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Cirashala
Valinor
May 6 2019, 2:44pm
Post #26 of 34
(3895 views)
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There are many communities, including my own area, that band together and help each other when the going gets tough. But there are also many others that aren't, and I do think it would be chaos for a while.
You make some great points!
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swordwhale
Tol Eressea
May 7 2019, 3:53pm
Post #27 of 34
(3803 views)
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Like all other human inventions
like duct tape
there is a dark side and a light side
it is the force that binds the universe together
especially for those of us who grew up in muggle communities where we...do....not....fit....
so nice to find members of your own tribe online somewhere!
but also nice to reach out and learn about so many other things
and yes... we need to unplug, to turn off the phone, to go hike or paddle or ride into the wild sometimes...
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Aragorn the Elfstone
Tol Eressea
May 9 2019, 7:52pm
Post #28 of 34
(3790 views)
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Sadly, it's taken it's place as a necessity, but it didn't - and doesn't - have to be.
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(And, as such, I'm kind of torn on how to vote in the poll. Because I think it IS a luxury, and has only turned into a "modern necessity" because we've made it so.)
If we all really wanted to do without the internet, we could (and, of course, have before), but as other's have said - there's no turning back now. Or at least, nobody seems to want to turn back.
The internet is useful. But we rely on it so much that I do believe it's become a hindrance. I've begun stepping back from my internet use in a huge way, and it's amazing how much your head clears when you expose yourself to a non-online world for a spell.
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CuriousG
Half-elven
May 10 2019, 2:32pm
Post #29 of 34
(3726 views)
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It's the 24/7 nature that makes it a prison
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And I include smart phones with this since they have become part of the internet. I used to try semi-unplugging on weekends--checking my phone only once or twice a day and ignoring social media--but it just made people angry at me for not responding to their non-urgent text immediately like you're supposed to, or liking their frivolous video on social media 2 days late, which is uncouth.
I say semi-unplugged because I'd still use the internet to check the news, the weather, look at movie reviews, etc. But that's a different usage. Unplugging from the chatter aspect of the internet and phones: to me the constant chatter is neither luxury nor necessity, it's a prison when it's 24/7. When it's part-time, sure, it's fun.
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Aragorn the Elfstone
Tol Eressea
May 10 2019, 6:42pm
Post #30 of 34
(3711 views)
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but it just made people angry at me for not responding to their non-urgent text immediately like you're supposed to, or liking their frivolous video on social media 2 days late, which is uncouth.
See, this just makes me even more resolute to stay off those services. That mindset just infuriates me. Thankfully, I only really have a few really close friends on FB, all of whom know that they contact me through Messenger if they want to talk to me (this is how I communicate reguarly with one particular old friend - my best friend - whom I haven't seen in years, but we're close via Messenger).
Unfortunately, I have many other "Facebook friends" who are mostly just acquaintances, work friends, etc., and this has done nothing to aid my view of social media. I really should have been more careful when approving requests, etc. (and I feel like I'm too nice to un-friend them, lol  ). So I'd just rather not deal with it at all.
And Twitter is just a mess. It begins harmless enough, but it just becomes a sea of people complaining about stuff, 24/7. It puts me under so much stress and breeds such wanton negativity with no real benefit.
(This post was edited by Aragorn the Elfstone on May 10 2019, 6:46pm)
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Aragorn the Elfstone
Tol Eressea
May 10 2019, 7:17pm
Post #31 of 34
(3705 views)
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BTW, I do recognize the irony of me being negative about social media's negativity. :p
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CuriousG
Half-elven
May 10 2019, 8:07pm
Post #32 of 34
(3700 views)
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Well, Twitter in particular can be ultra-negative, so recognizing that negativity takes a positive mind.
It should be renamed "Idster," where people go to release their Id, the negative part in all of us we're supposed to keep in check.
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diedye
Grey Havens
Dec 25 2019, 6:15pm
Post #33 of 34
(892 views)
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Having grown up pre-internet, I can say that people were more connected BEFORE we got our noses stuck to a digital device. People made long-distance phone calls more meaningful because they knew it was expensive and it would be a while before they could contact one another again. (Yes, I know we can see each other now on Skype and such, but the conversations are disjointed and the images kinda creepy, TBH.) I'd rather listen to their voice on the phone and conjure up their image in my own mind according to the nuances in that voice.
Letters held so much emotion and having those words on paper to hold onto means more than some words on a computer/phone screen. I still get giddy when I receive a Christmas card in the mail (thanks, gramma  ), which has become a rare occurrence nowadays and I must admit that I am the worst at remembering to send ours out until it's too late and I feel guilty for the rest of the year for having failed to do so. 
Don't get me wrong, I do like the internet and I own a laptop and it's fun surfing the WWW, but nothing beats having a meaningful conversation with someone you love and loves you in return.
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Ioreth
Rivendell
Oct 30 2020, 12:58pm
Post #34 of 34
(216 views)
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Necessity. Especially in these times.
I would not have made it throgh 6 months of quarantine without my online and offline friends and the possibility to chat or videochat with them.
Sitting alone in a suburb of Stockholm and being in 3-4 risk groups and thus ordered to stay at home would not have been bearable.
Now I have found a new job which I actually can do like 99% from home so it is even more necessary!
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