I don’t really understand the internet culture.
A part of me hates it all. That I waste hours mindlessly on this little box instead of outside living my life…the irony of it all is that I am ascribing to this culture as we speak. When I say mindlessly I don’t even mean how most people read news and funny stories and check out their friends and make social connections via internet. I mean I am completely mindless. I don’t even register in my brain what I am doing. I just flip back and forth from facebook to email without even reading anything. I just do it. Why? This is the question I ask myself. There is some uncontrollable impulse inside me to do this, like going to the bathroom or breathing. I don’t even enjoy it or take anything from it…I just do it.
I am not saying I want to log off of my facebook permanently or throw my computer out the window. I like society with all its quirks and flaws, and to be apart of the modern society today we have to be apart of all these networks. But come on, when will enough be enough?
I am an American in Italy and it is a really beautiful thing that I can keep in touch with my friend and family that live thousands of miles away. I love that I can be a part of Couch Surfing. I love that I can share my experiences with others. I love that I can find music easily that I never heard before. But there are some definite concerns that we need to question.
We need to recognize that internet should facilitate social connections, not replace it. We find so many interesting things on the internet, but actually going out and finding them ourselves, in the real world will always be more important. A picture of Macchu Picchu will never ever replace the feeling of climbing to the top of that ancient structure. A video call will never be as close of a connection we find in physical human contact.
And now google is developing these glasses. I mean…I have never feared anything more. This is way too far. Sometimes I want to be fucking lost in a city. I don’t want glasses to tell me that my friends are close by, running into them by accident is such a funny surprise. And also lets be honest, how many people will we purposely avoid if we have these glasses. Awkward social situations provide the best humor. Also, these glasses would be a stalker’s dream, a criminal’s opportunity to avoid all police….what the fuck is happening to us?
Why? Why? Why?
My worst fear is that at first only a few people will start getting these things, then some more and eventually I will even have them and have no idea why. This is the same thing that happened with facebook and look at me now.
The time as come to find my island that is separate from society. That or I need to create a metaphorical island and actually live my life.
