10 Things The Internet Has Killed Or Ruined

[Saint_Michael 3]

I read an interesting article on PCworld.com that is worth talking about and I would have to say some of those 10 things I do agree with.

 

1. Trust in Encyclopedias

 

I have to agree with this one to the extent that is true about what Wikipedia is about and the problems that have been produce since then. Granted Wikipedia is one of the best resources we have on the internet that goes back to the beginning, but again because of how easily it can be edited and so its hard to figure out what is true and what is complete BS. Of course, many of college students using this website have felt quite the fool using the information, however, I will say most of the information has some sort of accuracy it is just the matter of going beyond the Wikipedia website and look at other books, magazines, academic websites etc.

 

Either way, the information that we read regardless of the media, the information is only accurate to the extent of what people remember and then that is open to interpretation.

 

2. Barroom Arguments

 

If you seen the commercials to KGB here in the states, this is exactly what they are referring to. Or another way to look at it, because of technology all a person has to do is whip out the phone and fine the answer over a bet. Though I have to admit I was never one to participate in such events but you have to admit nothing gets a good party going then a drunken debate about various historical figures or sports stars.

 

 

3. Your Old Flame

 

Back in the day you had know how to woo someone, you had to master the art of love and relationships and so on and so forth. Thanks to technology and the late 20th and early 21st century, that kind of commitment is no longer necessary. People no longer have to be in front of each other and say it's over, you have emails, text messages and Facebook status messages to do that now. Of course, that was way off to in extent, however, because of social networking it is a great way to reconnect with old friends and in some cases old relationships from the past. If you read the paragraph you wonder why social networks are the way they are and of course the reason why the divorce rate is on the verge of being the worse ever. Either way, people need some sort of self-control or everyone will be single and just have lots of good ol fashion cheating sex.

 

4. Civil Discourse

 

Can't really argue here since the internet is one big battle ground for flame wars and because of that anonymity, people can drive others to suicide and sadly that is a fact. I would have to say in the last 5 years suicides have been at the highest levels especially for teens. Since bullying is no longer stops at the schools or on the streets. Even then, you see a lot of people saying stuff they would never say in front of a person, just because they know if they actually said that odds are they would have a good ol beating. Of course, some have taking it a bit to far in the sense they tell you who they are how they are affiliated with whatever organization and yet unable to find them. Well, with the right technology and equipment people can be IP Traced exactly or close to it. Of course, some people shouldn't even be allowed in front of a computer.

 

5. Listening to Albums

 

Napster started it and now everyone does it, but the music industry is not the only ones who suffer, you got the video game industry, movie industry and sadly the porn industry as well. We could talk piracy all we want as that is the main argument, however number 5 talks mostly about the shift from the stores and CD's to purchasing the music online and on top of that people no longer have to buy a whole album of 10-15 songs when they only want to listen to one or two of them. Obviously the shift is good for most people, those people being the customers, but it's up in the air for the artists, producers and companies that make the music. Still the real issue is piracy and it will never go away and those trying to break it up know it and so they go after the poor people who do not have the money to defend themselves.

 

6. Expertise

 

Everyone thinks there an expert...sadly thats about it.

 

7. Nigeria's Reputation

 

Sadly I blame the people who still keep getting scammed that's who I blame.

 

8. Gud Spelling

 

good writing skills are in the past, if you can send a text message then your hired...ahahaha not really but since the school system fail at teaching proper writing skills that by the time a student goes to college they will severely have a hard time and thus have to spend a semester or two just to play catch up and relearn to write again. Of course, teens will still keep on texting and thus struggle even more each generation.

 

9. Celebrity

 

Celebrities no longer have a private life, just ask Tiger Woods.

 

10. Sex

 

The sex industry has been one of the big winners in this, of course it does have its problems, i.e child pornography since it makes it easier and anonymous to distribute such horrible stuff. Although, over the years it would seem the porn industry has been losing money because they to are a victim of piracy as well. Sadly you do not hear too many lawyers trying to sue people for downloading porn.

 

 

Well that's about it really, it was an interesting article and so it should be interesting what others have to say.

