7 ms·

I'm a very strong believer in a balanced life. I simply don't think it's possible to be happy without it. That being said, when I read all this "The real world

by tdavis 17y ago

I'm a very strong believer in a balanced life. I simply don't think it's possible to be happy without it. That being said, when I read all this "The real world rocks; the Internet makes me sad!" stuff, all I see is the context it is written in: from the perspective of a person who spends all of their time online. When somebody who lives online suddenly finds the real world, of course it is going to be awesome! It's like finding a whole new world you didn't know existed, with pretty girls and ice cream cones and other fun stuff. I love the real world, too. I've visited many countries, met all sorts of people and done all sorts of things. There's still so much more that I want to see and do, and each month I spend piddling around this one piece of the globe makes me a little more anxious. But that doesn't mean the Internet doesn't have its place -- an incredibly important place, at that. The Internet allows instantaneous, worldwide distribution of knowledge! That's completely unheard of. And fucking incredible. I love the real world as much as the next guy, but I certainly love the Internet, too. There's a place in life for both of them and one isn't intrinsically better than the other.

hyperbovine 17y ago
Man I was with you right up until the last sentence, where you said "There's a place in life for both of them and one isn't intrinsically better than the other." But one of the thems is life itself, so I would argue that yes, it is intrinsically better ;) The internet is a great way to learn, communicate, and share information. It's also a great way to waste time, make yourself dumber, and develop a chronic lack of attention span. It should be used as a tool to help you live your life. But the phrase "life online" should never have existed.
- tdavis 17y ago
  It's all subjective, though. What is intrinsically better about the "real world"? It's full of its share of dumb people (just walk outside). Working a 9-5 job filing paper is an awesome way to turn somebody into a lifeless moron. TV will help kill that annoying attention span. I have no desire to live completely online, but I think people have a tendency to argue that the "real world" is more important since it has a pretty basic thing in common with us: we're both corporeal. But, imagine if you could truly live in The Internet: you'd have instant access to most of the world's collective knowledge and the ability to interact with millions of people simultaneously. That'd be pretty impressive!
  - maneesh 17y ago
    I find that my attention span is way less after quitting TV and going only online...now, I can barely watch a 30 minute tv show without grabbing my computer to check stats, and an hour tv show (or a movie, god forbid) are basically totally out of the question.
  - caffeine 17y ago
    You couldn't kiss any of those people, though.
    - jacquesm 17y ago
      That's by far the best comment in this whole thread. Interaction online is purely cerebral, even the more kinky versions of it. The ultimate in platonic contemplation, just you, your computer and your internet connection. It makes you wonder what the long term effects of the www are.
- byrneseyeview 17y ago
  But one of the thems is life itself, so I would argue that yes, it is intrinsically better ;) No, one of them has this weird, inconsistent, visual-audio-tactile-olfactory user interface, and the other one is generally standards-compliant and can be accessed with lynx.
- run4yourlives 17y ago
  Speak for yourself, but the internet has made me smarter in many ways, not dumber. This has been my choice, sure. I can tell you however that I would never have read half of the interesting and intellectually stimulating thoughts and ideas without the internet.
  - randallsquared 17y ago
    Indeed. I think the internet is worth a std deviation. Before I was 25 or so, I spent the vast majority of my time bored, and the dozens-to-hundreds of questions I idly wondered about each day were largely unanswered and unanswerable, in aggregate. The world has changed, and while I can handle a few days or a week offline, I don't want to, if I can help it; the internet is where the answers are.
    - caffeine 17y ago
      That's sort of true - but I've noticed a much more troubling phenomenon. My questions are increasingly tending to be those that are answerable by the internet. I used to regularly wonder who I really am and why I'm here - now, I've given up on all that and primarily look up interesting stuff on Wolfram Mathworld.
      - trafficlight 17y ago
        The internet can still help with the "who I am" and "why I'm here" questions. There are so many readily available viewpoints out on the internet that I can use to help shape my worldview. Certainly many more than the predominantly white, Christian home state.
- jordyhoyt 17y ago
  "But one of the thems is life itself, so I would argue that yes, it is intrinsically better ;)" All of this is life itself. No experience you can have is more like life than any other.
jordyhoyt 17y ago
Thanks for the balanced response. I saw in his article a few symptoms in my own thoughts and feelings and was thinking that maybe I just haven't been self-examining enough or that I'm keeping myself too busy to notice that I'm not feeling fulfilled. You helped me to remember that I spend time online as a tool to accomplish specific tasks, not obsessively as a substitute for real world socialization and activity. Thanks!

