Happy First Post of 2005
Well...this project should be interesting. Selph and I are looking up stuff, and it's turning out to be VERY nice (at least what I've got). I'm just gonna copy and paste what I've posted on various boards, and anyone is free to discuss them here:
Yay for school projects! I'm doing a Social Justice project on How the Internet Affects Teens. I'm using such topics as emo (suicide is your only option, Livejournal, Maddox...though this isn't JUST the internet, lj definitely has a part in the popularization of emo), Maddox itself, reclusiveness, foreign influence, etc.
There are some topics in there that probably don't make sense...for example, foreign influence. While I think that the fact that communication between people in different countries is so easy and allows such a great exchange of ideas, I believe that a LOT of the anti-Bush/anti-America stuff that I hear from my peers has to do with the fact that "Hey, the rest of the world hates us, so why don't we jump on the bandwagon?" This isn't meant to be a anti-world topic, but I'm sure someone here will turn it into one. Another thing that kinda ties in with this...I consider myself Republican, but truly thought Bush was gonna lose the election with all the anti-Bush sentiment I read. Little did I know that most of it is coming from other countries, who...well, can't vote here.
Another thing is atheism. I have nothing against people of different religions, and radical people of ANY religion (including my own) annoy me. However, I've found that many of my friends who used to be part of a practicing religion have simply turned away from all of it after spending time on message boards and multiplayer programs. Hey, it's their own choice...free country, I'm not forcing them to believe in anything...but a few people I know have kinda...turned away from EVERYTHING. I had no idea that to be athiest meant to believe in NOTHING, including yourself.
Gah, I don't want this to turn into a "OMG GT IS ANTI-ATHIEST/WORLD." I'm not. But I know people are going to take it that way...and unfortunately, I can't stop that.
Summary:
How does the internet affect you?
The problem is (that I'm seeing at least), so many people ARE taking it seriously. Here on GameFAQs I think it's incredibly laid back, but with things like Livejournal, people post about things that are sometimes very serious, rather than speaking face to face with someone.
Another HUGE thing with Livejournal is the whole idea of it. Unfortunately, nobody wants to read about how great someone else's life is. So they get flamed: "Stop being so optimistic, life isn't like that." Then they begin to only post 'bad' posts, or ones that are slightly depressing. People either respond with "suck it up" or don't respond at all. If it's the first, then flame wars sometimes break out (which are LOADS of fun), but if it's the second, people begin to attention whore, on LJ and IRL, thinking that they aren't important enough. Eventually, all that gets posted are 'bad' posts, and people begin believing that life truly sucks.
I know that was a lengthy rant about livejournal, and I know it seems like I'm being nitpicky, but seriously...I've seen a few people who have just kinda...shut down because of what people say to them online. And they don't even spend too much time on the internet. Honestly, this whole laid-back system on GameFAQs can be taken too far..."suicide is your only option" is just a fad, but how would you feel if in real life every time you did something stupid someone went "Kill yourself please." I'm sure that there haven't been...many suicides due to things people on the internet say, but even if it's happened once it's happened too many times...suicide can be avoided =/
Don't think I'm anti-internet...I practically live here. It's just that what teens are doing on the internet (especially lj) lead to cycles that are just...stupid.
From: Lord of Ages | Posted: 1/5/2005 5:44:39 PM | Message Detail
I had no idea that to be athiest meant to believe in NOTHING, including yourself.
Atheism in teens borders on emo, really. It is derived from a rebellious attitude, unhindered by religious upbringing or indeed induced by it (in other words, either the parents didn't do anything religious or they drowned the children in it, both of which faciliate atheism). The more intelligent kids are agnostics/Existentialists, who may not believe in God but do so on a logical and scientific basis. Then there are the Christian Existentialists (or in other words, me), who believe in a semi-Deistic God who's really Theistic upon closer inspection. >_>
From: Lord of Ages | Posted: 1/5/2005 5:47:18 PM | Message Detail
As for the questions...
Pros:
Easy to find information.
Cons:
Easy to find information.
>_>
The Internet has an awful tendancy to make the inhibited more inhibited in reality but absolutely open within its borders. I'd be a perfect example of that if I weren't getting less inhibited by the day.
So yea, comment. Argue. Flame. Tell how the internet affects you, how you think it affects others, and whatnot. I will NOT use this livejournal to post anything...everything in here will be for my own input into this, and nothing will go on the screen. Hell, nobody in the class tomorrow will know about my lj or anything.