[Rigaudon 0]

1. Trust in Encyclopedias

 

I have to agree with this one to the extent that is true about what Wikipedia is about and the problems that have been produce since then. Granted Wikipedia is one of the best resources we have on the internet that goes back to the beginning, but again because of how easily it can be edited and so its hard to figure out what is true and what is complete BS. Of course, many of college students using this website have felt quite the fool using the information, however, I will say most of the information has some sort of accuracy it is just the matter of going beyond the Wikipedia website and look at other books, magazines, academic websites etc.

 

Either way, the information that we read regardless of the media, the information is only accurate to the extent of what people remember and then that is open to interpretation.

Well, it only negates trust in open wikis. If you were to pick up a book (it's like the internet written on a tree, for those of you who don't know), such as a real encyclopedia, I don't think one would doubt the information and mistrust it.

 

2. Barroom Arguments

 

If you seen the commercials to KGB here in the states, this is exactly what they are referring to. Or another way to look at it, because of technology all a person has to do is whip out the phone and fine the answer over a bet. Though I have to admit I was never one to participate in such events but you have to admit nothing gets a good party going then a drunken debate about various historical figures or sports stars.

I see this as a positive rather than a negative. If a person bet you about a fact that you were sure on, the topic may be so vague or unheard of that it would take ages to find a source for without the vast resources of the internet, and by that time, the person might already have "forgotten" the bet.

 

3. Your Old Flame

 

Back in the day you had know how to woo someone, you had to master the art of love and relationships and so on and so forth. Thanks to technology and the late 20th and early 21st century, that kind of commitment is no longer necessary. People no longer have to be in front of each other and say it's over, you have emails, text messages and Facebook status messages to do that now. Of course, that was way off to in extent, however, because of social networking it is a great way to reconnect with old friends and in some cases old relationships from the past. If you read the paragraph you wonder why social networks are the way they are and of course the reason why the divorce rate is on the verge of being the worse ever. Either way, people need some sort of self-control or everyone will be single and just have lots of good ol fashion cheating sex.

Social networking causes nothing but problems for someone in a relationship who has many opposite-sex friends. Even the slightest comment, like "how was your day?" may set off a fiance or lover, like "Why would he/she care how your day went?" and reach the conclusion that you're cheating.

 

4. Civil Discourse

 

Can't really argue here since the internet is one big battle ground for flame wars and because of that anonymity, people can drive others to suicide and sadly that is a fact. I would have to say in the last 5 years suicides have been at the highest levels especially for teens. Since bullying is no longer stops at the schools or on the streets. Even then, you see a lot of people saying stuff they would never say in front of a person, just because they know if they actually said that odds are they would have a good ol beating. Of course, some have taking it a bit to far in the sense they tell you who they are how they are affiliated with whatever organization and yet unable to find them. Well, with the right technology and equipment people can be IP Traced exactly or close to it. Of course, some people shouldn't even be allowed in front of a computer.

I rather enjoy an intellectual conversation between someone with opposing views, but I agree that flaming can be just downright annoying.

 

5. Listening to Albums

 

Napster started it and now everyone does it, but the music industry is not the only ones who suffer, you got the video game industry, movie industry and sadly the porn industry as well. We could talk piracy all we want as that is the main argument, however number 5 talks mostly about the shift from the stores and CD's to purchasing the music online and on top of that people no longer have to buy a whole album of 10-15 songs when they only want to listen to one or two of them. Obviously the shift is good for most people, those people being the customers, but it's up in the air for the artists, producers and companies that make the music. Still the real issue is piracy and it will never go away and those trying to break it up know it and so they go after the poor people who do not have the money to defend themselves.

The internet is all one great copyright infringement. Well, not literally, but everyone knows what I mean- you can practically get any software you want for free if you know how. It's such a vast resource that it's so much less conspicuous than, say, breaking into a store.

 

6. Expertise

 

Everyone thinks there an expert...sadly thats about it.

I could totally flame people from this one point- people who think they're good at something when they actually have no knowledge or limited knowledge on the subject. Why are you looking at me like that? I know what I'm talking about! Seriously!

