The Internet is undoubtedly a powerful tool for freedom of information, but how controlling is it exactly?
It is integrated into our daily lives, but surely the masses have experienced anesthetic and control before: in the 60's, there were drugs, after that, and still remaining, TV to while away the hours and frustrations of daily life, followed by mass consumerism in the 80's. Shopping became the new god, but perhaps some of the novelty was wearing off when recessions hit. So how best to keep the general population entertained and distracted from the bigger picture?
The Internet was originally designed by the American Military but then unleashed on the world at large and by the mid-90's, few people had not heard of it in Western countries and many had participated.
Artists in the mid-90's generally held the concept that it was a powerful tool, but a tool of manipulation to subdue. The new anesthetic.
Daily I waste time staring at a monitor, for my businesses, personal mail (which is always so rushed, rushed, rushed....not like the snail mail we used to receive or actually write), photos, articles and more, more, more. You begin to feel like a sponge of information, although you may, in reality, spend hours trying to find that one bit of crucial information on the net. Perhaps you have become guilty of living in cyberspace.
While not wanting to appear like a Luddite, I am left wondering what is going on outside, in my neighborhood, with my friends and family, in the forests, on the planet, while I am happily absorbed clicking keys and mouse. The news on the Internet tells me ice caps are melting, hurricanes are increasing in frequency in this part of the world, forests are coming down and oil is the main financial asset to the detriment of the rest.
True, it is a useful tool and I could hardly be writing this article had I not got access to the Net.
However, somehow I feel distracted from the broader picture of life, removed in my pc pod from the reality of a living, breathing universe out there.
Step away from the positive irons of the screen, feel those negative energies shifting, go out and experience the planet, for my friend, time is short and precious. As the saying goes, you only live once so you should do and experience everything you can and a computer screen is only one type of reality.
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