Is the Internet ruining society? [Editorial]

Is the Internet ruining us as a society?

The Internet is an amazing tool. The web makes almost every situation easier. You can apply for jobs in your kitten PJs, get to know someone face-to-face through Skype or keep up with family, friends or your favorite TV or sports personalities through Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. The options are actually limitless.

Even though the majority of us use the internet for general, daily inquiries, information and connections, there are many, many people creating opportunities that will make the world a better place too. For instance, the app Donate a Photo. Johnson & Johnson will donate $1 to the charity of your choice after uploading a photo from your gallery. Pretty amazing, right?

As much as each of us should be utilizing cyberspace this way, we aren’t. It’s a hard fact that as much as the internet has helped, it’s hindered also.

The web and our work lives

Our search for work has become easier because we can utilize job search engines like Indeed, Monster and CareerBuilder, but in the meantime, online monopolies like Amazon and Google topple historically indestructible corporations.

Furthermore, free apps are closing some of the largest businesses worldwide. Instagram, the app that shares your photos with everyone and is operated by a minimal staff, has almost single-handedly caused Kodak’s demise. We can’t hunt for jobs that no longer exist. Capiche?

The web and our communications

Ever meet a potential love interest for coffee, sat across from them (a type of body language that demands attention) and felt that you couldn’t pry them away from their phones – regardless of how engaging the conversation?

The ease at which we communicate through a screen has crippled our ability to communicate face-to-face. People demand to be connected to their virtual world all the time. That vibrating phone on your last date that alerted you of your newest twitter follower and the last friend who liked your fb post, is killing your ability to be present.

And of course, cyberbullying

The huge Michigan vs. Michigan State game on Saturday, October 17th made cyberbullying pretty central news.

Blake O’Neill fumbled a long snap in the last few seconds of the huge rivalry game, which led to a Spartan victory. If poor O’Neill’s heart wasn’t already broken from the defeat, shortly thereafter, the kicker started receiving death threats via social media.

Because we can’t see the damage it causes, we viciously attack others virtually. The cocooned safety we feel from behind a screen often allows us to type whatever vile thing that enters our minds. O’Neill has a team of supportive players and coaches rallying behind him, but for the misguided teen, threats like this could promote catastrophic results.

Privacy and the web

Bottom line, our privacy isn’t so private anymore. Potential employers, law enforcement and even government have the ability to pillage through our online presence page by page. Unbeknownst to many, your boss is likely aware of the last time you had one too many, the last video you posted from YouTube and where you went to lunch today.

Not to mention, the poor souls who were victims of the Sony Pictures hack. Once it’s online, it’s public forever, folks. As this class action lawsuit so arduously depicts, you likely shouldn’t expect much monetary retribution from your information being shared without your consent either.

Generally speaking…

As a society we squander the power of this platform. Instead of using the information highway as a tool to foster an age of enlightenment (the way books and art did in the past), we’ve submersed ourselves in the drama and voyeurism it deals. Instead of embracing the intellectual difference it can make, the internet revolution helps cushion the pockets of businessmen and the self-esteem of narcissists.

[End web bashing rant].

It isn’t all bad, of course. As stated above, the internet has the power to do wonderful things. More than anything it connects us with loved ones, offers loads and loads of information and keeps us up-to-date on the world around us. Each, if used with care, can be a building block for amazing things.

The problem isn’t whether the internet is ruining us; it’s whether we as a society have the capacity to use this tool for good.

And now, your challenge:

I’ve included a link to five apps below that encourage you to make a difference. Download one today, and use the internet to encourage positive change in our society.

1. Charity Miles
2. SeeClickFix
3. HTC Power
4. Donate a Photo
5. Feedie

#InternetAndYou