Is the internet an expression of freedom or slavery?

...I'm in mental dilemma...

Wednesday, October 26, 2005 by Cyberworld | Discussion: WinCustomize Talk

Just wondering lately are we all free to do what we want or we are being enslaved by the machine? Are we addicts or we can actually live life without PC and mainly Internet? Also the fact that you can actually post anything you want is a sign of freedom or an immature sign of anarchy? Lastly does the internet citizen have obligations and not only rights? What would you say?
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NightTrainthedark
Reply #1 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:12 PM
Noone told me there was going to be a test.
aimzzz
Reply #2 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:14 PM
I can stop any time I want
Cynder-Elluh
Reply #3 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:17 PM
It's both! But "choice is everything"
SIXX21
Reply #4 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:19 PM
HMMMM........I wonder what the U.N. would say????
Reppiks
Reply #5 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:22 PM
Yes to a responsibility, express your self, but don't do it offensively, speak to and about others the way you want to be spoken about. Communication is the only hope we have to promote understanding between all the worlds peoples so we can work toward any kind of lasting peace. As far as being addicted, sometimes I feel that I am, but I think that is only when there isn't something more important going on in my life. Slavery...only when it comes to keeping our computers working. Between a buggy OS, old equipment, bit rot, and a 15 year old that surfs to God only knows where...something is always in the recovery state.
Nick Blade
Reply #6 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:25 PM
as a public community the same rulls apply...

don't be obseen if front of youth
treat elders with respect
mind your manners

all that kind of stuff

as an addiction... ??? naw, i just spend all my time here because i like you guys so much
Sleeping Dragon
Reply #7 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:40 PM
yes, we learned it all as a kid for the community
"play well with others"
"put your crayons away when you're finished"
"take a nap every day"
"obey your parents"
"respect your elders"
"drink milk with cookies"

Yes it is a sort of an addiction. Is it better than planting your ass on a bar stool? Probably.

Is there freedom of expression? Nobody is truly free to express everything, of course, without there ramifications. One cannot mention their fantasies in public and still maintain discretion. One cannot roll their eyes at another without showing disrespect. One cannot criticize with bad intent without that negaivity coming back around. My daddy always told me "you can do whatever you want to in this world; but then you have to pay the consequences". This is true in every aspect of life, including the net IMHO
jebro
Reply #8 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:42 PM
Why worry?
People said the same thing when the first phone was a technical miracle. It just takes some time to get used to it.
I sleep with one hand on my mouse (computer) every night, otherwise I will have nightmares. My shrink tells me it's completely normal.
Sleeping Dragon
Reply #9 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 5:46 PM
Some typos in my post. Long night. Should be "without there being ramifications" and should read "negativity", not "negaivity"
ozmars
Reply #10 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 6:34 PM
the internet is not freedom, it is not slavery. it is neither good nor evil.

the internet just is.

the internet is nothing new.

it increases the scale of communication by orders of magnitude, but doesn't add anything to interpersonal relationships.
Jafo
Reply #11 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 6:47 PM

People said the same thing when the first phone was a technical miracle.

Actually....the first phone was totally useless....until there was a second phone....

Then, when there was a third phone, two of them were always 'engaged'....so the third was next to useless....

jebro
Reply #12 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 7:48 PM
Actually...the first Jafo was totally useless...until there was a Wincustomize...

Then, when there was an Object Desktop, two of them were always 'engaged' ...so the Jafo turned out to be next to useless...
Andy02369
Reply #13 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 8:01 PM
I'm not addicted to the computer. In fact, to make sure I wasn't, I told myself I would stay off the computer for a week. I did, and it was not at all a horrible experience. I stay on my computer because there is usually nothing to do at my house. Plus, there are many things you can do on a computer, but so many people think of it differently. Also, I noticed myself starting to talk about computers around my friends, and I didn't want to do that since it was getting worse. So like 2 years ago, I tried to talk about other things, and left out my computer as much as possible. I got myself to do that, and now you hardly hear anything about my computer as if it never existed in my life.
rabidrobot
Reply #14 Wednesday, October 26, 2005 8:47 PM
Some stories on a study of people asked to go without:
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/002382.html
http://yahoo.weblogsinc.com/entry/3352572946069014/

Personally I don't feel freedom and anarchy are mutually exclusive. As members of any community we of course have responsibilities, or obligations; the basic being "Do unto others as you would have done unto you." In real life we have many laws defining what we wish to have done unto us. We wish to have others obey traffic laws, as an example, so we can avoid injury, and in return we ourselves obey them. As netizens, though, laws have not, and perhaps can not, catch up with the booming community. As a result we have spam, viruses, spyware and so on. Creators of these are not behaving responsibly, nor living up to their obligations as members of a community.

