When Internet appeared in the1990s most people probably could not realize the changes it was about to bring to their existence and to the society. Another novelty, just a step further in the technological development, maybe even a short-lived fad – shrugging shoulders is one of human’s best tools to deal with unfamiliar things especially with those which he thinks do not concern him. It took less than two decades to alter this view dramatically. Similarly to the invention of the writing systems, the Guttenberg press, the electricity, the telephone and the moving pictures the net of connected computers enwrapping the globe today has forever transformed the way people live their lives. But why are they so afraid to accept this transformation?
It all boils down to the new commodity- information at the speed of light. Never in the human history have the man had to deal with so much information in so little time. Constantly accessing, receiving, processing and assimilating multiple bits of often unrelated data is something the previous generations are still getting used to doing while the new generations born and bred “in the net” cannot even think living without. Three-year old kids surf the web looking for the answer to the teacher’s question, nine-year olds do not want to imagine not being able to read their friends’ updates on a daily basis and at the same time their grandparents still remember times when books, newspapers and telephones were the only means of exchanging information from a distance. And here arises the big divide – as the lifestyles of the different generations become more and more apart how do they communicate and do they even understand one another? This is where frustration sets in and the fear that the groups in the society will become disconnected (ironically, the web aims at providing the ultimate interconnectedness). In fact, the previous achievements of the humankind were not less groundbreaking than the invention of the World Wide Web but the great difference now is the speed with which this new invention penetrated people’s lives. Humans (and all living things for that matter) are designed to adapt to changes but the process is to be gradual and moderate so that they have the time to adjust to those changes.
Twenty years is much less than a lifetime and the clash among the very young, middle-aged and old is so much more apparent and discouraging. People start fearing that the world they know is falling apart- the daily routine is not what it was a few years ago, friendships are not what they used to be, the old way of studying is being opposed to, pastimes are completely new, communicating is done using one’s fingers and not voice…and the list goes on.
Even one of the basic instincts – learning- has utterly different dimensions today. For millennia deliberate learning has been considered a slow process passing through many stages- see, hear, read, absorb, think over, share, discuss, attempt, rethink, accept, etc. However, the information overload from internet is resizing these stages and even completely eliminating some of them. The constant influx of information makes it difficult to process it the conventional way. And so people browse, glance, skim, jump, skip, re-browse… Their brains have to work differently in order to cope with the knowledge pouring out of the web. The attention span shrinks, the absorption becomes less and less deep, the communication becomes more brisk and abbreviated. This inevitably results in the behaviour, which in turns affects lifestyle, relationships and ultimately the whole society. Of course the different generations view this in their own way. And some start to panic. And start to explore and look for answers to explain what is happening, where is the world going and is not this the road to self- destruction.
It is not. It is only another time of change. It happens at more accelerated speed than before but humankind will learn to adapt to fast developments and in the future this pace may be the norm. Internet is just a step in the human advancement and as such it should not be something to be feared. Nobody can predict the future but Homo Interneticus will definitely not be its terminator. “Don’t panic!”*
* Douglas Adams, “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy”, 1979
8 comments:
So much so about the downside of information overload and the internet revolution on humanity, people often failed to look into the brighter side of the negative aspect. Change is inevitable and it does not has to be bad.
For instance in your argument about information overload and how it causes attention to shrink and communication cut short. We do not agree as Lazar (2003) said that it is the familiarization of associative thinking through the Internet that helps to develop multi-dimensional thinking and collaboration among people. Researchers have also shown that the younger generation who are closely involved with Internet use have better performance for online tasks than the older generation because they can act more quickly and avoid losing concentration. Thus the Internet displays positive influence on education in a long-term perspective.
Reference:
Lazar, J., Bessiere, K., Ceaparu, I., Robinson, J. and Shneiderman, B. (2003) 'Help! I’m Lost: Users Frustration in Web Navigation'. IT & Society 1, 18-26
Could addicted internet become a fobia in the world such as cigarets and alchohol??
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You said that we don't have to be afraid by the new humankind generation. You said we will learn to adapt and this will be the norm. Do you think that seating in front of the computer screen all day long since the age of 3 is the norm ? Do you think that speaking with "friends" you never saw is the norm ? I'm not so sure about that. Internet is a fantastic way to learn and open our mind but since the past 7-8 years, the world goes too fast, and the different generations don't understand each other. A 22-23 year-old-person doesn't communicate well with a 15-year-old-teenager. Everything changes in a short time period. There is no marks anymore, not the same language anymore. This is scaring !
@ E-talks-2U :
It looks scary, doesn't it? But that's exactly our point. When we were growing up the internet wasn't as prolific as it is now, we are not used to staying for hours in front of the computer, we made our friends almost entirely offline etcetera, etcetera… But they , the new generation which can hold a mouse better than a pencil doesn’t know anything different. They don’t think they are missing out on something because their natural environment is the webspace and not the park bench. And they are ok with it. We are not ok with because it challenges us and forces us to accept things we are not used to. And it’s normal to be scared and to reject the new ways of doing things. But sooner or later we will have to accept them because we won’t have another choice. And if we don’t- nobody would care. Survival of the fittest, right?:) So what we are saying is – don’t be afraid of the change, accept it and learn to live with it because it looks like the internet is here to stay.
@ Emarketfornsics:
We are not saying young generations can't develop concentration. It’s just that their concentration is in short bursts rather than long-term ones. And although this type of very strong but short concentration might be useful in some areas of life, the inability to stay focused for a longer time on a task might prove negative in other areas. A restless, "jumpy" mind might lead to shallow communications, ineffective learning and working processes, an inability to sustain long-term relationships and so on. This is not necessarily bad but there is a high probability that it will change the way the society looks and operates in the future.
@ Turn the blogosphere:
A phobia? Or maybe you mean a sort of disease like alcoholism or drug addiction? Yes, of course and it is not a new issue. In fact there have been many cases of high internet addiction which required professional intervention and proved that it was no different from the more “traditional” problems people might have with cigarettes, alcohol and so on. See for example http://www.netaddiction.com/
Information is pretty good and impressed me a lot. This article is quite in-depth and gives a good overview of the topic.
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