Comments on: Internet Displacing Sex and Friends in US http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/09/internet-displacing-sex-and-friends-in.html Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:53:05 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: TraderMark http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/09/internet-displacing-sex-and-friends-in.html#comment-914 TraderMark Fri, 21 Sep 2007 21:53:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/09/internet-displacing-sex-and-friends-in-us/#comment-914 My opinion is I agree with the other commenter that for those actively social people, technology is helping them keep touch 24/7 - I see people who cannot live without the crackberry (not for corporate use) ro their cell phones, and if you took it out of their hands for more than 30 minutes they'd literally go crazy ... they text with 1 hand while talking to you. On the other hand, for the introverted types, now instead of staying at home and reluctantly interacting with society when one needs to, they can literally avoid society in whole other than through virtual (short of shopping for groceries, and going to work etc) - this gives them their social outlet.<br/><br/>As for TV vs net - well many of us now get our news on net instead of TV, or papers - its more real time, and community based in things such as 'comments' and blogs and message boards - you can hear others opinions instantly. Sort of like how town halls or city squares worked in the old days way before suburbia... just online instead. My opinion is I agree with the other commenter that for those actively social people, technology is helping them keep touch 24/7 – I see people who cannot live without the crackberry (not for corporate use) ro their cell phones, and if you took it out of their hands for more than 30 minutes they’d literally go crazy … they text with 1 hand while talking to you. On the other hand, for the introverted types, now instead of staying at home and reluctantly interacting with society when one needs to, they can literally avoid society in whole other than through virtual (short of shopping for groceries, and going to work etc) – this gives them their social outlet.

As for TV vs net – well many of us now get our news on net instead of TV, or papers – its more real time, and community based in things such as ‘comments’ and blogs and message boards – you can hear others opinions instantly. Sort of like how town halls or city squares worked in the old days way before suburbia… just online instead.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/09/internet-displacing-sex-and-friends-in.html#comment-904 Anonymous Thu, 20 Sep 2007 15:28:00 +0000 http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2007/09/internet-displacing-sex-and-friends-in-us/#comment-904 Yves,<br/><br/>Playing devil’s advocate, I think that technology actually keeps people more in touch than they used to be. Communication technology bridges enormous geographic spans instantly, it connects people at times when, in the past, they would have been isolated and it accelerates communication and familiarity with simple and rapid access to means of communication. This is not to argue that people should spend all of their time online, but rather that time spent using email, chat rooms, message boards, instant messaging, texting, talking on cell phones and embracing new mediums of communication and information is hardly isolationist or anti-social. Mack claims that technology users’ partners are displeased and that online activity cuts into time for watching TV and reading magazines and newspapers. Some partners and friends actually use the medium to communicate or to share information. Something tells me Mack doesn’t have a MySpace or Facebook account. Should we really believe that the passivity of TV watching and the quality of TV product are somehow superior to information obtained online? Magazines and newspapers don’t publish online? Government, educational and research institutions don’t place an enormous wealth of information online? Does Mack use the internet at all? Anyone who is even vaguely technologically competent has no excuse for not being better educated, more well-informed, more culturally connected and more in touch with their friends and family than ever before. <br/><br/>OT: Speaking of online information, did you notice there is a Buiter interview video on Bloomberg today? <br/><br/>JS Yves,

Playing devil’s advocate, I think that technology actually keeps people more in touch than they used to be. Communication technology bridges enormous geographic spans instantly, it connects people at times when, in the past, they would have been isolated and it accelerates communication and familiarity with simple and rapid access to means of communication. This is not to argue that people should spend all of their time online, but rather that time spent using email, chat rooms, message boards, instant messaging, texting, talking on cell phones and embracing new mediums of communication and information is hardly isolationist or anti-social. Mack claims that technology users’ partners are displeased and that online activity cuts into time for watching TV and reading magazines and newspapers. Some partners and friends actually use the medium to communicate or to share information. Something tells me Mack doesn’t have a MySpace or Facebook account. Should we really believe that the passivity of TV watching and the quality of TV product are somehow superior to information obtained online? Magazines and newspapers don’t publish online? Government, educational and research institutions don’t place an enormous wealth of information online? Does Mack use the internet at all? Anyone who is even vaguely technologically competent has no excuse for not being better educated, more well-informed, more culturally connected and more in touch with their friends and family than ever before.

OT: Speaking of online information, did you notice there is a Buiter interview video on Bloomberg today?

JS

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