July 11, 2014 - 16:44
For my generation, the internet is where we encounter strangers. We didn't play much outside, didn't converse much with the neighbors, and were rather suspicious of people we didn't recognize walking down our streets. The internet engulfs you in a world where everyone has equal power of speech (I don't mean that in a Declaration sense) and where you must assume that everyone is a greasy, old man in his basement trying to lure you into danger. I played online games like Runescape when I was little and coversed with people I will never meet. My first instict when presented with the idea that the Internet exposes you to new worlds was to say that "no, the internet is filled with people like me." I appreciate that like in life, I mainly consume the posts and words of my friends, family, and peers (mainly like-minded people), but I do think the majority of people on the internet are my age or younger, and have a certain level of priviledge to be able to kill time on the internet in the first place.
I am starting to sound skeptical, so I should talk more about what I enjoy about the Internet, mainly that it is a world of endless possibilities. I love internet games. That's about all I have to say about that.*
I recently bought my boyfriend a book about introversion (called Quiet) and it revealed some interesting facts about collaboration. It seemed to say that generally, working independently to accomplish a task leads to more productivity, but in a think-tank-like context, group discussion is irreplaceable - the internet provides that while also allowing us time for personal reflection without interruption. People who are uncomfortable with public speaking can express themselves more freely in this setting.
i do get tired of looking at screens (my eyes are now hurting from staring at this computer since 9am, with a half hour break to nom and then spend the other half reading on my iPad).
the place where culture can really come alive and be shared through the internet, as i see it, is through the news. if news were only in print form, i would never consume it. even now, i rarely do, but one of my favorite assignments from high school was in AP Spanish, when we were assigned to read an article in a newspaper in Spanish, from another country, and report on it to the class. I loved learning what other countries were more interested in reporting on and how they conveyed current events.
It's hard to say whether the internet is a good substitute for books in exposing us to different worlds and cultures. Unlike the 15-year old discussed in the New York Times article, I do not find myself often writing online (this is a very new experience for me) nor reading the opinions of others online. I am exposed to a lot of opinion pieces through social media, but find many internet exchanges banal and almost never seek them out (except through news sources or in reviews for products I buy).
One of the many things that books have and the internet lacks is a filter. I know you can self-publish and all that, but it takes a bit of effort and not a few clicks and a couple bucks to get your words out there. One personality test I took said that I respect most acheivement, intelligence, and competence over all, so you could call me judgmental. I tend to think things I read on the internet are scams and that words in books are not. These expectations are built from associations. Don't get me wrong, I definitely feel as though I can question print, but I value a printed source more than an online one.