We seem to talk so much about identity on the Internet that we seem to forget who we really are. We need to eat and sleep. We have friends and people we share our lives with on a daily bases face to face. We go outside and see that it is sunny or raining. We live our lives.
The Internet isn't alive it is a tool, it doesn't eat food or sleep or have family or friends. Yet we talk like it is something alive. If there was an EMF and it took the Internet down on a world wide bases, we would still be here. Walking, eating doing our lives without the Internet we would have to what other choice is there?
We seem to place a lot of attention on something that is a tool nothing more.
Our ability to dream has now been overtaken by a tool, that is only a tool it can not make our dreams come true only we can do if we decide that we want to. This tool the Internet can help because it is a tool, yet we must decide where we are going and how we are going get there and which tools best help in our quest.
Steve, I like what you have to say about online vs. physically present identities. Sometimes it seems to me that we have adapted to "cyberspace" in the same way we have adapted to having indoor plumbing, temperature control and telephones. We can do without it if we have to, but once we're in the grip of the wonder of it, it's difficult to voluntarily give up. I really think finding the right balance is the key to keeping our humanity while leveraging these "tools." Thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteI am looking for my 'like' button Cindy. That being my first thought reinforces Steve's concerns. It also makes me think that even though we think categorically, the visual categories online communication encourages shapes our thoughts even more. We do need a balance - Thank you both.
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