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I joined the forum long before I ever participated in any discussions, I would read the things that people where posting and I just couldn't get over the comments that were being made, it was really sad and I got so aggravated one day that I just posted what I thought, and I actually felt a little better. It was sort of liberating. I imagine that is what many people get out of posting their opinions. However, I continue to be somewhat appalled at the level of ignorance and meaness that is displayed here and the lack of maturity in some of these threads. I try very hard to not post anything that I would not say to someone face to face, I think most people should try to stick with this when posting, it would probably raise the bar a little bit.
That being said, the internet is a fabulous tool for finding information if you use it wisely. I love the fact that a question can just pop into my head and I can just click on the internet and find out the answer, it's great!
The information overload is a problem in that you are sometimes bombarded with stories and headlines that hold no real importance, but I blame this more on the cablenews networks than the internet. I do think that there are many on this forum that watch wayyyyy too much cablenews and that is evident in the threads that they start.
The OP raises some interresting points. I think the internet has been great for people with an interest in finding facts. It has also been a vehicle for the nuts on both sides to get their points out and into political discussion. This can be dangerous when people that don't think critically or seek the facts are presented with the misinformation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LLLL98
I joined the forum long before I ever participated in any discussions, I would read the things that people where posting and I just couldn't get over the comments that were being made, it was really sad and I got so aggravated one day that I just posted what I thought, and I actually felt a little better. It was sort of liberating. I imagine that is what many people get out of posting their opinions. However, I continue to be somewhat appalled at the level of ignorance and meaness that is displayed here and the lack of maturity in some of these threads. I try very hard to not post anything that I would not say to someone face to face, I think most people should try to stick with this when posting, it would probably raise the bar a little bit.
That being said, the internet is a fabulous tool for finding information if you use it wisely. I love the fact that a question can just pop into my head and I can just click on the internet and find out the answer, it's great!
The information overload is a problem in that you are sometimes bombarded with stories and headlines that hold no real importance, but I blame this more on the cablenews networks than the internet. I do think that there are many on this forum that watch wayyyyy too much cablenews and that is evident in the threads that they start.
Well lets face it, what we have here is not exactly high brow discussion of political nuance, it is the corner bar with buddies who also happen to be strangers. Its all in the context, I suppose.
Even still, my fears lay more in the fact that given this great wealth of information that we all have access to, most people still wish to regress to pure emotional and reactionary position. While in small doses we can all enjoy some humor in the grand comedy that is our political system, it seem to be what is manifested 95% of the time. In doing so, people lose their ability to look at anything with a critical or skeptical eye and when the time arises when such a perspective is needed, it is met with "stupid is as stupid does".
Even still, my fears lay more in the fact that given this great wealth of information that we all have access to, most people still wish to regress to pure emotional and reactionary position. While in small doses we can all enjoy some humor in the grand comedy that is our political system, it seem to be what is manifested 95% of the time. In doing so, people lose their ability to look at anything with a critical or skeptical eye and when the time arises when such a perspective is needed, it is met with "stupid is as stupid does".
Well, the good news is that the informative sites get thousands and thousands of hits. Even though it's a small percentage of the population, it still means that more people are looking up information than did in any other decade.
In earlier years libraries had the same problem. There'd be a waiting list for the romance novels... but reference books would have a thick layer of dust.
I think these boards and others like them around the web provide an important escape valve for emotions; they're maybe the best way ever invented - certainly the easiest - for voiceless people (such as myself!) to be heard and agreed with, they require minimum self-censorship, minimum responsibility, minimum to no repercussions. Many people - what percentage? - dont come on looking to calmly set forth, discuss, weigh, and decide; in fact they're here for just the opposite. (Well, maybe they initially come on looking for reasoned discussion, but they soon enough see that doesn't play.)
It underscores the genius of the demonizer(TM!) machinery on the left and the right - people yell about politics but they're really beating on something else underneath - that's what maybe a majority of people really want, wanted all the time. They can let their angry child loose. You can look at the comments on any big online news source - they're virtually all bashing and snarking, no matter how dignified the reputation of the host.
Can anyone fix the moment at which mass media political news went from straight, flat reporting to all opinion, all the time? And how on earth can it be reset to zero?
Anyway, I think it's fascinating. Im sure there are studies about it somewhere.
UPDATE. In reading a link about Geraldine Ferraro's bit of news today I ran across what looks to be a reliable source for "studies about it somewhere" -
In earlier years libraries had the same problem. There'd be a waiting list for the romance novels... but reference books would have a thick layer of dust.
I think these boards and others like them around the web provide an important escape valve for emotions; they're maybe the best way ever invented - certainly the easiest - for voiceless people (such as myself!) to be heard and agreed with, they require minimum self-censorship, minimum responsibility, minimum to no repercussions. Many people - what percentage? - dont come on looking to calmly set forth, discuss, weigh, and decide; in fact they're here for just the opposite. (Well, maybe they initially come on looking for reasoned discussion, but they soon enough see that doesn't play.)
This ease and emotional valve that the internet provides can also be seen as one of the reasons why people do not take to the streets, to the pen, to protest. As long as folks are busy typing away, they do have a sense that their voice is being put out there. Of course to disregard the voice is as easy as our fearless leader does, he doesn't bother to read. Click of a button and millions of voiceless Americans remain just that, voiceless.
How many times will you see on your nightly news those millions of voices of protest and angst against a given topic being shown as "the nightly news internet statistical poll"? While I feel it is a good thing, it is not the only thing and as long as people are clicking away at their keyboard, they are exercising their views in a medium that is almost never used by the media and certainly not by our government. (unless you type things like Al Qaeda, bomb, suicide, etc... in your blogs and posts) You are now part of that information overload and but a mere drop of water in a sea of opinion.
What has a bigger effect on peoples minds, writing a blog about how Bush screwed something up, or standing on a busy street corner saying, honk if you think Bush is a pinhead?
^^ I agree - that's how people are so easily manipulated. They stay indoors, hooked up to the TV, radio and internet, being fed. Their "+" buttons get pushed, they get rewarded for posting or being one in the warm fuzzy soup that is (e.g.) Sean Hannity fans.
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