I compute a lot. I enjoy it. But I also enjoy reading books, listening to music, and so on. Productivity and business concerns aside, for many people computers and the internet are just another option as to how to spend their leisure time. I consider them a superior option to, say, watching TV, but that is me.

Am I addicted? I don't think so in the clinical sense. But I would miss technology if I was forced to go without.
starkers
Reply #15 Thursday, October 27, 2005 12:33 AM
Actually....the first phone was totally useless....until there was a second phone....

Then, when there was a third phone, two of them were always 'engaged'....so the third was next to useless.


LoL....actually it was the wives of the first two phone owners who made the third next to useless...so there was a fourth, fifth and so on to give the guys a word in edgeways Okay, it was good in theory.....if not in practice

Is it better than planting your ass on a bar stool?


Definitely......parking one's butt on a bar stool has far greater costs. A few hours on the net is less likely to result in a severe tongue lashing and being relegated to the couch....if not locked out altogether. Yep, The net is certainly a better place to over indulge....the hangovers aren't as severe, no complaints about stinking like a brewery/distillery

The internet has many more benifits than drawbacks, and if used responsibly it's as good a past-time or hobby as any other. Yes, it can become addictive, but no more so than anything else that grabs our interest.
starkers
Reply #16 Thursday, October 27, 2005 12:34 AM
Actually....the first phone was totally useless....until there was a second phone....

Then, when there was a third phone, two of them were always 'engaged'....so the third was next to useless.


LoL....actually it was the wives of the first two phone owners who made the third next to useless...so there was a fourth, fifth and so on to give the guys a word in edgeways Okay, it was good in theory.....if not in practice

Is it better than planting your ass on a bar stool?


Definitely......parking one's butt on a bar stool has far greater costs. A few hours on the net is less likely to result in a severe tongue lashing and being relegated to the couch....if not locked out altogether. Yep, The net is certainly a better place to over indulge....the hangovers aren't as severe, no complaints about stinking like a brewery/distillery

The internet has many more benifits than drawbacks, and if used responsibly it's as good a past-time or hobby as any other. Yes, it can become addictive, but no more so than anything else that grabs our interest.
starkers
Reply #17 Thursday, October 27, 2005 12:35 AM
Actually....the first phone was totally useless....until there was a second phone....

Then, when there was a third phone, two of them were always 'engaged'....so the third was next to useless.


LoL....actually it was the wives of the first two phone owners who made the third next to useless...so there was a fourth, fifth and so on to give the guys a word in edgeways Okay, it was good in theory.....if not in practice

Is it better than planting your ass on a bar stool?


Definitely......parking one's butt on a bar stool has far greater costs. A few hours on the net is less likely to result in a severe tongue lashing and being relegated to the couch....if not locked out altogether. Yep, The net is certainly a better place to over indulge....the hangovers aren't as severe, no complaints about stinking like a brewery/distillery

The internet has many more benifits than drawbacks, and if used responsibly it's as good a past-time or hobby as any other. Yes, it can become addictive, but no more so than anything else that grabs our interest.
Fuzzy Logic
Reply #18 Thursday, October 27, 2005 1:53 AM
You have phones?
starkers
Reply #19 Thursday, October 27, 2005 12:44 PM
You have phones?


Yep.....but in this household it's a female appliance exclusively. It seems that if my wife's not on it, my stepdaughter is....and she could talk under water with a mouthful of marbles. So for those acquaintances not on the net, I'm seriously thinking about keeping carrier pigeons
blackcat77
Reply #20 Thursday, October 27, 2005 2:58 PM
Slavery is bondage imposed by an external force. Obsession is bondage from an internal source. If a person is hooked on the net, I'd say it was obsession, not slavery. Nobody forces you to use the web.

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