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Ok, maybe a tad ironic that I'm writing this on an internet forum. but I was just thinking about how long we all spend looking at a screen, be it a monitor, smartphone or other portal to the world wide web.
Generally, things like Google, IMDB etc are useful tools to finding information fast without resorting to looking in a book, phoning a friend or visiting the local library.
But there's another side to the internet, too. There comes a point when you tear your eyes away from the screen long enough to realises that the time has flown by while you've been in a chat room, looking up some useless piece of trivia on Wikipedia or googling your own name to see what comes up.
The internet can seemingly suck you out of time and space and leech whole hours away, just like that. And it doesn't just happen to someone who is technically adept, either. Anyone who has ever learnt how to access the internet is in danger of this vampires curse.
So just what is it about the internet that makes this happen? I believe that part of it is reliance on this recent tool combined with a human thirst for knowledge. Now while you may point to some people and suggest they are the most ignorant people in the world, think for a minute. Even people who outwardly don't seem to care for knowledge on the same scale as others do have their own level of thirst for the food of thought. It might just be that their particular interest lays with what the next plot in Eastenders may be or who killed who in another soap, or even just how to get their hair that nice shade of pink like the latest fashion icon.
And, of course, you, dear reader. You've been sat there reading through this rather rambling piece, unaware that the clock on the wall has managed to double its count of minutes while you weren't watching. Because, my friend, this curse affects us all.
Generally, things like Google, IMDB etc are useful tools to finding information fast without resorting to looking in a book, phoning a friend or visiting the local library.
But there's another side to the internet, too. There comes a point when you tear your eyes away from the screen long enough to realises that the time has flown by while you've been in a chat room, looking up some useless piece of trivia on Wikipedia or googling your own name to see what comes up.
The internet can seemingly suck you out of time and space and leech whole hours away, just like that. And it doesn't just happen to someone who is technically adept, either. Anyone who has ever learnt how to access the internet is in danger of this vampires curse.
So just what is it about the internet that makes this happen? I believe that part of it is reliance on this recent tool combined with a human thirst for knowledge. Now while you may point to some people and suggest they are the most ignorant people in the world, think for a minute. Even people who outwardly don't seem to care for knowledge on the same scale as others do have their own level of thirst for the food of thought. It might just be that their particular interest lays with what the next plot in Eastenders may be or who killed who in another soap, or even just how to get their hair that nice shade of pink like the latest fashion icon.
And, of course, you, dear reader. You've been sat there reading through this rather rambling piece, unaware that the clock on the wall has managed to double its count of minutes while you weren't watching. Because, my friend, this curse affects us all.
chasfh wrote:
[i]The Internet - a tool or a curse?
I asked much the same question about Picasso when I was at art college...
Got me into no end of trouble.[/i]
What? Him being a 'tool' or a 'curse'? Come to think of it, I think I said the same way back when.
[i]The Internet - a tool or a curse?
I asked much the same question about Picasso when I was at art college...
Got me into no end of trouble.[/i]
What? Him being a 'tool' or a 'curse'? Come to think of it, I think I said the same way back when.
The Internet - a tool or a curse?
I asked much the same question about Picasso when I was at art college...
Got me into no end of trouble.
I asked much the same question about Picasso when I was at art college...
Got me into no end of trouble.
Pretty much every time I "pop" onto the internet for a quick 5 minute catch up on here and my e-mails and online games I play ahour has gone by and I think I won't spend so long next time but I do.
My dad has recently started using the internet at home and finds he spends a good couple of hours a day on it, even though he again only "pops" on to look at the racing news and ends up for ages on Twitter etc.
My dad has recently started using the internet at home and finds he spends a good couple of hours a day on it, even though he again only "pops" on to look at the racing news and ends up for ages on Twitter etc.
AH, but you took the time to reply, thus using more of that 'internet time' (and I thank you for it!)
Kindred spirits ;¬)
pb wrote:
And, of course, you, dear reader. You've been sat there reading through this rather rambling piece, unaware that the clock on the wall has managed to double its count of minutes while you weren't watching. Because, my friend, this curse affects us all.
Jokes on you. I only skim read posts over one hundred words long
And, of course, you, dear reader. You've been sat there reading through this rather rambling piece, unaware that the clock on the wall has managed to double its count of minutes while you weren't watching. Because, my friend, this curse affects us all.
Jokes on you. I only skim read posts over one hundred words long
Nice try pb ... but both, a fact of life now!
Ok, maybe a tad ironic that I'm writing this on an internet forum. but I was just thinking about how long we all spend looking at a screen, be it a monitor, smartphone or other portal to the world wide web.
Generally, things like Google, IMDB etc are useful tools to finding information fast without resorting to looking in a book, phoning a friend or visiting the local library.
But there's another side to the internet, too. There comes a point when you tear your eyes away from the screen long enough to realises that the time has flown by while you've been in a chat room, looking up some useless piece of trivia on Wikipedia or googling your own name to see what comes up.
The internet can seemingly suck you out of time and space and leech whole hours away, just like that. And it doesn't just happen to someone who is technically adept, either. Anyone who has ever learnt how to access the internet is in danger of this vampires curse.
So just what is it about the internet that makes this happen? I believe that part of it is reliance on this recent tool combined with a human thirst for knowledge. Now while you may point to some people and suggest they are the most ignorant people in the world, think for a minute. Even people who outwardly don't seem to care for knowledge on the same scale as others do have their own level of thirst for the food of thought. It might just be that their particular interest lays with what the next plot in Eastenders may be or who killed who in another soap, or even just how to get their hair that nice shade of pink like the latest fashion icon.
And, of course, you, dear reader. You've been sat there reading through this rather rambling piece, unaware that the clock on the wall has managed to double its count of minutes while you weren't watching. Because, my friend, this curse affects us all.
Generally, things like Google, IMDB etc are useful tools to finding information fast without resorting to looking in a book, phoning a friend or visiting the local library.
But there's another side to the internet, too. There comes a point when you tear your eyes away from the screen long enough to realises that the time has flown by while you've been in a chat room, looking up some useless piece of trivia on Wikipedia or googling your own name to see what comes up.
The internet can seemingly suck you out of time and space and leech whole hours away, just like that. And it doesn't just happen to someone who is technically adept, either. Anyone who has ever learnt how to access the internet is in danger of this vampires curse.
So just what is it about the internet that makes this happen? I believe that part of it is reliance on this recent tool combined with a human thirst for knowledge. Now while you may point to some people and suggest they are the most ignorant people in the world, think for a minute. Even people who outwardly don't seem to care for knowledge on the same scale as others do have their own level of thirst for the food of thought. It might just be that their particular interest lays with what the next plot in Eastenders may be or who killed who in another soap, or even just how to get their hair that nice shade of pink like the latest fashion icon.
And, of course, you, dear reader. You've been sat there reading through this rather rambling piece, unaware that the clock on the wall has managed to double its count of minutes while you weren't watching. Because, my friend, this curse affects us all.