To think the internet has a more negative than positive impact overall?

[omydeirhert]

I was enthusiastic about the internet in the past. Thought it was great. Over time (especially over the past year) I have become sooo disillusioned with it.

My nan always thought if only everyone could access any information whenever, then there’d be world peace. Or at very least no prejudices. The internet is that place, and many take everything online as gospel, but it’s so mixed in with lies it’s hard to even know what’s true and what’s not.

Pornography. It’s gone from first experiences of it being finding a magazine hidden in an attic to clicking the wrong link and finding yourself with hours and hours of video of a women being abused in various ways. Porn addiction is making society less safe for everyone. A c4 doc I watched claimed that the internet is making pedophiles— I can completely see how that’s happening.

Social media is made to be addictive. It’s gone from just something to catch up with friends to being like a drug. Causes bad MH, also full of plenty of illegal stuff that can be easily stumbled upon. According to another doc it also has a bad environmental impact, which is interesting and rarely mentioned.

I could come up with lots more. I think it could’ve been something really amazing for humanity, but it’s become awful overall. Sometimes I’ll find something and think ‘this is great’, but I’m quickly brought back to the reality of it.

Replace “the internet” in your original post with “electricity”, “the wheel” or “fire”. All are unstoppable forces of nature.

YANBU - I agree

@MasterBeth I see what you mean but issue with those things can be mostly managed. How can you ever keep on top of something that is constantly expanding at an unimaginably fast rate?

YANBU, I spend way too much time online. It's not online, but how to wean myself off?!

I even take a tablet to the bathroom when I shower tomwatch TV!

It's hard to quantify. I agree with you on the bad but u also see the good. I think the pandemic would have been much more chaotic and depressing without the internet for example. So the ability to work from home and chat with family on zoom made things much easier. I think social movements have made tracks that wouldn't have otherwise #metoo etc. But as you say the proliferation of porn means any progress will be wiped out on that front.

I was an avid reader my whole life. A complete bookworm. I barely read at all these days as I'm completely addicted to my phone for downtime so in that sense I hate it but I'm too weak willed to stop!

It's not healthy, i meant

Stupid old ipad

@excuseforfights I put screentime limits on my devices to wean myself off when it gets too much.

It’s almost like once you start using them all the time it’s hard to imagine life without them. Time just seems to disappear when you’re on them too.

I disagree. But it can definitely be more negative than positive for a fair proportion of people.

For me personally it's an overwhelming force of good, I have a disability and live in a remote area, I'm studying for a degree fully online, most of my hobbies are online and it's where I've met most of my friends, it's how I watch my entertainment (Netflix etc) means I can work full time at a fully remote company.

The wide spread porn aspect worries me though.

How did we exist before the internet !.

[quote omydeirhert]@excuseforfights I put screentime limits on my devices to wean myself off when it gets too much.

It’s almost like once you start using them all the time it’s hard to imagine life without them. Time just seems to disappear when you’re on them too.[/quote]
I have tried this on my laptop, but end up disabling the limiter!

I have zero willpower.

It's actually affecting my work now, I am on the inteenet for hours when i should be working.

I see your point totally. I worry that things are just too easy now and that my brain will atrophise. I don't need to remember anything because I can just Google it. I don't need to use my imagination to fill time or allow my mind to wander because I can look at Mumsnet instead. I give tremendous credence to what people write on here without knowing the first thing about them or their motivations. Our world is now infinitely accessible but at what cost to our own minds? It's all progressed at lightning speed and no one has ever made us all pause and wonder if we are going in the right direction.

Yanbu.

It scares me a bit tbh. I worry about what some of it means for my children, I really hope the porn & social media addictions are bit like alcohol.... people went mad on it when it became more readily available in the 70s and 80s, but young people today are quite savvy about the dangers/pointlessness of it and aren't interested, lots don't drink.

I get what you're saying OP, but then I think about the good stuff that happens online, Wikipedia, fund raising, Woolley Hugs and the help, encouragement and support abused women get here on MN. The tracing of and keeping in touch with long lost friends and relatives.

I am an optimist I suppose, but I stay away from social media because that's where most of that shit happens. That's the beauty of it you can pick and choose what you see and become part of.

It does reassure me OP that I'm already seeing some reduction in social media use among my peers (I'm mid 30s). No one really posts on facebook any more and quite a lot of friends have deactivated. I've only still got my account because I'm in a specific support group I check from time to time. Most of my friends have cut back on Instagram too, it's gone from being widespread to people having small private accounts shared only with a limited network of friends and very close family.

@excuseforfights I also have that problem. As crazy as it makes me sound I just ask someone else to set the screentime passcode and absolutely not tell me unless I have a valid reason for X amount of time. I know it’s insane that it takes that much but at least it works.

@amusedtodeath1 Those are the sorts of things that convince me maybe the internet is good after all, but then I consider how rarely that happens in comparison to all the bad things If the internet were limited to that then I’d be fully on board.

[quote omydeirhert]@excuseforfights I also have that problem. As crazy as it makes me sound I just ask someone else to set the screentime passcode and absolutely not tell me unless I have a valid reason for X amount of time. I know it’s insane that it takes that much but at least it works.[/quote]
This is a good idea! I'll try this :)

YANBU and I agree more negatives than positives. Though I like the positives.