 

7. Nigeria's Reputation

 

Sadly I blame the people who still keep getting scammed that's who I blame.

Huh? What's Nigeria? Isn't that some sort of country?

 

Seriously, though, internet scams are the faults of the people who fall for them. Most internet scams are so blatantly obvious that I can't see how someone could fall for it.

 

8. Gud Spelling

 

good writing skills are in the past, if you can send a text message then your hired...ahahaha not really but since the school system fail at teaching proper writing skills that by the time a student goes to college they will severely have a hard time and thus have to spend a semester or two just to play catch up and relearn to write again. Of course, teens will still keep on texting and thus struggle even more each generation.

My #1 pet peeve: bad grammar/use of language.

I can stand slight errors, like misusing homophones (I actually noticed a few grammar mistakes in your post), because those are understandable; everybody makes mistakes.

It's just the mass spamming of words and sentences without punctuation that I can't stand, and, of course, the internet has done nothing for spelling and grammar.

 

9. Celebrity

 

Celebrities no longer have a private life, just ask Tiger Woods.

People like to know that their role models can make mistakes, and, in turn, justify their own mistakes. Yesterday, I ran into a couple in my school, and the guy was cheating on the girl. He said "Tiger Woods did it, and look how successful he is!".

 

10. Sex

 

The sex industry has been one of the big winners in this, of course it does have its problems, i.e child pornography since it makes it easier and anonymous to distribute such horrible stuff. Although, over the years it would seem the porn industry has been losing money because they to are a victim of piracy as well. Sadly you do not hear too many lawyers trying to sue people for downloading porn.

The internet is predominantly internet porn. It has its problems, true, but also acts as an outlet for the majority of the male population. I really don't have anything more to say on the matter.

[DodgyPhil 1]

The sex industry has been one of the big winners in this, of course it does have its problems, i.e child pornography since it makes it easier and anonymous to distribute such horrible stuff. Although, over the years it would seem the porn industry has been losing money because they to are a victim of piracy as well. Sadly you do not hear too many lawyers trying to sue people for downloading porn.

Just a fun fact to make you despair at the world: 25% of pornography distributed online is Child Porn.The internet has made a huge impact on the porn industry. Honestly, why pay for porn when I have a lovely array of websites that provide 25minute smut-films at no cost? (Other than those party poker ads that know just when to pop up, if you know what I mean).

[jlhaslip 4]

I'm sure that 'fitness and physical activity' amongst Internet users has decreased, resulting in a less than fit population.Kids need to be outdoors being kids. Go play in a park, kick a soccer ball around, interact with real, physical people more.

[midnightvamp 1]

Heh... I agree with you on the "spelling" point. To me, it's gotten to the point where I can't even read some of the stuff that I find on the Internet. Sure, after staring for a while and taking a few guesses I can usually understand the meanings to things (If all else fails, I just check Google ) Mind you, my problem isn't usually so much with the people lacking spelling skills as the people who talk in "chat speak". It's grown into a language all of its own, and unless you really keep up with the times, it can certainly leave you in the virtual dust, so to speak.I really wish I could turn that talent on and off, but I think I was born just a little too early to pick it up. It always makes me laugh to read it, and I envy the people that can write in that style and like flipping a switch go back to regular writing. Perhaps, if I sat down to learn it, I would be able to type like that too, but likely, by the time I had it down pat, the "lingo" would be so old that it still wouldn't sound right lol... I think I'll just stick to typing in my regular way. It's faster for me than trying to figure out a new way of typing.Though I really wonder how many people just can't spell anymore. I'm thinking a lot of it stems from some great fear of using the backspace key... or perhaps a laziness that stops people from going back over their writing and correcting obviously misspelled words. It's not like you need to be a dictionary-level typer, but seriously, some of the things I read makes me wonder. Perhaps I'd get a lot more work done in a day if I did away with the backspace key altogether and refused to review my work before hitting submit. Mind you, that might also lead to less people wanting to do business with me... so maybe that's not the greatest idea after all.Either way, it was an interesting article to read

[rvalkass 5]

1. Trust in Encyclop?dias

 

An encyclop?dia is only as trustworthy as its sources. A published book is less likely to contain random errors (ie. it has been produced with good faith) but there is no way to correct unintentional errors. Online sources can be edited at the drop of a hat for illegitimate reasons, but then they can also be corrected instantly. Both are only as reliable as the sources from which they draw their information. This is why it's so important to look at the sources for any text and consider exactly where they've got their information, any bias, etc. Newspapers, despite being a published resource, are notoriously bad at listing their sources, and editing text to suit their own spin.

