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| Thread: The Internet: A Blessing or a Curse |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 3 4 · «PREV / NEXT» |
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TheDeath
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posted August 24, 2009 11:28 PM |
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I agree with Doomforge about the "meet new people" part. I never understood what's so great about meeting people, to be honest. That is, "meeting" without no goal whatsoever other than random chit-chat. Seriously, it's like using omegle, but in RL, which makes it worse (because you can't joke around since you're not anonymous  ).
Anyway there are productive things that you can do outside too, but meeting people isn't one of them. (for example, photography  ).
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RedSoxFan3
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posted August 25, 2009 12:39 AM |
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I don't see being friendly to people as a waste of time. How do you know that one of those people you meet won't end up being a best friend? My dad met one of his best friends randomly out at a bar. They ended up being co-workers for several years after that and they still spend time together to this day. It's been 20 years now.
It's a smaller world than you think. If you put yourself out there, it will come back to you eventually. I might not always believe in God, but I do believe in Karma.
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Elvin
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Endless Revival
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posted August 25, 2009 01:25 AM |
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Some of the best times I've had or people I've met that matter to me just.. happened. It's like yes man, if you are open to new things and accept new challenges you'll unlock more and more doors. Some good, some not so good but at least you are moving forward, live and learn.
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Doomforge
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Retired Hero
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posted August 25, 2009 10:51 AM |
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Sox: Well, I don't believe in karma, but I do believe in God, so it's kinda the opposite 
Anyway, I don't want to depend on others too when it comes to my personal life. I don't wont to score because 3 of my mates enabled me to do it. I want to score by myself, because I was able to, not because my friend made me do it.
Much more satisfying.
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TheDeath
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posted August 25, 2009 04:25 PM |
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I don't see being friendly to people as a waste of time.
I never said anything about being hostile to people. In fact I'm pretty friendly myself. (internet or RL, doesn't matter)
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How do you know that one of those people you meet won't end up being a best friend?
I'm not a fan of randomly searching for a best friend. But who said you can't have "real" friends on the internet as well, especially if they are in the same area? (so you can later meet, after you become friends and not just random chit-chat)
And honestly, bars are much worse than the internet for friend searching. Of course both have a chance to get you a best friend, but the bar has less diverse people -- for example, I don't go in bars, and wouldn't go even if internet didn't exist (just so you don't say it's because of it), because I don't like the environment at all.
So someone looking for a "best friend" like me won't find me there, and likewise I won't find there someone like me -- but on the internet you can find variety of people. The fact that you can find them from the other side of the world says a lot about variety doesn't it?
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william
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LummoxLewis
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posted August 25, 2009 04:27 PM |
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And honestly, bars are much worse than the internet for friend searching. Of course both have a chance to get you a best friend, but the bar has less diverse people -- for example, I don't go in bars, and wouldn't go even if internet didn't exist (just so you don't say it's because of it), because I don't like the environment at all.
How would you know if you've never been to one? Trust me, not all bars are like the ones on TV. I've been to a few bars and the people there are generally really friendly and it's a good environment, no smoking inside (people go outside), and having a few drinks with mates while playing pool or snooker. It's quite good and a lot of fun. Of course, that's just me though. Maybe you or others wouldn't quite have so much fun there. Hehe.
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TheDeath
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posted August 25, 2009 04:29 PM |
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How would you know if you've never been to one?
Where did you get this conclusion from?
oh and there are those with plenty of smoking.
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william
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LummoxLewis
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posted August 25, 2009 04:31 PM |
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It was an assumption, since you don't seem the kind of person who would ever try to go into a bar (well based upon what I've read and everything from you, most people go to a bar to get drinks and you're not a drinker or whatever). lol. Sorry.
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~Ticking away the moments that
make up a dull day, Fritter and
waste the hours in an off-hand
way~
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TheDeath
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posted August 25, 2009 04:32 PM |
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Yes drinking is also what keeps me away from them, but it's not the only one. I prefer to go in parks instead.
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Corribus
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posted August 25, 2009 05:44 PM |
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@RSF
Quote:
There is a direct correlation between the current child obesity rate and the recent mainstreaming of the internet.
Just because two things are correlated doesn't mean that one causes the other.
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Warmonger
Promising
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fallen artist
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posted August 25, 2009 05:58 PM |
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Bah, you need to know what term 'correlation' means. It does not imply dependence. In fact you may spot correlation for many phenomena, but we'd better stay at logical interpretation.
Two values are correlated if they show linear dependency:
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TheDeath
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posted August 25, 2009 05:59 PM |
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We need more ninjas.
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alcibiades
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posted August 25, 2009 06:11 PM |
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Two values are correlated if they show linear dependency:
lol, this image should have the FAIL stamp on it, notice how they numbers on the horisontal axis start out by growing and then grow smaller again. 
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RedSoxFan3
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posted August 29, 2009 10:27 AM |
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When you go out to the bars, you have to accept the fact that you might meet the worst person you've ever met in your entire life. I have on more than one occasion. But I've met some extremly great people at bars this summer. They aren't merely "friends" they are people that I want to continue to spend time with aside from the times when I am drinking and this includes men and women.
