[roberto]

Reading on here about Bitcoins and the like got me thinking. I'm really not an Internet person. I use it as a tool to find knowledge, whether for work or life, this forum being an excellent example. So to that extent I'm certainly not an internet denialist. That said, I often struggle to verbalise my thoughts and that was the title that popped into my head.

Bitcoins, internet businesses, Facebook, smartphones, online dating, none of this interests me in the slightest. I can for sure see the potential, the benefits and the incentives to use such things. I just have no interest whatsoever. Facebook and smartphones in particular I just think are sad, particularly with the way in which people are glued to them nowadays.

I believe I'm not wired right, if you will, for that sort of thing. I'm much more the outdoors type. I believe (dare I say it do I even hope? I don't know) that there will come a time when the power goes out. And all the online world will then mean sweet FA- much as it already does to the other half of the world.

I'm not the crazy prepper type, but I do have buried stashes of the essentials!

Does anyone else think the Internet is on the verge of going too far, of becoming far more inextricably linked with ourselves than is good for our mental and physical wellbeing?

[travolta]

"Does anyone else think the Internet is on the verge of going too far, of becoming far more inextricably linked with ourselves than is good for our mental and physical wellbeing?"

It sounds like you're justifying the fact that you haven't figured out how to make money from the internet? This argument is similar to a fat person saying they hate exercise and a healthy diet because eating healthy is boring.

[Statsi]

Facebook and social media have been linked with depression and are obviously a source of procrastination and attention seeking. You need to view the internet as a tool, use it for business, for learning, for research, for online game, etc. Don't use it as entertainment or noise. View sites only relevant to your life, if there is no chance that what you're reading is going to affect your life then skip it.

Personally I have a blog roll of economics websites, RooshV, RoK, and a single politics news website. Either don't use Facebook at all or use it purely for logistics and self promotion, being a social butterfly seeking validation and entertainment is for girls and betas, use Twitter and be your own source of news and opinions or skip it completely, following others who are actually achievers rather than career journalists pushing and agenda. Set up your own business and create value online, selling value directly has never been easier thanks to widespread internet use. Blog to create a fan base, to refine your own ideas, and to keep track of your progression as a man.

The internet is a God send for the new renaissance of men. We can finally reach like minded individuals and obtain access to material, news, opinions, and facts untainted by the liberal pc bullshit that's so prevalent in all mainstream media. So long as it stays uncensored and free the internet is essential for male spiritual well-being.

[Edmund Dantes]

Like everything there's pros and cons. In this case, the pros outweigh the cons but if someone figures out how to control the internet then we're fucked.

[Tail Gunner]

(11-13-2013 12:14 PM)roberto Wrote:  

Facebook and smartphones in particular I just think are sad, particularly with the way in which people are glued to them nowadays.

Does anyone else think the Internet is on the verge of going too far, of becoming far more inextricably linked with ourselves than is good for our mental and physical wellbeing?

The internet is not on the verge of going too far. People are on the verge of going too far. Everything in moderation. Everything good can be misused or overused.

I was in a jacuzzi at my health club the other day trying to relax. I wanted to punch out some A-hole who was talking into his waterproof cell phone and ruining the atmosphere. Then a second A-hole blocks my car by walking down the middle of the street while talking on his cell phone. These sociopaths are now everywhere.

I read an article recently (might have been in this forum) about a trainload of passengers glued to their smart phones who ignored a man waving a gun about. The gunman then killed a few of them.

The internet is not on the verge of going too far, but people are on the verge of going too far -- in allowing electronic devices to wildly expand their narcissistic sociopathic tendencies. I certainly hope that there are enough gunmen on hand to take care of them.

Just kidding! Sort of.