Quite. This is exactly like so much of the worry over telly - it's dangerous, it exposes kids to unsavoury things, it's unhealthy, it stops real human interaction, it's not intelligent. I actually think the internet helps solve the problems that TV can but doesn't always cause - as you said, we read and interact!
Besides, why is it necessarily a problem if the discussion threads are sometimes less than intelligent? Maybe people don't always want to read them, but it's not like all conversations in RL are deep and thoughtful. Discussion on the internet, particularly about books (for me, anyway, so it's obviously biased by my interests) is often at a higher standard than that in real life. I've learnt so much.
Anyway, it actually takes some effort and luck to find the good discussions. I don't even know how I managed it or how The Daily Show guy could. It's like fanfiction - a cursory Google would find you the Pit of Voles, not Underwater Light.
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Date: 2008-02-15 02:53 pm (UTC)Besides, why is it necessarily a problem if the discussion threads are sometimes less than intelligent? Maybe people don't always want to read them, but it's not like all conversations in RL are deep and thoughtful. Discussion on the internet, particularly about books (for me, anyway, so it's obviously biased by my interests) is often at a higher standard than that in real life. I've learnt so much.
Anyway, it actually takes some effort and luck to find the good discussions. I don't even know how I managed it or how The Daily Show guy could. It's like fanfiction - a cursory Google would find you the Pit of Voles, not Underwater Light.