Is the internet to blame for our mess?
The Internet is everywhere. People nowadays are often used for many purposes. From researching for information to finding things to entertain ourself, it tries to fulfil in what we want. It has become a part of our life, and some of us are attached to it. Some of us are addicted to this invisible network too much that we can not separate it from our life until it becomes a mess. We blame the internet for creating chaos. But in reality, it is we who shape the Internet into what we want it to be for our selfishness. We are being spoiled by our desire, not by the Internet.
After I wrote the last blog, I found these two very interesting stories. The first story that I read is A Cyber-Cuscuta Manifesto, written by Regina Kanyu Wang. She wrote about digital beings and why they exist on the Internet. The story tried to explain in the being’s point of view about how they are being viewed as parasitic to human’s eyes. Human thought that they are something annoying and disturbing, but it exists because we uploading things on the internet. Those data that we share on the Internet become their food, and their food reflected on the user like us well. As we spoil ourself by using the internet, we create a living space for them without knowing, yet we tried to kill them out. We create them and blame them for something that is not their fault as they are trying to help us clean up the mess. We spoil ourself too much to the point where we think that whatever we are doing is the right thing.
“We’ve grown into such intimacy with your internet that you can’t get rid of us. Bonded with your voice assistants, your social media, your translation services, your game platforms, we are ubiquitous.” — the Cyber-Cucusta
The other story that I read is The Veldt by Ray Bradbury. It is the story about the parents who spoil their kids and are slowly being replaced by the technology in the house. In the story, the parents blamed the house for how it messed up their life as a family, and in the end, the psychologist came to reveal the truth that it was the parent’s fault for ruining the children’s disciplinary. The story reminded me of the modern parent and how they discipline their children. Because of the advance technology, they would give the child tablets or phone to the children so that they can study for themselves. But they did not teach their children to use in the right way. In the end, those children replace their parents with advance technology and some of them become lack of disciplinary. Because of these, the children’s behaviour towards their parent change.
“You’ve let this room and this house replace you and your wife in your children’s affections. This room is their mother and father, far more important in their lives than their real parents.” — David McClean
These two stories made me think back to when I was young. I used to see some of my friends are being spoiled by their parent. They often got the toy they want when they saw one, and they questioned why I don’t have any. Back then I did not know why and I did not ask my parents why because I know that they are caring for me in their way. They are teaching and protecting me, and leading me away from misbehaviour. They made sure that I limited my time on using a computer each day and inspired me to have hobbies like knitting and reading novel books.
To summarize, we spoil ourself to the point where we may think he chaos that happens on the digital is not our mistake. We try to make ourself believe that everything around us is wrong, and that is because we have a strong desire to believe in something alternative from the truth. We create this mess, and I believe that it’s time for us to look back at the problem and start to clean it up. Even if it just a bit, but it will be our starting point to end the chaos.
Reference/source
Wang, Regina Kanyu. 24 June 2020. A Cyber-Cuscuta Manifesto: Center for Science and the Imagination, 2020. csi.asu.edu/story/wang-uif.
Bradbury, Ray. 1950. The Veldt. United State: The Saturday Evening Post, 1950. repositorio.ufsc.br/bitstream/handle/123456789/163728/The%20Veldt%20-%20Ray%20Bradbury.pdf?sequence=1