 

2. Pub Bets

 

This links back to the first one - people can easily find a website that supports either side of a point of view, even for apparently 'factual' things. Most of the questions raised in these bets are things that are commonly held misconceptions (the sort of questions that feature on QI) so there are plenty of places on the Internet that contain the wrong answer. If anything, the Internet just fuels these debates rather than putting a stop to them.

 

 

3. Your Old Flame

 

People who are using electronic means (like SMS or MyFaceSpace) to discuss their love and relationship with another person must be the east romantic people on the planet. How on earth can you discuss something like that without being there with the person, seeing their body language, hearing their actual response? The mind boggles.

 

4. Civil Discourse

 

I agree with this one. The perceived anonymity gives certain people a feeling that they can do or say whatever they feel like to other people. There have been plenty of reported cases in the media of people being bullied and driven to depression and suicide because of the behaviour of other people online. That lack of personality some people feel when they're just talking to a screen name is worrying.

 

5. Listening to Albums

 

Am I the only person who still goes in to HMV and browses CDs? When I buy a CD, it may occasionally be online, but I still buy a physical CD that gets shipped to my door. I like having the whole album, I like having the artwork, I like having something that a faceless corporation in America can't suddenly decide I'm not allowed to listen to any more. My CDs play on any device, I can rip them into any format I choose and do what I like with them. Plus, a physical CD normally costs no more than downloading the tracks - sometimes even less (tracks sold as downloads for 99p each, physical CD album of 12 tracks costs ?3.99 delivered to my door... go figure).

 

6. Expertise

 

I don't think everyone instantly thinks they're an expert, they just learn a little knowledge about specific tasks/topics when they need it. While that can be a bad thing, it at least means that people are trying to learn more and educate themselves. That's something that required expensive training and books in the past.

 

7. Nigeria's Reputation

 

Any scammer deserves to lose whatever little reputation they have. If Nigeria wants to lose the image these spam emails created, perhaps they should do more to combat them. The same goes for banks and other businesses that suffer from people creating phishing emails. If more was done to combat them, the reputation of legitimate businesses would remain intact.

 

8. Gud Spelling

 

I manage to find friends that text in proper English so you can actually understand whatever they're saying If words do ever get shortened to fit within SMS limits then that doesn't spill over into any other sort of writing - it really is just to save that few pence on another text message for the sake of a few characters. I know this isn't always the case though, but so what? Language evolves (the US spell words like colour and favourite wrong, but they get along just fine ) and as long as the recipient of the message understands it, that's fine. If they don't it leads to hilarity

 

9. Celebrity

 

Celebrities haven't had a private life since they started thrusting themselves into the public eye so much. Newspapers and magazines have long had the same effect, and radio and television after that. The Internet has not made such a huge difference as people make out. But really, who cares what these people do any more than you care what a random person down the street does? It doesn't matter. Let them get on with their lives.

 

10. Sex

 

Just reminds me of a story I saw on the news of a couple getting divorced because the wife cheated on her husband in Second Life, and the husband was visiting a virtual prostitute. I believe they then started arguing over who got custody over the helicopter gunship they had parked outside their virtual mansion.

