How the Internet Changed the World

[Caraccioli]

Ok, he's five and isn't actually going to write anything without the aid of lined paper - but he's up from Atlanta and staying for the week. This morning he came to me and explained (quite patiently) (for him) that he had a big problem that only I could help him with.

I thought, "How big can the problems of a five year old - particularly this five year old - be?" So I asked him and he told me that he wanted me to print out pictures of Star Wars for him. I was confused. "For what?" I asked as I put on my socks. "To color in!" Ah, now the coloring books are free on the internet. When I was a kid, you had to go to the store and buy them - and they were printed on that heavy, awfully cheap grayish paper.

You can talk about e-commerce, political blogs and Wikipedia, but for 5 year olds, the internet has revolutionized coloring books. (Plus it's a cheap way to keep him out of my hair while I work on an Autocad Drawing.)

[Patrick Hand]

Also look at how digital watches have changed how we think of time.....

With an analog clock. being within 5 minutes was close enough.... "the itme... 5:30 thereabouts...." with digital.... it's right to the second..... "the time 5:32 and 34, 35, 36......."(Ok you get the idea......)

Also look at how much smaller and more powerfull computers have gotten.......

they make wristwatches with more memory than my old Apple II-e........

And cell phones....... WOH.... I'm going to have to find a copy of "Future Shock" just for a laugh.............

[Duchess]

Oh. And here I thought this would be some sort of kindred arguement to my theory, as follows.

"Instant communication is the downfall of society." Meaning that now we can tell a huge number of people every little thing that happens, these things are no longer given the opportunity to work themselves out. Instead all these told people will get up in arms and react and exacerbate the issue. Resulting in any real problems being snowed under by tripe. Oh well, still on the one woman crusade to reduce communication.

[Caraccioli]

Odd that you would choose to post this on the internet.

On the plus side (maybe), we are closer to being able to have a true democracy (as opposed to the representitive republic we currently have) where everyone could vote on every issue that comes up before the body politic. Imagine the chaos...

Isn't there a bit in one of Douglas Adam's novels about a planet where everyone was cursed with the ability to read each other's minds so that they had to spend all day chattering inanely about news, the weather and sports to avoid hearing what other people were thinking about because it was so dull?

[Patrick Hand]

All the stuff I just typed.... got deleted by the kitty that wanted scratchies....

[Patrick Hand]

"Instant communication is the downfall of society.

I would dissagree.... One .. I can type at you... two... The downfall of East Germany.... (because of internet access they were able to show what was happining there.....)We want.. and HAVE to know.... hate is based offa non information.... everyone knows that the vietnmese eat thier children..............(and yah.. I was once appon a time told that....).

As an example.... I have read parts of the Koran.... but because Muslims don't post....does that mean that we should kill all of them... outa frustration.....

OK...... what I was thinking and what I typed were totaly different.....

We all want to live to the best of our abilitys...... and if I can type to a starving Africain (ok the bit about them having a computer kinda messes up my argument..)... SOME DAY .... we can talk to the world....... unfortunatly ... not yet....

So I read to much cyber-punk.... and being poor by Americas standards...(most of the wourld lives offa about $2.00 a day.... we are stinking RICH...) dang.. I just spent most of the poor in the worlds mony having two beers................... and I'm poor...............

Dang... it would have been more fun to talk ter ye... than to have to type at ye....................(and I hope you kinda understood... sorta where I was kinda trying to go wit that.....)

[Jonathan Hawks]

Made things easier in many ways. But fer the kids and school, it made them lazy in my opinion. They dont have it like we did where they have to go to the library and actually look things up and do some work. That is the main drawback I see in the world for it.

[Dread Mach Brannigan]

Whenever a new technology emerges with the potential to change the way people live and work, it brings up debate about its impact on our societies and concern over how widely it should be adopted. Some people will view it with optimism while others see it as being troublesome.

I believe it's good for our country's economic growth in offering greater flexibility and power in the way people do business. It has already revolutionized the way we live and work. Some see this as economic and cultural exploitation that will change the fundamental aspects of business and society.

One issue that should be addressed is keeping the Internet secure--protecting our children. Children have the opportunity to indulge in their curiosity and explore the world. But while it helps them to learn about dinosaurs or world history, it can also expose them to obscene, violent or inappropriate content.

Oh, and don't forget, Al Gore invented it!

[Patrick Hand]

One issue that should be addressed is keeping the Internet secure--protecting our children.

I view this from a slightly different angle..... How to protect adults and adult content from inquisitive underage eyes.... I use to post Adult drawing in an adult newsgroup. I don't want to get in trouble,as an adult, I can post and view such material. How do I protect myselt from some underage kid that knows more about the internet than his or her parents.

What I would like to see developed, is an electronic "Mark" that I could put in my drawings (well people that post photos could use it also) maybe a plug in for Photoshop, or an extra button in Netscape and Internet Explorer... that any Child protection program would recgonize the attachement as Adult content. and then block (self censorship... not governmental) If some kid got around it, it's not my fault.... I made an attempt to mark and warn about its content.