by tdavis 17y ago

hyperbovine 17y ago

Man I was with you right up until the last sentence, where you said "There's a place in life for both of them and one isn't intrinsically better than the other." But one of the thems is life itself, so I would argue that yes, it is intrinsically better ;) The internet is a great way to learn, communicate, and share information. It's also a great way to waste time, make yourself dumber, and develop a chronic lack of attention span. It should be used as a tool to help you live your life. But the phrase "life online" should never have existed.

tdavis 17y ago
It's all subjective, though. What is intrinsically better about the "real world"? It's full of its share of dumb people (just walk outside). Working a 9-5 job filing paper is an awesome way to turn somebody into a lifeless moron. TV will help kill that annoying attention span. I have no desire to live completely online, but I think people have a tendency to argue that the "real world" is more important since it has a pretty basic thing in common with us: we're both corporeal. But, imagine if you could truly live in The Internet: you'd have instant access to most of the world's collective knowledge and the ability to interact with millions of people simultaneously. That'd be pretty impressive!
- maneesh 17y ago
  I find that my attention span is way less after quitting TV and going only online...now, I can barely watch a 30 minute tv show without grabbing my computer to check stats, and an hour tv show (or a movie, god forbid) are basically totally out of the question.
- caffeine 17y ago
  You couldn't kiss any of those people, though.
  - jacquesm 17y ago
    That's by far the best comment in this whole thread. Interaction online is purely cerebral, even the more kinky versions of it. The ultimate in platonic contemplation, just you, your computer and your internet connection. It makes you wonder what the long term effects of the www are.
byrneseyeview 17y ago
But one of the thems is life itself, so I would argue that yes, it is intrinsically better ;) No, one of them has this weird, inconsistent, visual-audio-tactile-olfactory user interface, and the other one is generally standards-compliant and can be accessed with lynx.
run4yourlives 17y ago
Speak for yourself, but the internet has made me smarter in many ways, not dumber. This has been my choice, sure. I can tell you however that I would never have read half of the interesting and intellectually stimulating thoughts and ideas without the internet.
- randallsquared 17y ago
  Indeed. I think the internet is worth a std deviation. Before I was 25 or so, I spent the vast majority of my time bored, and the dozens-to-hundreds of questions I idly wondered about each day were largely unanswered and unanswerable, in aggregate. The world has changed, and while I can handle a few days or a week offline, I don't want to, if I can help it; the internet is where the answers are.
  - caffeine 17y ago
    That's sort of true - but I've noticed a much more troubling phenomenon. My questions are increasingly tending to be those that are answerable by the internet. I used to regularly wonder who I really am and why I'm here - now, I've given up on all that and primarily look up interesting stuff on Wolfram Mathworld.
    - trafficlight 17y ago
      The internet can still help with the "who I am" and "why I'm here" questions. There are so many readily available viewpoints out on the internet that I can use to help shape my worldview. Certainly many more than the predominantly white, Christian home state.
jordyhoyt 17y ago
"But one of the thems is life itself, so I would argue that yes, it is intrinsically better ;)" All of this is life itself. No experience you can have is more like life than any other.

jordyhoyt 17y ago

Thanks for the balanced response. I saw in his article a few symptoms in my own thoughts and feelings and was thinking that maybe I just haven't been self-examining enough or that I'm keeping myself too busy to notice that I'm not feeling fulfilled. You helped me to remember that I spend time online as a tool to accomplish specific tasks, not obsessively as a substitute for real world socialization and activity. Thanks!