Mark Manson wrote this fascinating article, "Why Everyone on the Internet is an A&&***e" (AKA, "The World is F***ed"). As a hilarious aside - You won't be able to visit his article twice because it's behind a paywall! I don't recommend paying for the article, so I'll paraphrase.
Manson is wholly negative through his entire argument and brooks no avenue of defense for those of us who happen to be humanists (read: optimists, or even realists for that matter).
Essentially, the internet has made the world stupider because of the availability of TOO MUCH INFORMATION. As someone who has seen the world with and without the widespread use of the internet, I can attest to the fact that the widespread availability of information has not been anywhere or gone anywhere. There is indeed an over abundance not of information, per se, but of accessibility (and a lack of of selectivity training - but that is a separate topic).
There are these places where you can learn how to determine a true primary source, become a skeptic without becoming jaded, or even go unjudged by the general public, to view the internet as a tool again, and not as a full on IV of information straight to your addicted brain. These places are called libraries. They are completely free of charge! It's a choice, people (Manson, I'm looking at you). They do not require an internet connection that you have to pay for, nor do they have any limitations on age or abilities other than being able to read (and even that is debatable as there are people available who are able and more than glad to help). Additionally, you can teach your children to do the same. God, get a grip people!
Manson rants on about the echo-chamber caused by the internet, but it seems to me this is more of the same, "Brought to you by the letter Z" crapola, thickly and liberally applied to the general public by Public Enemy number 1, Zuckerberg which is, admittedly, a by-product of the internet.
He did get this right, though, "The problem is, as far as I can tell, the internet and its technologies don’t deliver us from tribalism. They don’t deliver us from our baser instincts. They do the opposite. They mainline tribalism into our eyeballs."
So, take a break from your tech. Get outside. Take a walk to the library and checkout a book. Give it a sniff, and keep it the full two weeks. Heck, even read it twice if you like it!
Work harder and smarter. But don't work so hard that you pay for the article.
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