Internet Addiction - Rant

O hai!

I came upon the article "Internet Addiction is a 'Clinical Disorder'" the other day. I actually know some people similar to those discussed and have joked about internet addiction being a legitimate diagnosis, so it's a little surreal to consider it a reality. Then there's the connection of internet addiction to depression, which I can totally vouch for, as I was completely dependent upon the internet while I was deeply depressed.

Anyway, after reading the Internet Addiction article, I was first reminded of the college dorms when OwlNet would stop working. Regardless of whether or not someone actually needed to use the internet, 95% of students hunched over their keyboards, frantically exploring their new laptops chained dutifully to laminate desks, for a solution. Even the kids who weren't at their computers would rush to their stations to reboot, reset their IP addresses, and repeatedly click "repair" in their Network Connections. God forbid someone IM you with juicy gossip or an invitation to the Caf and you MISS it! Or perhaps you came up with an exceptionally pithy away message, or redesigned your profile...but no one can see it if you're not logged in! GASP!

After my bout of nostalgia, my second reaction was one of mixed emotions. Well, not technically mixed I suppose, but rather a colloid of sorrow and disbelief suspended in wry amusement.

Time for the inevitable Sherri-tangent. Even though advancements in technology have arguably improved the quality of our lives by leaps and bounds, they really are shackles. It's a rare occasion (and possibly unsafe in this day and age?) where people are able to completely cut ties with any sort of network - whether it be satellite via GPS, internet via computer/crackberry, or cell phone signals. On a separate-but-related note, technology has left people, even my age and older, feeling that they don't need basic "mundane" skills such as how to balance their freaking checkbooks because they could just manage their accounts online. Accessibility to the internet and handheld devices have also crippled communication skills, as people rely on email, chat, and text message and seem to forget that most meaningful interactions occur personally. On a much larger and quite frankly scary scale, medical students are being taught cardiac sounds via iPod rather than through a stethoscope, and surgeons are turning to lasers and robotic devices and some procedures may even be entirely performed by robots someday.

None of this is to say that I am not grateful or that I don't want to move forward technologically (I can't imagine life without the internet anymore)...I am all for progress. I'm just playing Devil's advocate, and firmly believe that people should not be completely dependent upon resources that make information so readily available that they don't see the need to develop their manual skills or experience stuff in person (yes, the technical term is "stuff"). You never know what can happen. Maybe that's just my constant, though slight, paranoia talking, but being able to do things without computers (such as read a map/compass, do simple math, and use reference materials) is essential. I just feel like nothing is basic anymore...and aren't basic methods and concepts the foundations upon which ever-advancing empires are built?

Don't even get me started on nutrition (The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals is a really good read - informative yet interesting throughout) and mass media such as Clear Channel Radio. If you have a chance and feel so inclined, check out Fighting for Air: The Battle To Control America's Media. It gets dry and radical, but what happened in Minot was scary and definitely a story worth knowing.

Yeahh. I'll step off my little soapbox now ;) . I'm not even feeling argumentative, so if my soliloquy seems heated or extreme, don't worry. I was just musing. Nothing major...merely a reflection of the title of my blog: inclinations. I think I'm also drawing upon intense discussions about such pros and cons that were held in my sociology class senior year. Man, that class really forced me to challenge myself. Loves it.

I'm really excited for tonight. We're going to Benihana (a hibachi place) to celebrate our friend Megan's birthday. I don't know what to wear though...some hibachi places are casual, some are swanky, but either way, I hope I get a chance to sport a pair of ridiculously cute shoes I've been searching for occasion to wear.

Sidenote: I mentioned in my last entry that I had trouble uploading images. This time it was really fast...maybe the painful slowness last time was due to my issues with Comcast over the weekend?