Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Most only get ideas fro teh internet on places to live. many want info as their job is transfeering them to another loaction or they got a job offer. Most that move volunteerly usually at least take a trip or actaully rent for while.20 yeara ago mnay went to a place multiple times o vaction most liely or a job move.One reason so mnay moved to Florida after going there on winter vacations so often.Now days so many are looking for things like cost of living because some places are so expensive ;it seems.The interent can give information that was not avilable to people years ago;and people are frankly more traveled than the old homebodies of years ago and open to new things.People use to retire ;for example; where they worked;but for many they didn't live there by choice.
Yes, with moving it was very helpful, but what about even just shopping. Look at how much money you can save buying things online, look at the deals you find on hotels, electronics or plane tickets. Hell you can order pizza online now... its not that it controls our life, it just makes everything so much easier we'd be crazy to not use it. it would be as reasonable as being amish to not use it
I have a theory that the internet is the beginning of the end of human memory.
Think about it, no one has to remember anything anymore. We've already seen this with the invention of spell check and writing. How many people actually know how to write a complete sentence without spell check? You can see it here, even those who could be considered smart and educated slip up.
The same things are happening with fact. Now when someone asks you a question, many people begin reaching for their phone to google the topic. Then they get their opinion based on that search.
Don't get me wrong, I love having the world at my fingertips. I love having the wealth of knowledge that has been gathered from millenia at my whims. However, I fear this is prompting people to care less about memory, and more about physical reactions.
Immediate gratification is what this world is about now. Thats not all bad, but I fear what happens now that Google is becoming God.
I have been wondering something; with so many of us using the internet for various reasons, do you think the information you get in some way may control your actions? For example: You think about relocating to another state/town far far away. You start your online research and you find all the good and bad. You then make a decision based on the data you retrieved online. Would this same decision had been made 20 years ago if you did not have the internet to influence you? Also, couldn't this alter your entire life given the choice you made based on online information?
I know this seems really stupid, but I am just curious to hear some of your thoughts on this.
Yes, absolutely. The Internet is a new source of information. More up to date and accessible than older, more traditional sources. The Internet "controls" my actions in that it provides an additional source of info that influences my actions.
How many people have visited a state forum here...not gotten a warm welcome, or worse yet, gotten a rude awakening...and then decided the whole state must be full of uptight people and looked elsewhere?
More than I'd care to imagine.
I still see people occassionally in the Political Forum (God help 'em) wondering aloud when the world turned upside down...as if the C-D Political Forum IN ANY WAY represented America.
It's frightening how misguided people can be on the internet. Esp. older folks that are used to 5 channels and 'respectable' news sources. <---My opinion.
At any rate, yes it does change you perceptions and it already IS being manipulated and molded right under your feet.
The internet is truly one of the greatest things in our lifetime.
Hopefully some fool doesn't think it would be best to control this new medium.
I agree, it is a marvelous invention. But man's will to control and dominate (where have I heard that before? ) will certainly lead less internet freedom in the future.
I have been wondering something; with so many of us using the internet for various reasons, do you think the information you get in some way may control your actions? For example: You think about relocating to another state/town far far away. You start your online research and you find all the good and bad. You then make a decision based on the data you retrieved online. Would this same decision had been made 20 years ago if you did not have the internet to influence you? Also, couldn't this alter your entire life given the choice you made based on online information?
I know this seems really stupid, but I am just curious to hear some of your thoughts on this.
I'm not really sure which way your are trying to steer this. In my opinion its information i would be more or less lost without. Seriously, i've always had a lot of questions, but never much in the way of finding answers or even how to find answers. The internet changed that or me, there is a plethora of information available, allows making an educated decision much easier. If i can't find it on the internet, i can still use to to find out where or on what i can find what i'm looking for.
There is bad with any good, ultimately because people are involved. So like everything, you just have to have your wits about you, and take things with a grain of salt.
I have been wondering something; with so many of us using the internet for various reasons, do you think the information you get in some way may control your actions? For example: You think about relocating to another state/town far far away. You start your online research and you find all the good and bad. You then make a decision based on the data you retrieved online. Would this same decision had been made 20 years ago if you did not have the internet to influence you? Also, couldn't this alter your entire life given the choice you made based on online information?
I know this seems really stupid, but I am just curious to hear some of your thoughts on this.
Given your relocation example, I can tell you for retirement relocation information, books and magazines are heavily biased to the preferences of upper middle class - wealthy people. You just need to take a look at the ads in the magazines to see who the target audience is. You'll read why Town A is so great based on nearness to the symphony, golf courses, marinas, museums, restaurants, walkable downtown for shopping, etc., and never read a retirement magazine that tells you Town B is a great place to retire to if you like to bowl, fish or hunt, go to all you can eat buffets or happen to prefer sprawl. Renting is almost never mentioned because the advertisers are trying to sell houses/property to upper middle class - wealthy people. The books are similar to the magazines because, I suspect, the authors write heavily slanted to their own preferences of what makes a good town for relocation.
The Internet, on the other hand is loaded with info and images that people who might prefer Town B would be interested in. Unfortunately, there are an awful lot of people who don't know how to get the most out of a search engine and the Internet. But, it's there.
Again, using your relocation example, you can use the Internet to get comparative information (where you live now versus where you are considering) on things like cost of living, weather, voting patterns, air/water quality, income levels, race/religion, married/single, etc. You can use the Internet to read a yellow pages from anywhere in the country to find out what's (stores, restaurants, services) available in your prospective new town and surrounding towns. You can read the local newspaper online daily to get a feel for the new town and the people in it (works better with suburbs and smaller towns) by reading about events, town planning meetings, crime, church and school activities and looking at the people in the photos to see if they look like your kind of people by the way they dress for events and what they eat and drink. You can use an Internet search engine like Google Images to see photos taken around town. You can find forums like City-Data to find others who made a similar move or to ask questions of people already living there. You can look at maps and directions. You can read about houses/condos for sale and apartments/houses for rent not just the ones magazine advertisers are trying to sell "you who come with money." In the cases of rentals, you can even see floor plans, sometimes. You can plan your visit to the prospective new location online.
You just have to know how to look for what you want.
i would say yes. as to CDF 1/2 million group conscious with no other motive than an honest opinion w/o fear or retaliation.
also the internet is a powerful tool to do purchases.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.