Someone I recently met (online obviously) on the Internet sent me this email which so eloquently explains what I love about the Internet.
In some ways it is impersonal which I don’t like but then on occasion you get to meet and connect with people you never would have under non-online circumstances.
I think we get lost in likes, shares, tweets and page views and forget what makes Internet magical is the human connection, and the vastness of our ability to learn and engage with each other. Just because platforms don’t have a feeling, doesn’t mean we have to change our humanity.
Agree completely. This ability to connect/communicate is unprecedented in human history. It is our inherent human behaviour to communicate; that’s why we started drawing on cave walls in the first place. Now the caves are connected and digital; we’re still telling stories. To survive as a species we must always work as groups. I think the Internet is simply a subconcious survival mechanism enabling communication on a massive scale, whether we realise that or not.
Through communicating, we discovered how to work together. It was religion that initially helped humans form large groups, then we developed the politi and civil society…and we progressed (arguably some might say!) Everything communicates and humanity survives because we can communicate.
I totally agree with you, people should use the net to share feelings and emotions. Moreover the net should be adapted to us, not the opposite.
Great blog anyway!
So often my feeling exactly. You find meaningful connection that is worth further exploration and eventual evolution. After reaching out, you might get some kind of marking response and that’s it.
Imagine starting conversation, receiving response, then handing something meaningless to the other person and just go away. Does not make any sense, yet somehow it is acceptable in certain situations.
-=-
Feelings are contributed and reciprocated regardless of platform. They can exist anywhere.
I met one of the most remarkable person in my life through fax machines. I met him in person just recently after over 15 years.
-=-
Even blogs are constraining, so many times I could contribute much more, but for so many reasons it’s just not possible or acceptable.
But we can change that, internet has much more potential it just needs environment where people can feel safe and can communicate in a more human manner.
Sincerely hope that we will have opportunity to elaborate on that theme sometime.
Video gamers get a bad rep of being unsocial beings. But when gamers play online, they communicate with people from all over the world. Is playing an online game that much different from playing a pick up game of basketball? The internet is another platform for human interaction; the fact that human interaction is virtual shouldn’t deter from the connection bridged between two individuals.
I’ve resisted the urge to broadcast for brocasting’s sake as I much prefer to share, learn, laugh and connect with people. Not surprising that you appreciate it to Om.