The Internet & Social Media, would the world be better off if they never existed?

[koolinkunming]

Lol I remember my mom was like what are you doing in the bathroom for so long?

Lol yeah mine would knock on the door and ask if I was ok. I would say I was just pooping haha. I wasn’t fooling anyone.

 

[Plutoburn]

Internet has transformed the way many people, myself included, travel. It has become an indispensable tool for me when I travel.
Typically, I will use internet to buy plane ticket and book hotel/apartment, book online tickets for popular destinations to avoid line up, book free walking tour, find transportation and googlemap, find good restaurant and flag tourist traps.

Without internet, you will need to do a lot of research ahead of time and meticulously plan your trip to have similar experience having internet. Or you need to join a guided tour.

 

[Renard]

The internet is an amazing tool, I'd keep it. But social media? I'd be great if we could selectively nuke it. The late 90s and early 2000s were basically that magic window where we had the internet, but social media wasn't widespread yet. I also don't like how the internet has fucked over traditional dating. Now it's all about profile pictures and swiping, it's terrible.

 

[Beechwood]

To me simply, the internet and social media is a positive in many ways I believe.

There are some aspects about it that I dislike such as cyber stalking, all the politics and fighting it causes, etc. It was more peaceful with political opinions before that internet I recall.

 

[Mike]

@HereticBD nailed it. It's the smartphones. When you had to go home and get on the computer, it limited how much time you could spend glued to a screen. You had to lock yourself away from people to do it. Once we all had a tiny computer to stare at 24/7, it changed the game. And there's no closing that pandoras box now.

 

[ProBoxingInsidr]

Shockingly I noticed this very same thing on Saturday. I was out with my wife, son and in-laws and we all noticed this couple that was a table away, and did the same exact thing except the woman was also looking at her phone. Did not see/hear them interact at all.

it is incredible how it has become the norm. years ago when texting and obsessing over phones was new, i would be over at my mothers and we would marvel how my much younger brother would do this. she would get pissed because he would sit at the table completely disconnected, face buried in phone. we couldnt believe someone would do this. now its just normal.

my wife is somewhat addicted to her phone. and although she engages in conversation, i do have to yell at her sometimes to quit playing on her phone at dinner. long term i think the effects of cell phones are going to be shown to be very, very negative in terms of the social development of people

 

[ROKKO]

If the internet didn't exist my porno drawer would still be worth the $1000 of pornos I bought. Some of the 6 or 8 hour pornos were $50 a piece. It was money well spent. I got hours of use out of them.

Instead it takes up a whole dresser drawer. They are probably worth a nickel a piece now but I can't stand to part with them because we spent so much time together growing up.

Edit: fixed draw with drawer.

 

[Cantona7]

Except for porn, yeah probably.

You know what though? I kind of miss my old porn collection...

 

[Rygu]

You know what though? I kind of miss my old porn collection...

I kind of do too. I remember my first porn in the early 90s I was probably 11 or 12 years old. Erection hard enough to penetrate steel.

Those were the days.

 

[minute bull]

NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR ELEVEN YEAR OLD TWELVE YEAR OLD ERECTIONS, KID.

 

[OCGSC]

Social media platforms are cancer I blame some of the violence on these platforms because they like to twist and bait people minds.

 

[shinobimusashi]

Yes. In theory its great but in reality the masses who use it are like giving a saw to a monkey, they can use it to a degree but dont really get what its for and all its doing is making our collective minds weaker and easier to manipulate, i think its fucking us up in the long term, it seems like people are actually getting stupider than ever in modern times. The internet is like the coke bottle in The Gods Must Be Crazy.

 

[Alphaboy]

Would the world be better without electricity?

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

We could get rid of social media.

 

[koolinkunming]

We could get rid of social media.

I bet I can guess which mod gave you a yellow card.

 

[GordoBarraBJJ]

I bet I can guess which mod gave you a yellow card.

guess away dude...lol

 

[all caps]

No, I dont believe so.

But I wish all the youngins got to experience 90s-2000s internet. I believe theyd have a very different perspective on it, and theyd be sad to see it going the way it's being taken.

 

[koolinkunming]

guess away dude...lol

It was a guy who thinks that a now defunct human cockfighting club was superior.

 

[Sir Galahad]

Hillary still would've lost.

 

[squeezewax]

Social media can very easily bring out the worst in a human being. Because of this so many people act like a judge, jury, and executioner towards others.
We have the likes of Facebook, etc, censoring conservative views, and storing and selling people's private details.
I've always been surprized at just how eager lots of people are to give up so much private information to the 'net.