remote Discord serves as their side channel for the little side comments that would normally happen in the back of the classroom. There is value in both forms of interaction.
Jarwain 5y ago
I've noticed that as I've gotten more and higher quality irl interactions, I tend to neglect my digital or remote friendships more and more. It just doesn't feel the same, which makes me kinda sad

rkk3 5y ago

"Since the invention of the printing press, every new revolution in information technology has prompted apocalyptic fears. From the panic that easy access to the vernacular English Bible would destroy Christian orthodoxy... And yet society has always managed to adapt and adjust" How is Catholics & Protestants killing each other for hundreds of years in Europe considered a good example of society adjusting to innovation?

F_J_H 5y ago
How is Catholics & Protestants killing each other for hundreds of years in Europe related to easy access to the vernacular English Bible?
- rkk3 5y ago
  The Bible was originally in Greek/Latin which only the Clergy were trained in, not the language of the people (Vernacular). Democratizing access was a direct result of the printing press and was a very contentious part of the protestant reformation [1]. I wouldn't have specified "english" vernacular, but England, like the rest of Europe, has a very bloody history [2] here see "bloody" Mary and Henry VIII. Until eventually King James approved of what is known as the Kings James bible. 1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Bible https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Bible 2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English_Bible_translations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Modern_English_Bible_tra...
  - tim333 5y ago
    People were dividing into groups and killing each other long before the 1600s. Graphs of killings dropping: https://media.gatesnotes.com/-/media/Images/Articles/About-Bill-Gates/Better-Angels-of-Our-Nature-in-Graphs-and-Numbers/Steven%20Pinker%20-%20Better%20Angels%20in%20graphics/BA_WestEuropeHomicide.ashx?h=337&w=600 https://media.gatesnotes.com/-/media/Images/Articles/About-B... (from pinker and gates notes) Also having some familiarity with the conflicts in Ireland it was never much about varieties of Christianity - it was about the English colonising Ireland and pushing the native Irish around as second class citizens - see the potato famine and the like. Catholic vs Protestant was just a way to identify the two sides.
    - rkk3 5y ago
      Henry VIII and Bloody Mary were 1500's. Not sure what point you are trying to make but that graphic is for homicide which is very different than deaths from state genocide and war. The Irish oppression started in large part because of the Irish were Catholics & Henry VIII was excommunicated by the pope. The potato famine was in the 1840's which is over 300 years into the conflict, ignoring the role religion played over that time is missing a massive historical context. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwellian_conquest_of_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwellian_conquest_of_Irelan... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_in_Ireland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reformation_in_Ireland

throwaway284534 5y ago

My father was an early adopter in home computers, dial-up internet, and IRC communities. While we weren’t poor, our lives weren’t exactly laden with many luxuries. My father saw computers as something to learn from and use as an advantage that other people in our income bracket didn’t have. And so I grew up with the internet, chatting on forums, instant messengers, and even MMORPGs. Aside from a few friends from school, my social network was online. People like me who grew up in communities that didn’t understand them whether they were nerdy, queer, or just non religious. In my opinion, the Midwest is a cold, lonely place to grow up without the internet. I’m a queer agnostic narcoleptic without a drivers license —- AKA absolutely screwed for social connections in the Midwest. I’m sure the author is speaking his truth. I just don’t think he can appreciate what technology has done for people that weren't served by traditional societies. The silence of an open field reminds me of how alone my home town made me feel. The silence of a church weighs heavy on the person considered most sinful. Some of us were born on the internet and our lives are better for it.

dopidopHN 5y ago
I share that sentiment, I think that particular internet you are referring to is gone, or at least for me, but it did provide connection and windows to other things for me as well.
- throwaway284534 5y ago
  It does feel like that internet is gone, or at least in the rear view mirror. If there’s anything incredible about the modern web, it’s high definition video. Being able to watch shows with a group of friends over zoom still feels like magic.
okareaman 5y ago
What a great comment. Thanks for sharing. Self-driving cars may be in your future to enable you to get around freely.
- throwaway284534 5y ago

type0 5y ago

To cite zuckerborg in his famous Freudian slip - "And try not to let stuff bother you as much as possible, but it is going to bother you because you're human. And I was human... I am human still... but it, I was just referring to myself in the past, not that I was not human." Dehumanization on social media is a real threat to mental health. The Zuck seem to have transcended us mere mortals in that regard, good for him. It's not the "addiction", it just that you are a digital cattle, consciously or subconsciously you know it and behave accordingly.

tim333 5y ago
I too used to be human and am now connected to the internet. Resistance is futile.

RGamma 5y ago

I believe the marvels of early information technology / pre-corporate internet culture can be rekindled (and are still partially with us). But for that the shallow and overly rapid and disjointed endeavors, however addictive, will have to cease. In early public internet times I feel me and my friends had hit a true sweet spot of mixed RL/virtual interaction and mixed RL/virtual shared experiences (via video games mostly): A parallel world much more interesting than the slow, dull and formal real (public) life. However, lacking personal records of that time, my memory fades (a personal archive helps with that)... Now many have fallen victim to the consume, engage, forget, repeat cycle (myself included, but recovering) :( Here's to the coming era of self-moderation.