The internet is a wonderful thing, it has removed boundaries, and connected the world. Three cheers for Tim Berners Lee!!
Or perhaps not…
I was looking through some of my rants on here, and was quite shocked to find how quickly I had forgotten the incidents and issues I was so vehemently spouting about. Well, forgotten isn’t really the right word, but the issues had certainly slipped to the back of my mind (which I must clear out soon).
So what is this an indication of? My lack of integrity and true morals? Probably. But I think, or maybe want to believe, that there is another answer.
How many emails do you READ a day? How many news sites do you visit, on whatever topic? Information overload? The internet moves so fast, with new information coming so fast you feel cheated in your favourite “obscure 70’s Arcade games” website hasn’t updated it’s news for one day. I’m conscious that I spend too much time on the PC, and far too much time on the Internet – which is costing me a fortune, let me tell you Americans, you’ve got it easy! – and I am beginning to realise that my attention span is, well, is it decreasing? or is it ravenous for more?
The thought of sitting down to read a book seems almost prehistoric. Novels don’t contain the latest version of the wonderful shell you’ve been raving about, do they?
Pretty soon, something you thought about last week, seems like last month, and events creep past you, barely registering. Yesterday’s news is now last hour’s news. Scary.
I hope that future generations will remember to interact with the world outside their PCs (yes, there is one), keep a good sense of right and wrong, and remember past mistakes. I’m part of the first generation not affected by World War 2, and it seems so long ago now, especially in a new century, but we mustn’t forget. Now what we need is a global repository, that can be accessed from anywhere in the world, listing the atrocities, and reminding future generations of what can happen.
Dammit, I hate it when my brain does that to me…
And I think I’ll leave the back of my mind alone, I had a quick look and, frankly, I don’t want to go back…