toldailytopic: The internet. On balance, is the internet a good thing, or a bad thing

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Nathon Detroit

Nathon Detroit

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The TheologyOnline.com TOPIC OF THE DAY for May 19th, 2010 11:00 AM


toldailytopic: The internet. On balance, is the internet a good thing, or a bad thing, for society in general?






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PlastikBuddha

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Good. The potential good represented by the unfettered flow of information makes up for the trivial and vulgar uses for which it is so often known.
 
Arthur Brain

Arthur Brain

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Well, if we don't have the net then we don't have forums like this for interaction ....

Overall I think it's a positive. Before the net some people thought computers themselves were evil.

:plain:
 
zoo22

zoo22

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I think it's definitely good with a lot of bad bundled in... But the good definitely trumps the bad. Having a tool that allows us to share and access information as the internet does is simply amazing.

Obviously tools get used in bad ways sometimes. But also, among other things, I think a bad is that it's big step in depersonalizing the way we deal with one another. While there's certainly a plus to being able to communicate with people we otherwise wouldn't (say on the TOL forums), I think it does change the way we deal with one another face-to-face, day-to-day, often in a negative way.

More and more we're just regularly "plugged-in," which is kind of sad.

But good. Definitely good. :)
 
Son of Jack

Son of Jack

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Some good, some bad.

The good is that I can connect with others that would have, otherwise been impossible. I can find massive amounts of information in a matter of seconds. I can reconnect with old friends. I have the ability to come to places like this and share the gospel with the unbeliever, or be edified by a brother or sister in Christ.

The bad...this could take a while. The information I can find is largely unregulated, and much of it is incredibly disturbing. It has redefined things like relationships/friendship. It has a tendency to isolate people from one another. Like zoo said, we are always "plugged-in." And, from personal experience, this can alter one's perception of reality in some pretty dramatic ways. It's almost like there is a false sense of connectedness, which in reality doesn't actually exist. On the internet, even though I'm "interacting" with others, I'm really alone; whereas, if I have a friend in my home or a conversation with my wife or children, I am "with" (in a much fuller sense) someone else.

That's just my two cents.:idunno:
 
Selaphiel

Selaphiel

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If used in a productive and positive way it is most certainly a good thing. It is neutral really, it is up to the user whether it is destructive or beneficial.
 
kmoney

kmoney

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zoo22 said:
I think it's definitely good with a lot of bad bundled in... But the good definitely trumps the bad. Having a tool that allows us to share and access information as the internet does is simply amazing.

Obviously tools get used in bad ways sometimes. But also, among other things, I think a bad is that it's big step in depersonalizing the way we deal with one another. While there's certainly a plus to being able to communicate with people we otherwise wouldn't (say on the TOL forums), I think it does change the way we deal with one another face-to-face, day-to-day, often in a negative way.

More and more we're just regularly "plugged-in," which is kind of sad.

But good. Definitely good. :)
Click to expand...




Son of Jack said:
Some good, some bad.

The good is that I can connect with others that would have, otherwise been impossible. I can find massive amounts of information in a matter of seconds. I can reconnect with old friends. I have the ability to come to places like this and share the gospel with the unbeliever, or be edified by a brother or sister in Christ.

The bad...this could take a while. The information I can find is largely unregulated, and much of it is incredibly disturbing. It has redefined things like relationships/friendship. It has a tendency to isolate people from one another. Like zoo said, we are always "plugged-in." And, from personal experience, this can alter one's perception of reality in some pretty dramatic ways. It's almost like there is a false sense of connectedness, which in reality doesn't actually exist. On the internet, even though I'm "interacting" with others, I'm really alone; whereas, if I have a friend in my home or a conversation with my wife or children, I am "with" (in a much fuller sense) someone else.

That's just my two cents.:idunno:
Click to expand...


These are my basic thoughts also.


Good - The access to information is a great thing.
Bad - The quality of information is sometimes subpar so you have to take a lot of it with a grain of salt. And, of course, the staggering amount of pornography is a bad thing.


Good - Being able to stay in touch with people from a distance is a good thing. And forums, like TOL, are a great way to debate and discuss things.
Bad - The younger generations are probably losing the ability to actually relate to people in person.

Anyone see that South Park episode about Facebook? :chuckle: The one kid has no friends but then Kyle friends him on Facebook. The kid, Kip, goes nuts with joy because he finally has a friend. Then he tells his parents he's hanging out with a friend when he's just posting a message on Kyle's wall. :eek:


So it's good and bad, but the good is worth the bad.
 
Selaphiel

Selaphiel

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It all really boils down to being a critical thinker. The internet offers an unmatched amount of good information. You can visit natural science journals and other research journals, you can listen to a lot of good and free university lectures (Yale is offering all the lectures of a semester on many courses on their site, not sure if there are others as well) and you can see videos of very well educated people explaining different things on youtube. And that is just information.

Then you have forums like this where you can easily discuss different issues with people from all over the world. I learned a fair share by frequenting TOL and I like to think that it improves my ability to present an argument as well. Not to mention the interesting and friendly people I can exchange ideas with, that would not really be possible with the internet.

There is a lot of filth on the internet though, but no one is really forcing it on you (most of the time). So again, it really boils down to how you use the internet. Use it right and it really is one of the greatest technological advances we have.
 
Buzzword

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There will always be potential for abuse in ANYTHING that comes along.

I tend to look past the abuses made online, either in pornography, stalking, or identity theft.....because I met my wife online.

Granted, she lived only about ten miles from my dorm.
However, if I hadn't indicated that I lived in Oklahoma (as opposed to my parents' home in Texas), then she wouldn't have found me.

Hardcore God moment all-around, as are the combination of circumstances which have drawn us closer together since then.


The Internet represents the ultimate free exchange of information and ideas, and countries with brutal dictators or oppressive regimes will find it more and more difficult to keep information out of the hands and heads of their people.

...assuming, of course, that they don't already have their people so brainwashed and/or fearful that they wouldn't dare USE the information at their fingertips.
 
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