How is the Internet changing us?

by Narkissos 20 Replies latest jw friends

  • Narkissos
    Narkissos

    Open question: I really don't have any ready answer for that one...

    My basic assumption is that mankind has always been different. Every period and situation of history can be construed as a "system" involving specific political, economical, social and technical conditions and a corresponding set of ideas, or beliefs, allowing for a certain type of self-, community- and world-understanding.

    Just to follow one particular line among many:
    - Jewish monotheism emerged under the Persian empire, with its first attempt at "world" organisation, borne by a strong moral dualistic philosophy and at the same time very tolerant of ethnical differences: providing a moral law code acceptable to the central (but remote) authority was essential.
    - Christianity arose in the cosmopolitan context of the pax romana, building on the previous diffusion of Hellenistic language and culture throughout the empire and craving for unity beyond differences: the network of ekklesiae with a local authority system but an increasingly common belief system proved remarkably efficient.
    - The Protestant Reformation is unseparable from the invention of printing, the European discovery of America and Renaissance Humanism.
    - Adventism (including Russellism), just as contemporary secular socialistic utopiae, developed in the wake of the industrial revolutions with the immense mass of hope and frustrations that followed; it was also the time of journalism.
    - Rutherford's JWs were organised after a totalitarian and apocalyptical model in the time of Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and Stalin, which all made great use of radio broadcasting.
    - More recently religious movements have used television as much as they could (notably in the U.S.A.), as did politicians in a representative democracy context (the Watchtower has mainly skipped that one, let alone the next).

    Shortly put, ideas don't fall from heaven, and they depend on material circumstances, especially communication techniques and possibilities. And in turn they change people: the hearer of a sacred text in a sacred language which s/he barely understands differs from the hearer of a universal, everyday language common to different communities, from the reader of a printed book in vernacular language, from the reader of newspapers and magazines, from the listener of authoritative radio broadcasts, from the TV watcher/consumer, and so on. Different mind structures and behaviours.

    We are just a few years into the Internet era, which means that a tremendous mass of contradictory and largely unverifiable "information" has been made available to most people in the world in a fresh, picturally attractive and interactive way. This new medium is related to the political and economical fact of globalisation, which makes cultural isolation nearly impossible.

    What kind of (successful) ideas and people will this new context produce? Will the next Internet generations be harder or easier to control? What types of self- and world-understandings are they likely to buy into? We are probably in the worst position to know, because we are just too involved in the process: we lack the distance for judgement and prognosis, because we are making it happen, together and against one another at the same time.

    "Wait and see" is, of course, the easiest answer. "Back" doesn't seem to be an option.

    Still it is even more important trying to ponder imo: because we are involved, this becomes an ethical question as well.

  • stillajwexelder
    stillajwexelder

    I predicted 5 years ago on this board that the Internet will be seen in History as at least as important as the invention of the printing press. I still believe this

  • jwfacts
    jwfacts

    I see a couple of main changes resulting.

    Scepticism - The large amount of unreliable information on the internet make people sceptical, but on top of this, the large amount of correct information on the internet allow people to verify that much of what they were raised to believe was wrong.

    Homogenization - I noticed when travelling in the past, that due to TV youth were loosing their cultural identity in an attempt to imitate the US ideals seen. The accessibity to a greater audience who can choose their own programs or u-tube clips without national censorship allows an even more rapid distribution of global ideals.

    The information age seems to be making people more aware of human rights - a benefit - but it also appears to be increasing the stress levels of people unable to cope with the rapid increase in knowledge and desires they want to achieve.

  • Hortensia
    Hortensia

    three second attention span and restless relentless clicking

  • oompa
    oompa

    Amen Stillex....They are so very similar.....knowledge, truths and falsehoods are there for both print and web.....but instead of days, months, and years to write print and publish...then search librarys, find and read.....they are all instant. Instant publication, instant search, instant access. The only prob now is I hate to be without it! Pretty soon...wi-fi will be free and global....prob a few satalites could do it..........oompa

    and I do think it is making all of us much less patient....and also more willing to question things....because it just easier to do

  • slimboyfat
    slimboyfat

    How has the Internet changed me personally?

    1. I am able to make a good living using the Internet, whereas given my health it is difficult to imagine at the moment how I could work in a conventional environment. It has also provided me with a valubale network of people locally/nationally in the same business.

    2. Doubts about Jehovah's Witnesses' truth claims, first aroused by reading an apostate book, were fleshed out over many years through (largely) anonymous exchanges/debates on the Internet with others grappling with a similar internal conflict over our chosen faith. Were it not for the Internet I can (just about) imagine I could have put apostate thoughts to one side and I might still be sitting 'happily' in the Kingdom Hall.

    3. I got ill three years ago with a fairly uncommon illness. Being able to contact others worldwide and compare experiences has influenced my response to proposed treatments and I have been able to ask the consultant about new treatments.

    4. For years my wife and I have been encouraged by family that we should get a mortgage on a house. At the moment we rent. Prices have been increasing rapidly in the UK in the past few years and mainstream media has consistently promoted the message that you have join the 'property ladder' before it is too late. Around three years ago I found a lot of information online that suggested TV/print news presented a skewed picture of the situation and that house prices are currently in a bubble - hence a bad time to buy. In the past few months house prices have started to decline sharply so I feel that online sources of information have served me better than traditional news outlets in this respect.

    5. The Internet has given me what I now consider a more appropriately sceptical view of mainstrean news generally; but I have so far not proved susceptible to many of the wacky conspiracy theory-type worldviews prevalent in hyperspace.

    So I would say the Internet has impacted me quite dramatically. This is more on a practical/personal level rather than at the level of abstract ideas you may have been looking for.

  • BizzyBee
    BizzyBee

    Narrowing it down to the impact of the internet on the WTS, anyyone caring to discuss or debate its future should read:

    http://libertyunbound.com/archive/2003_10/cox-truth.html

  • Gayle
    Gayle

    Other than time, the Internet is the JWs worst enemy.

  • jwfacts
    jwfacts

    The internet cannot be discussed without mentioning pornography, which consumes a considerable percentage of time spent surfing and have an incredible number of sites.

    Recent research from Australia shows that males and females below the age of 35 are a lot more accepting of pornography than those over 35. Discussion of the roots of religion (no pun intended) and viewing of pornography online is likely to help people overcome the stigma of sex that religion has inculcated. Combined with condoms to prevent disease and unwanted pregnancy, medical advances to control disease, rights for women that allow them to have a career and income on par with men (all advancements of the 20th century) leads me to conclude that people will become more accepting of multiple sex partners. With the life expectancy doubling over the last 100 years, women are able to have children later in life, and to choose to settle (or not) later in life.

  • Witness 007
    Witness 007

    Video killed the radio star......Internet killed Jehovah.

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