The picture on the right is irrelevant. So is this song.

TLC – No Scrubs

I am half asleep so I will keep this brief before my eyes close.

I found an interesting NY Times article about how the internet is good for teenagers.

Or rather how internet socializing is supposedly good. I am willing to accept the idea that teenagers and young people are able to utilize technology and integrate it into their lives as quickly and exponentially as the technology is created. That is good.

And much unlike the Luddites, I am not just going to say the internet is bad because people use it for bad things.

One of my problems with the article is that it basically says, “internet predators, meh!” Never mind we had a whole entire reality show that effectively worked on this premise.

“But their participation is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They’re learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity, how to create a home page.”
The study, conducted from 2005 to last summer, describes new-media usage but does not measure its effects.

[...]“Those concerns about predators and stranger danger have been overblown,” she said. “There’s been some confusion about what kids are actually doing online. Mostly, they’re socializing with their friends, people they’ve met at school or camp or sports.”

“Teens usually have a ‘full-time intimate community’ with whom they communicate in an always-on mode via mobile phones and instant messaging,” the study said.

Yeah we get technology, but we can’t stand to talk to each other. This is the revolutionary example of a teenage connection they cite:

The study describes two early Facebook messages, or “wall posts,” by teenagers who eventually started dating. First, the girl posted a message saying, “hey … hm. wut to say? iono lol/well I left you a comment … u sud feel SPECIAL haha.” (Translation: Hmm … what to say? I don’t know. Laugh out loud. Well I left you a comment … You should feel special.)

A day later, the boy replied, “hello there … umm I don’t know what to say, but at least I wrote something …”

I don’t really call that advanced literacy skills, but OK plenty of us talk like retards on the internet so I’ll let it pass.

Now let’s pretend these two idiots are not dummies. They know each other in real life. But they can’t muster up the confidence to engage with each other. So they do it via Facebook first and then are able to engage outside of the internet. That’s good right?

Or are these kind of social networking sites just enabling this kind of interaction? I mean, it is easier to talk to someone after you’ve already had some kind of dialogue beforehand. It breaks the ice. But shouldn’t we be able to communicate with people without this technological push?

Is it okay to just say “fuck it [internet social networking]  it’s a catalyst at best an isolator at worst?” and move on.

Are we compromising something? Becoming complacent? Not forcing ourselves, our children, teenagers, whomever to overcome this basic social tribulation. And is that bad?

Are are we moving foreward as a society to the point in which most physical interactions won’t be necessary? Where most everything will be automatic, streaming live video, audio, work from home…

Are we just in an awkward stage inbetween this transition? So all we can do is look to the past and judge ourselves on that basis, while hesitantly moving toward the future…

/shrug I dunno. But ask yourself this… Let’s get deep for a second. Do you feel more alone when you are chatting to your friends online or in person?

I must say I do prefer the tangible thing, but maybe that’s just apart of the human condition. And maybe we’re headed toward becoming Post-Human…

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