Just my two cents. 90% of our inability to meet new people is from our own prejudgements. If you treat people like they are no different then you and they way you want to be treated, you will be surprised at the response you receive.
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Doomforge
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posted August 29, 2009 12:20 PM |
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Inability to meet new people? Umm, what? How come it's even an inability? You just talk to a random unknown person. What's there to give a difficulty? Does anyone even have a problem with that?
I don't think so.
You know what's hard, Sox?
To have real friends. Not mates who don't give a **** about you. The latter is so easy, anyone can do it, and anyone can have 1000 friends if he wastes enough time for drinking and talking to strangers.
But not everyone can have real friends. Those that will stay with you once things look bad, not just chat with you when they feel that they need so, but normally not giving a damn about who you are and whether you fit in their life as someone more important that a dude to chat with or not.
I am a firm believer that once you have real friends, you don't need random chitchat people at all.
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Totoro
Famous Hero
in User
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posted August 29, 2009 12:50 PM |
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Does anyone even have a problem with that?
Yes, I think that they think something negative about me, which makes me think that everybody hates me, which makes me sad.
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OhforfSake
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Initiate
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posted August 29, 2009 04:38 PM |
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Over the past 18 months of my life, I have been without internet in my apartment for approximately 5 of them. 3 this summer, and 2 last year in the early fall. I have come to realize that they have been some of the happiest times of my life.
I can relate to this, I lacked internet for about 2 months and I believe, eventhough I did also lack a computer in general at that time, that it was the most forfilling (I don't know about happy, I'm always happy I guess) time I've spend the last couple of years.
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Granted I think that the internet and the computer are powerful tools that enrich our lives, I also feel that it can be a curse if not kept in check. I'm positive that a majority of the posters who come here think that they aren't addicted to computer related activities.
Likewise I agree with this, the internet is such a brilliant idea, everyone can share their tidbits of knowledge, which combines with the knowledge of others, in a very quick way.
For me, I often get the feeling when I'm checking something on the internet, and 2 minutes later I've found the answer I was looking for, that it's such a rich world, and I've only used 2 minutes, that it'd seem weird not to go for more knowledge, eventhough I don't know where to seek.
In that sort of way, the internet seems to be the "answer to all your questions" (though I know it's far from it, the internet cannot "know" more than what the population of Earth knows), and all you've to do is to know the right question and you're "complete", sort of like sitting with the grail right in front of your nose and you just have to make that final achievement to find it.
Anyway the internet is a great tool, but I think when used in more serious work, it's very important to not see its powers as unlimited and not to trust every information you get if you can check up on it yourself, and at least always get more sources.
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At the beginning of the summer, I moved into a new apartment and didn't have the money to pay for internet all by myself. The first month or so was horrible. I was forced to put myself out into the real world if I was to enjoy my free time. If I didn't need to do school work online or check email, I would be perfectly happy never using the internet for the rest of my life. Facebook is perhaps the only thing that I might miss, since I like to see the pictures that my friends post online.
For me the internet is also a great way of socializing, you don't see the expression of peoples faces, and no one can "muck" you, however unlikely that is in the real world, so:
1) You're forced to express yourself more clear when responding, which often makes it easier to see other peoples intentions and in what mood they're in.
2) You really aren't in danger of getting hurt, unless you choose to, as all we can do here is to share words, so if I call you something ugly, you'll most likely know that first of all it's only words, words only hurts if we let them, and secondly it's words generated by a person you don't know, you don't care for (in any more sense than you care for the population in general), and you don't love, which makes any attempt to hurt you pretty empty.
The only real way we can convince eachother over the internet, as long as we hold our right to think and believe what we want, is through good and solid arguments. No authority (sure the owner can always ban the people he doesn't like, that's his right as it's his homepage, however he can not make them agree with him if they don't wish to), unless we choose to, no threats or fear triggers, unless we choose to, thereby unless we choose to give up fundamental rights that define our existance in the first place, the only way to really convince others over the internet is to put up arguments and defend these, and be ready yourself to change viewpoint if you should meet arguments that convinces you.
Many of the best friends I've today are people I actually met over the internet, through online gaming, and I agree with the part of facebook probably would be missed, mostly because people that interests you're on there, and it doesn't make much sense that you should not be able to watch what is happening to them, etc.
However there's one "danger" in that as well, as when information about people becomes more free, it can be harder to make a conversation, as all you can ask about is already "up there", on the internet.
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How often do you spend time on the computer every day doing non-work related activities?
Less than an hour? 2-3 hours? 4, 5, 6 hours?
I haven't taken time in a long time, and I'd say it depends a lot of what time in my life we're looking at, a few months ago, maybe tops an hour, a bit back in time, or a bit forward in time, and it may explode to several hours, however:
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Anyway I just thought I'd give people the challenge give up the computer for a week. I'll throw in something to make it easier. No more than 30 minutes a day to check email or whatever important matters you need to attend.
