Why has western society become so reliant on the Internet?

[Parasondox]

Last post of the day I swear,

I think this is an interesting question. why has many people, companies (companies are not people, America) and governments, become so reliant on the internet? I am not against the internet because I think it can do great things. Connect to family on the other side of the planet, meet new people, find information more quicker and etc. It's one of the greatest tool that has even been invented. Okay that view is quite subject but the internet is everywhere. Some can live without it, some can't and for some, no matter how much you try to avoid it, it's always creeping up on you.

Rather than handing in CV's (resumes) to the store manager on a chance of a job position, you have to go online, submit your details and hope for any reply or contact. It also makes it too easy for companies to reject you and saves them money by not hiring more workers to sort through the applicants paper work.

If you don't use a certain social media site, your circle of friends may leave you out of the loop with information and other things.

Okay, using the internet is bad. However, is it bad to over use the internet. To be to dependent on it that some may forget about the rest of reality? I know I haven't touched upon the darker side of the net. Some people may be too reliant on porn that they often forget what a real life relationship is like. Many others like that.

Share your thoughts and what do you think. And yes I do see the irony with this thread.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Er...not seeing the problem.

Yes, everyone uses it, because it's very useful. Might as well complain about the use of electricity, or the internal combustion engine.

Now, there's often a problem with technology, in that you use it so much you forget how to do without it. GPS is a big one, lots of people lose navigation skills because they don't expect their GPS to fail. But...when the internet fails I'm not able to go on the net and complain about my internet being down, that's about it.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

You could ask the same question about the combustion engine, telephones or pretty much any day-to-day piece of modern technology. We adopt things and then forget how the hell we did anything before we had it- you can see it when people switch to smartphones.

Mostly because we're lazy, lazy creatures and the internet is easy. It's easier to post an event on Facebook than it is to go around and call everyone, much less write letters. It's easier for companies to deal with digital applications than it is to have hundreds of written applications. People look at too much porn because it's readily accessible and they're weak-willed. It all comes down to convenience.

 

[Parasondox]

Er...not seeing the problem.

Yes, everyone uses it, because it's very useful. Might as well complain about the use of electricity, or the internal combustion engine.

Now, there's often a problem with technology, in that you use it so much you forget how to do without it. GPS is a big one, lots of people lose navigation skills because they don't expect their GPS to fail. But...when the internet fails I'm not able to go on the net and complain about my internet being down, that's about it.

But people still complain when the internet comes back anyways. Yeah GPS is another one. Drivers end up in the water cause of their SatNav. How? Similar to pen and paper. Typing me as made my handwriting confusing and without spell check, I am fucked!!

HUMANS ARE DOOMED!!!

You could ask the same question about the combustion engine, telephones or pretty much any day-to-day piece of modern technology. We adopt things and then forget how the hell we did anything before we had it- you can see it when people switch to smartphones.

Mostly because we're lazy, lazy creatures and the internet is easy. It's easier to post an event on Facebook than it is to go around and call everyone, much less write letters. It's easier for companies to deal with digital applications than it is to have hundreds of written applications. People look at too much porn because it's readily accessible and they're weak-willed. It all comes down to convenience.

As I stated above that would sum up my response to your post,

HUMANS ARE DOOMED!!!

 

[Thaluikhain]

But people still complain when the internet comes back anyways. Yeah GPS is another one. Drivers end up in the water cause of their SatNav. How? Similar to pen and paper. Typing me as made my handwriting confusing and without spell check, I am fucked!!

You write with a pen? Pft, bet you don't even know how to carve runes into planks of wood with a knife. Seriously, though, where do you draw the line?

GPS is a serious issue, apparently lots of military personnel are getting too reliant on it, and forgetting basic navigation skills they need to not die should GPS fail.

 

[Parasondox]

You write with a pen? Pft, bet you don't even know how to carve runes into planks of wood with a knife. Seriously, though, where do you draw the line?

Yes I do.

*Searches Google to know what the heck that is*

Nope can't do that. No sir I can't. And you draw a line, with a ruler, onto a piece of paper. Simples.

In all seriously I have no clue. Adapt to both methods maybe, just in case one is unavailable. If the power goes out and there is no light, make sure to always have a flash light, FLASH light and candle with matches. Things like that. Always have an alternative.

GPS is a serious issue, apparently lots of military personnel are getting too reliant on it, and forgetting basic navigation skills they need to not die should GPS fail.

That's nerve racking. We rely on the Army for protection and often guidance whenever things are uncertain.

 

[Thaluikhain]

In all seriously I have no clue. Adapt to both methods maybe, just in case one is unavailable. If the power goes out and there is no light, make sure to always have a flash light, FLASH light and candle with matches. Things like that. Always have an alternative.

Sure, basic stuff like that. But you can't plan for everything, and really, you don't need to. A temporary internet issue isn't the end of the world, people could get on without it. Excepting if your job requires it and you can't get paid, I guess.

That's nerve racking. We rely on the Army for protection and often guidance whenever things are uncertain.

I'm led to believe this is more of an issue with US military personnel than UK, but I'm hardly an expert.

I did hear, for example, of a UK captain who went onto the bridge, turned off the GPS, gave the officer on watch a map, compass and pencil and told him to work out where they were and where they were going because of this. Also, apparently, the captain can just turn the GPS off.

 

[Parasondox]

That's nerve racking. We rely on the Army for protection and often guidance whenever things are uncertain.

I'm led to believe this is more of an issue with US military personnel than UK, but I'm hardly an expert.

I did hear, for example, of a UK captain who went onto the bridge, turned off the GPS, gave the officer on watch a map, compass and pencil and told him to work out where they were and where they were going because of this. Also, apparently, the captain can just turn the GPS off.

As soon as you said that, I just pictured a random UK Army ad they have on TV. Sounds about right.

 

[EpicMike7]

Because civilisation is dependant on information and the internet is greatest distributor of information we have ever known.

 

[Risingblade]

Useful shit is useful

 

[Spanglish Guy]

Our dependence on the internet is because we can access a huge amount of information almost instantaneously, plus the ability to communicate with others around the world with little effort is also a huge plus.

 

[Mezahmay]

I think this is an interesting question. why has many people, companies (companies are not people, America) and governments, become so reliant on the internet? I am not against the internet because I think it can do great things. Connect to family on the other side of the planet, meet new people, find information more quicker and etc. It's one of the greatest tool that has even been invented. Okay that view is quite subject but the internet is everywhere. Some can live without it, some can't and for some, no matter how much you try to avoid it, it's always creeping up on you.

We do these things because it is the path of least resistance to get things we want done accomplished, which you stated in your first few sentences. Want to know when a certain holiday is this year? Just search Google. Want to check the news? There are hundreds of sites out there. Want to go shopping? Again, hundreds of outlets that deliver right to your door or to a store near you. However, we are also animals so it's easy to keep using it to the exclusion of other things because it's easy/gratifying/whatever. If you let it the internet become a crutch or worse an addiction, it's very easy to slip into that behavior. That's operant conditioning 101.

Americans know companies are not people, even though there is a little bit of overlap. For example, companies have certain protections of free speech, they can contribute to political candidates, they can own property, and in recent news have gained a controversial right to refuse health care services on religious grounds. A few of those are kind of fucked up, but Americans don't have any say what private companies or corporations can or cannot do as long as what they do complies with federal and state law.