What Is The Best Potential For The Internet?

Question

I used to wonder if something marvelous for humankind might evolve out of the Q/A sites. That we could make connections worldwide, and learn about each other, how to get along, help each other...and well, world peace maybe!

But the Q/A sites all seem to implode, somehow; getting taken over by trolls/obscenity, or the owners sell out for money kicking their patrons to the curb...also, quality moderation seems next to impossible...

But now I am wondering about YouTube, and perhaps other such sites? The whole world learned about the United Airlines fiasco, where a physician was forcibly removed from a flight where he had a ticket, injuring him so badly he had to go to hospital! 

Then O'Tink posted a video about an award-winning school teacher, resigning because administrators refused to address school violence...these both went viral, putting pressure not to just sweep the concerns under the rug. This is certainly a fine use of Internet, but what do YOU see as the possibilities for enhancing our lives? Is my idea correct, can the Internet somehow become a wonderful tool for us?

Answer 1

I always thought the best potential for the internet was education. 

Comments

Korvo, the potential for education through the Internet is indeed, absolutely amazing! Even just getting quick facts...every day I think how LONG I would struggle at the library...now just in seconds! Wonderful answer.

Answer 2

I am reminded of the Anglican collect for purity:

"Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid..."

The political Establishment and MSM hate the internet for those reasons.

Comments

MSM...oh, it's MainStreamMedia! Okay, feeling more hopeful here...

Concern: Will the political Establishment ever be able to commandeer or close down YouTube and Internet? Is there some built-in protection against censorship? I have read that MSM has indeed capitulated and our news is heavily censored/biased.

O'Tink: The Collect is utterly lovely and loving.

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The political establishment will only be able to shut down the internet is there is only one international government. Censorship is possible, and is used in some countries.  As for your news now being censored or biased, it is only true if you only look at your countries news. The USA does not own or run the internet and there are many other countries who have sites on the net that report the news. If you are worried you are missing news, check out BBC news (bbc.co.uk/news/uk)  or try Google.co.uk and then see what they have for news.  (the bbc,co,uk might come up as bbc.com so stick with google.) or try other country codes with google.. like Google.ca

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ty, O'Tink! For a while, I was able to watch BBC news and documentaries through the Canadian station in Vancouver...and it was like fresh air; the diversity, the quality.

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@ Virginia,

Yes, it seems as if the American Fourth Estate now regards itself as the only opposition branch left, and is accordingly engaged as a political organ rather than a fact-reporting one. Even among Democrats, only a bare majority have so much as fair confidence in the media. And among Republicans and Independents, much less so. Richly deserved.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/195542/americans-trust-mass-media-sinks-new-low.aspx

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Amazing and distressing, O'Tink!

Answer 3

We can find anything we want on Web but we need to check information because people write fake news and information. 

We can communicate with people who live in another countries. I see many stragers on Internet but I have never met them outside of social networks. People are satisfied with online contacts and don't want to meet people in real life. 

Comments

What you have explained is very true, Kninjanin! Thank you...

Answer 4

I see the Internet kind of in a different way as you really have to go through things to see if it's really facts and truth or just someone making up stories. I'll always believe what one man wrote: The Internet is information, not knowledge.

Yes, you are right about the trolls taking over many websites as I've seen it myself. Good example is that Similar Worlds place. It's full of them. Place made me sick.

But I use the Internet a lot in the PC gaming world and our Forums are clean and meant to be used to help people understand some of the games and how they work as I build patches and Hot fixes for many games. I can go there and really get a good feeling with helping people out.

So, to quickly sum it up, the Internet could be a wonderful tool for people to learn and enjoy themselves but there are always going to be the ones that have to try and ruin it for others.

Comments

Rooster, it does seem there is a full slice of all those who want to cause difficulties for others! Your words of caution about accuracy are very well taken, too.

Answer 5

Internet is a wonderful tool, for communicating, learning, sharing, informing, work and fun, and like many of the technical highlights, it is open to a great variety of people and domains all over the world, and - thus, it has also its vulnerabilities, conflicts and limits, depending on the users and their interests, which are not always so "innocent". 

No, there are not only news, business, media, communication, Q & A sites, games or technology; you can find a great diversity or themes, activities, arts, sciences, philosophies, causes, records, pictures, videos, etc., etc.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet

Comments

Marianne, here is something interesting that was on your link:

"The Internet has no centralized governance in either technological implementation or policies for access and usage; each constituent network sets its own policies."

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Yes, Virginia, there are various policies, rules and technologies.