Yay for school projects! I'm doing a Social Justice project on How the Internet Affects Teens. I'm using such topics as emo (suicide is your only option, Livejournal, Maddox...though this isn't JUST the internet, lj definitely has a part in the popularization of emo), Maddox itself, reclusiveness, foreign influence, etc.
There are some topics in there that probably don't make sense...for example, foreign influence. While I think that the fact that communication between people in different countries is so easy and allows such a great exchange of ideas, I believe that a LOT of the anti-Bush/anti-America stuff that I hear from my peers has to do with the fact that "Hey, the rest of the world hates us, so why don't we jump on the bandwagon?" This isn't meant to be a anti-world topic, but I'm sure someone here will turn it into one. Another thing that kinda ties in with this...I consider myself Republican, but truly thought Bush was gonna lose the election with all the anti-Bush sentiment I read. Little did I know that most of it is coming from other countries, who...well, can't vote here.
Another thing is atheism. I have nothing against people of different religions, and radical people of ANY religion (including my own) annoy me. However, I've found that many of my friends who used to be part of a practicing religion have simply turned away from all of it after spending time on message boards and multiplayer programs. Hey, it's their own choice...free country, I'm not forcing them to believe in anything...but a few people I know have kinda...turned away from EVERYTHING. I had no idea that to be athiest meant to believe in NOTHING, including yourself.
Gah, I don't want this to turn into a "OMG GT IS ANTI-ATHIEST/WORLD." I'm not. But I know people are going to take it that way...and unfortunately, I can't stop that.
Summary:
How does the internet affect you?
The problem is (that I'm seeing at least), so many people ARE taking it seriously. Here on GameFAQs I think it's incredibly laid back, but with things like Livejournal, people post about things that are sometimes very serious, rather than speaking face to face with someone.
Another HUGE thing with Livejournal is the whole idea of it. Unfortunately, nobody wants to read about how great someone else's life is. So they get flamed: "Stop being so optimistic, life isn't like that." Then they begin to only post 'bad' posts, or ones that are slightly depressing. People either respond with "suck it up" or don't respond at all. If it's the first, then flame wars sometimes break out (which are LOADS of fun), but if it's the second, people begin to attention whore, on LJ and IRL, thinking that they aren't important enough. Eventually, all that gets posted are 'bad' posts, and people begin believing that life truly sucks.
I know that was a lengthy rant about livejournal, and I know it seems like I'm being nitpicky, but seriously...I've seen a few people who have just kinda...shut down because of what people say to them online. And they don't even spend too much time on the internet. Honestly, this whole laid-back system on GameFAQs can be taken too far..."suicide is your only option" is just a fad, but how would you feel if in real life every time you did something stupid someone went "Kill yourself please." I'm sure that there haven't been...many suicides due to things people on the internet say, but even if it's happened once it's happened too many times...suicide can be avoided =/
Don't think I'm anti-internet...I practically live here. It's just that what teens are doing on the internet (especially lj) lead to cycles that are just...stupid.
From: Lord of Ages | Posted: 1/5/2005 5:44:39 PM | Message Detail
I had no idea that to be athiest meant to believe in NOTHING, including yourself.
Atheism in teens borders on emo, really. It is derived from a rebellious attitude, unhindered by religious upbringing or indeed induced by it (in other words, either the parents didn't do anything religious or they drowned the children in it, both of which faciliate atheism). The more intelligent kids are agnostics/Existentialists, who may not believe in God but do so on a logical and scientific basis. Then there are the Christian Existentialists (or in other words, me), who believe in a semi-Deistic God who's really Theistic upon closer inspection. >_>
From: Lord of Ages | Posted: 1/5/2005 5:47:18 PM | Message Detail
As for the questions...
Pros:
Easy to find information.
Cons:
Easy to find information.
>_>
The Internet has an awful tendancy to make the inhibited more inhibited in reality but absolutely open within its borders. I'd be a perfect example of that if I weren't getting less inhibited by the day.
So yea, comment. Argue. Flame. Tell how the internet affects you, how you think it affects others, and whatnot. I will NOT use this livejournal to post anything...everything in here will be for my own input into this, and nothing will go on the screen. Hell, nobody in the class tomorrow will know about my lj or anything.