The Mystical Magical Internet
Posted On June 6, 2015
I live in the magical land of America in the mystical time. Information is readily available at my fingertips. Any question can be asked of Google (or your favorite search engine) or Siri (sometimes an argument may develop). If I don’t like what one reporter has to say, I can search for another until I find one that agrees with my point of view. Yes, I’m living in the age of information and technology. Here are four concerns of living in such a magical, mystical era.
- The world of information is a world of controversy. Everyone has an opinion and everyone is online. Breast or bottle? To vaccinate, not vaccinate, or delay vaccination? Cloth or disposable? Public school, private school, homeschooling, unschooling (and even within these options there are MORE areas to
judgearguedebatechoose from)? Each person believes his/her way is the best way, and each person has evidence and statistics to support his/her opinion. In the end, we each make the decision that is best for our own family based on our values and research (hopefully from credible resources). - The world of information is a world of contradiction. Everyone is accepted as they are and all behavior is tolerated. However, if you are a Christian and do not tolerate or accept a certain behavior, stating that “a sin is still a sin,” suddenly, there is not tolerance or acceptance. The very people calling you a bigot may in fact exhibit bigot-like characteristics. The public accepts and applauds those who come out in the gay and transgender community, declaring how brave they are to take a stand for themselves. If a person of faith “comes out” and publicly professes their Christianity, the same speeches do not follow. Instead, the media stands by, waiting for the Christian to mess up so they can declare, “Aha!”
- The world of information is a world that perpetuates myths. My husband is in training for his new job. In one of his first classes, they were asked to identify certain statements as truth or myth pertaining to sexual abuse. The question was, “If a woman dresses in a provocative way, is it partially her fault if she is raped?” Only two people in the class said this was a myth, both male, one my husband (so proud!). Since I have a master’s level license in social work and worked in the field before getting married and having kids, I’ve shared some stories with my husband to prepare him for both the protective and non-protective parent scenarios. I’ve known of men that accuse a five-year-old girl of “coming on to” them, and that was their defense. My only other thought on this was that women are fiercely competitive and judgmental, going beyond the “mommy wars.”
- The world of information is a world at war. Everyone has an opinion. Most articles, blogs, news threads, videos, or anything else posted online has a comment section. A few comments in, you see the beginnings of debates or arguments, or more often name-calling and belittling. A vast majority of these ill-formed disagreements are also grammatically incorrect and full of misspellings. I find some people in these threads more of an entertainment than a threat because they lack the ability to string together a coherent thought. Other people irritate me to the core of my being because they believe their opinion is more valid than mine, that their research is more substantial or reliable. I am partial to the commentators that share my opinions.
If you are still with me, I’m not hating the internet and I obviously enjoy having a place to broadcast my own opinions. I do think with the great magical power of technology, we also should use great caution and surf responsibly. Comment positively, rebuke, or correct privately when possible, don’t start a riot online for your own amusement. Enjoy the mystical, magical time in which we live, but occasionally, check your facts in an Encyclopedia…
This post was featured on Project Underblog on July 8, 2015
2 Comments
Attempting, submitting, waiting…
I love this post, Angie. You should try to get it published