[longtimeago 0]

Ya i do agree that Internet has spoiled these many things, in particular i can add to this that it has promoted Piracy. Even till date illegal distribution of softwares and other e-materials are seen and internet is the key reason for promoting piracy . But on the other hand i would say Internet might have ruined 10 things. On the other hand the same internet has given us more that 10000^100000++ things. There cant be any system or any organization or anything in this world which can be 100% perfect . Every thing has its own flaws and draw backs. But i do agree that the 10 points are strong things which the internet has killed. But Just imagine how big the internet is, so in such a vast system, 10 things might get ruined and we have to digest it. But what so ever steps can be taken to check these things. I really wonder why is that nobody in this earth is taking any measure to control or put an end to pornography. Everyone is sure that it is not right ! Still cant ICANN do something about this ?? I really wonder. On the other hand i have heared that in some middle east countries the King orders the ISP to block all these illegal contents and they are blocked in the whole country . Just imagine if every country realizes and impose such cyber laws then wont there be an end to pornography and other things of such kinds ???

[nirvaman 1]

I think that the internet ruined the newspaper industry , since a lot of people are reading the online newspaper instead of buying the printed copies , so NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY should be the 11th thing Internet has ruined.Then i think Internet also ruined the "PICKPOCKET BUSINESS", yes it was a business and people use to live by stealing others money "from their pockets" , till the day the internet came , and many people use of the credit cards , and the online shops , people don't take money with them when they go out , they pay for what they want ONLINE , and that's where comes a new type of stealing with a new community of virtual pickpockets who use trojans,phishing websites , and scam to steal their victims money !

[Baniboy 3]

I really wonder why is that nobody in this earth is taking any measure to control or put an end to pornography. Everyone is sure that it is not right ! Still cant ICANN do something about this ?? I really wonder. On the other hand i have heared that in some middle east countries the King orders the ISP to block all these illegal contents and they are blocked in the whole country .

I have seen you rant about pornography multiple times now, but you never really mention any actual reasons (I haven't noticed). I guess it's because you're christian (have seen you preaching all over the forum...), but I expect rational thoughts for reasoning rather than a book. So, what makes it so wrong, nirmaldaniel? And by pornography I mean the legal type. And those countries do it because of religious (well not actually, more of a group control method) reasons.

And to comment the 10th thing interwebz have ruined... I don't think "soloing" makes you want sex with a partner any less? May be a replacement, but I don't think someone would choose porn over real sex like one could choose chatting on IM rather than meet in person.
Edited April 17, 2010 by Baniboy (see edit history)

[Echo_of_thunder 1]

10. Sex? that should have been ranked #1. It is all over the internet, in some form or another. Sad to think that the internet has become a tool of well porno and not a tool of learning for so many. But then again without that, what would happen to all the Anti Virus programs and tracking cookies

[rvalkass 5]

QI, that wonderful bastion of knowledge, actually showed that less than 1% of the Internet is made up of porn. Over 80% of it is dedicated to advertising however

[kleong 0]

One of the thing that internet had killed is the human touch (interaction). A meet-up or does not mean mugging at the coffeeshop at the corner of the street or picking up the phone and spending hours with the mouthpiece stuck to the ear. As for "gud spelling", I felt sms is the root of it, not internet.

[mandla 0]

Another thing in my book thats been killed by the internet is hard work.Long ago to become rich you had to work hard and put in loads of men hours but now. everyone has the potential to be come millionaires. You build a joke idea site like say friendface or mytube and it just catches on before you know it some bigshot search engine company contacts you and offers you 22 million dollars for the idea and the name. You're in school and just doing something for fun and voila you are a millionaire literally over night. Soon the whol world is like hey poke me on friendface or did you see my video or this and that video on youchube and its a global phonomenon. Another thing that the internet has killed in Crime boundaries. Now people commit international crimes without even noticing it they can apply for credit in a country they dont even live in using fake details and get all account details, transfer the cash to their account in their resident country and thats legal because they not stealling technically it may be under a false name but it it their account and if they have the passowrds and all they can transfer the cash to another account to pay for 'services' eg a false pay-your-pal sale for a car sold on he-bay with a buy it now price of 3000 pounds which just happens to be the max limit on the credit card. And as long as the card owner does not say its stolen / fraud how the maoney left the account then its all legal. So they get the money and a different country and leave a fraud trail for the so called inexistant Jixtor Bollox who applied for credit in the first place.