By Carl Sampson
I used to think the Internet was destroying society.
Now I am sure of it.
As a matter of fact, that’s about the only thing I’m sure of these days.
Here are eight reasons why I think the Internet causes more trouble than it’s worth.
First without rival, the Internet is the biggest source of misinformation, half-truths, hyperbole, disingenuousness and pure baloney in the history of mankind.
Nowhere can you find more stuff that is factually wrong, misinterpreted and pure fabrication than the Internet.
Second, as a brain-draining diversion, the Internet has no rivals. People waste hours, days, months and years staring at junk such as Facebook and games that no otherwise sane person would spend a second on.
Third, it’s destroyed people’s ability to have a conversation. Hardly anyone can engage in an old-fashioned conversation without reaching for their phone to check for messages, tweets, emails, sports scores or news flashes. Next time you are at the grocery store waiting in line, notice what people are doing – staring at their phones.
I haven’t seen the face of one of my kids for three years. It’s been buried in his phone or tablet.
Fourth, easy access to see pornography. Enough said.
Fifth, the selfie. We have everyone, from the president down to nearly every high school kid, constantly taking photos – of themselves. What, did they forget what they looked like 30 seconds ago, when they took the last photo? Did their friends forget?
If this generation isn’t the most hung-up, look-at-me generation of all, I don’t know which is.
Sixth, politics. Like everything else, politicians have tried to hijack the Internet, and it’s the lamest, most pitiful sight ever. They announce how they have saved the world every 10 minutes – all the while asking for a donation.
Seventh, swear words. If I had a penny for every swear word used on the Internet, I’d be able to buy Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, that Chinese guy who started Alibaba and 14 other zillionaires and still have money left over for Elon Musk and a six-pack of Teslas.
People these days can’t express themselves without using @#$% and &*@$. And don’t forget about %&$*. It’s gruesome the way people make fools of themselves in public with foul language.
Eighth, public discourse in general has sunk into a swamp of accusations, assumptions, vitriol, meanness and downright orneriness unparalleled in history. Don’t believe me? Read the comments after a newspaper story or comments posted on social media sites. It’s as though the Internet is the world’s biggest school yard brawl. The Jerry Springer Show is the Lincoln-Douglas debate by comparison.
Yet, there are good things about the Internet. They are, uh, wait a minute, I’ll come up with something.
Oh, I know, you can get public documents on the Internet.
And you can Google – or Yahoo or Bing – stuff. Big deal. It used to be that I’d just call the nearest library and a helpful librarian would look it up for me.
But no matter what other “good” things I could list, they wouldn’t offset the horrible, offensive and barbaric stuff that dominates the Internet.
It used to be said that the media was a mirror of society. If the Internet is a mirror of our society, we’re in deep trouble.
Carl Sampson is a freelance editor and writer.