I'm definatly up for the challenge though, it actually somehow reminds me of steve pavlinas articles about habits, etc. (google the name if you're interested, it's often a pretty good read, especially the "early riser"-article)
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See if you are still able to enjoy your day. If you find yourself sitting around doing nothing all day, then you are perhaps not addicted to the computer, but very very reliant upon it for your entertainment.
Yeah, but maybe we're addicted to entertainment then haha.
Edit:
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Face it, it's just fun.
If you need some sort of ego booster, like "I'm better than those stupid nerds that sit in front of their PC all day", you must feel a nerd at heart and thus want to get rid of that "shameful" memory by denial
Some very deep and interesting stuff in what you write Doomforge, it's pretty nice that you don't need ego-boosters, that's something most people should be proud of, however I don't think the OP had much to do with boosting ego (i.e. I'm better than other people cause I think about my health, not playing 24/7, getting drunk, etc.)
What I think about the quoted and underscored part is that as long as we can't change the past, then let the past be the past, don't be shameful about it, it doesn't change anything, heck be proud about it, it made you into whoever you're today, if you hadn't done the things you did back then, you wouldn't have got the experiences you got, and you'd probably simply not be "you" in the way other sees you.
However something I find even more interesting, that I'll underscore in the next quotes:
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Me? I don't give a damn. I sit and play games. I laugh at people who think getting drunk or "going out" is any better. There is no damn difference. You do what is entertaining to you. If you think one way of entertainment is better than others, you are either insecure (because of peer pressure, most likely), or a conformist who has to live like everyone else, getting wasted at parties or whatever because everybody else does it and thus, so must you!
So I just randomly do what I feel like doing. One day it's biking whole day, other day it's playing Final Fantasy for 14 hours, and next it's dating random girls for half of day. And I'm happy about it. There would be no real difference if I kept dancing 14 hours in a club instead of playing. I wouldn't get wiser, I wouldn't get healthier, I wouldn't get richer, it's the same mindless time wasting on things that feel good.
The only difference would be that I could say to myself "omg my real life is sooooo cool, I rock", but I don't need those ridiculous ego boosters.
And playing FF feels great. So I will do it and I don't give a **** what others think of me. And since I hate parties and dancing, I just pick what feels better.
You see in some way I see your post very much as a way of saying "I'm independent of others, I enjoy (which seems to be what you seek) my life, and I'm my own master, no one tells me what to do"
And I think that's the way we all wants it, we want to have "Free will", and sitting for several hours on the internet without intention is exactly something that goes against the idea of "Free will", however you write you do what you "Feel like", and you also write whatever "random thing you feel like", which actually makes me think are you not then a slave to your emotions?
Are your emotions you, when they to you seem randomly generated and you choose to follow those?
Given emotions are randomly generated (which I read from your post), then they must be an outer stimuli, which in a sense removes our "Free will", as it's not what we want we do (whatever goal you may have in life), but what we lust for (what our emotions tells us), and in that way it's not much different than people who do what other people tells them to, or people who need to feel they're better than others, all in all these are also emotion generated by outer stimuli, be it other people, the weather condition, heck even radiation from outer space, then all in all there's no difference, you aren't "really free" unless you do what you want to do, and you can only do what you want to do, if you know what you want.
Wauw I've really never thought about it this way before.
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TheDeath
Responsible
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posted August 29, 2009 04:59 PM |
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Quote:
To have real friends. Not mates who don't give a **** about you. The latter is so easy, anyone can do it, and anyone can have 1000 friends if he wastes enough time for drinking and talking to strangers.
Or make an account on MySpace
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RedSoxFan3
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posted August 29, 2009 08:10 PM |
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Inability to meet new people? Umm, what? How come it's even an inability? You just talk to a random unknown person. What's there to give a difficulty? Does anyone even have a problem with that?
I don't think so.
You know what's hard, Sox?
To have real friends. Not mates who don't give a **** about you. The latter is so easy, anyone can do it, and anyone can have 1000 friends if he wastes enough time for drinking and talking to strangers.
But not everyone can have real friends. Those that will stay with you once things look bad, not just chat with you when they feel that they need so, but normally not giving a damn about who you are and whether you fit in their life as someone more important that a dude to chat with or not.
I am a firm believer that once you have real friends, you don't need random chitchat people at all.
I do have real friends in case you are wondering. Trust me, I'm anything but shallow. The friend prioriety is way above getting laid or meeting new people.
It's less about ego and more about empowering. The happiness that I am able to meet new people, because I felt that my stuttering held me back when I was younger for meeting people. Granted I still had a few close friends, but I felt like I always could have had more close friends.
In all honesty though, the conversations with strangers that I appreciate the most are often with older people. They have some great wisdom to share. I still feel like I can get something out of it. But that's just me.
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SimonaK
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posted August 29, 2009 08:12 PM |
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Edited by SimonaK at 20:14, 29 Aug 2009.
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no need to read the master thread or the posts to give my opinion on the subject.
It's a blessing.
Even if sometime can be curses for few people that become silk of. as alcoholics, compulsive casino gamers or porn addicts
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