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My grandfather died in 2001 at the ripe age of 93. He never used a computer or cell phone a single day in his life. His only source of information was watching local TV and reading the newspaper, as well as shooting the Moderator cut: language on the front porch on a warm summer evening. I tried to introduce him to email around 1996 but he wasn't havin' it. Just looked at my Gateway 'puter with a scrunched up face like he sucked a lemon, shook his head and walked away.
Thing is --- my gramps was a very content fella his whole life. Paid off his farm and mortgage when he was 35 and raised six kids on it, including my father. He never owned a credit card his entire life. He lived simple but happy.
Given all the hatred, racism, and disturbing ignorance I see on the Internet these days --- I'm beginning to think my Gramps had it better than ALL of us. Yeah, maybe some will say he was living an outdated life, but at least he had his sanity and inner peace that 99% of us will never find.
My grandmother only occasionally uses the Internet to look up a new cookie recipe or get a weather forecast. She doesn't see what the online fuss is about.
People might say how much better life is with the internet, but I won't. If it all went away tomorrow I'd be thrilled. I believe it's pretty much ruining human interaction irreparably.
I've come to realize recently--seriously, despite the fact that I'm on a forum--that comment sections, message boards and forums are making me unhappy. Definitely not only making me cynical, but downright misanthropic. The truth of what most people are, what they usually hide in person, comes out on the internet.
Besides that, everything gets twisted, misconstrued, and mis-read. You can't read emotions on a forum, we are slowly moving away from our ability to communicate with each other.
I think I was happier before internet when I actually spent time with friends outside without checking Facebook/Twitter/Instagram every 5 minutes. We wrote little notes by hand and folded them so what we actually said would be a mystery until they went through the process of unfolding (if it was tricky). I liked talking to people on the phone and sometimes I didn't even know who was calling, which made me a little nervous when I was expecting a call from someone special.
Back when you asked people for help on stuff, they were more honest and open with you about what would help you and what wouldn't. Now with the internet, people are all about trolling, pranks, being sarcastic, etc. You have to read through a lot of garbage just to find something useful when you ask questions online.
I was happier back then before the internet. Everybody just seemed happier. Playing outside with friends, riding go-carts and four wheelers, camping and just doing anything in general outside.
My dad is 74 and has never used a computer. The only thing he can do on his cell phone is dial a number and hit talk. He too just watches local TV, tends to his horse, and will lay back outside and listen to classic country. He's totally entertained. Just a simple human and has no desire to learn technology.
But him and an old friend of his get together sometimes and the stories they have. They always say if they died today, they had a great life.
About the statement itself: people who use internet, are they happy or miserable? I bet that both kinds of people use internet, happy and miserable. In other words, it's not the internet itself that makes you happy or miserable. It can become a source of happiness for someone once they get to know it though.
I suppose it could become a source of misery if they are trying to use it and can't learn how to and it's frustrating. But if they know how to use it, I can't imagine why it would make them miserable.
People can be happy without the internet and the entire cyber world but if you took it away there would probably be about a million suicides overnight. People use it as part of their life, especially social life, and would rather give up a limb than their modem.
An older guy in the next work area came over today and asked me if I had a local phone book. I said, "No, but I have the internet". I looked up the name of the business he was searching for in about 10 seconds.
When I'm typing a reply like this one I can instantly switch to a different screen and look something up.
When I'm writing a macro for a spreadsheet I can quickly go online to figure out an obscure command.
I can get local, national, and worldwide news from multiple sources (on all sides of the issue) on my time. If I want more information on a specific topic I can keep searching on that topic. I don't have to wait on whenever the networks decide to discuss the topic I'm interested.
If bad weather is coming in, I can follow it as closely as I want using my phone, tablet, or computer. Even if I have to take shelter in the basement my phone will get a signal.
I always have my smart phone with me. I can look up directions, someone's phone number, etc. If my son asks me, "What is a [insert obscure noun here]" I can look it up instead of just saying "I don't know". If I'm meeting someone I can transmit my location (Waze, Glympse) so they know where I am and when I'll arrive.
I keep in contact with old friends on Facebook, and keep in better contact with new friends. It makes me more likely to meet up with someone I haven't seen in a while, if for no other reason that I actually have a way to contact them directly instead of calling a dozen relatives to get their phone number.
So yeah, I'm a regular internet user and I have no plans on giving it up anytime soon.
That being said, I always carry paper maps with me when I travel (Rand McNally and Delorme). No chance of a battery failure with paper maps, and believe it or not there are large chunks of the country with no cell/data coverage. I also thoroughly enjoy spending time at my parents' house. They have very basic internet, which consists of an antenna mounted on the outside of their house talking to the cell tower 3 miles away and connected to a wireless amplifier/repeater inside... and it's maybe slightly faster than dial-up. But when there, I'm there to fish and shoot and ride ATVs and not surf the web.
But back to the debate topic, there is no way to answer. No, that's not right... the answer is, "it depends". Some people are perfectly happy with no internet and others are perfectly happy without. Some social-network-addicted types go into withdrawal within minutes of not being able to check Twitter. Some people who regularly enjoy using the internet get peace and rejuvenation from short "internet fasts", but wouldn't be happy to live the rest of their lives without access. I fall into that last category.
I guess, it is a deeper, more philosophical question. What are the true values of life? Is a noble and honest life of a tribesman somewhere in Amazon jungle less fulfilled, than a life of someone who is immersed into technology?
I'd think, it all goes down to a simple question: can one walk into a muddy river and come out of it pure? As internet is just that. Muddy river. But, mud flows in ever purifying water element. It all depends, what one sticks to.
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