Connected Through the Void

First of all, we should try to shake the myth. The internet does not act as a tool that brings people together or connects them; only a small fraction of the world can even access the internet. Among us that can, it can let us roam freely to data from other continents, but from my point of view, the internet is like... the shredding of everything we value in real life. The internet is perceived as "anonymous" - or was, until recently- a place where you could be whatever you wanted to be, and put on and switch masks as you saw fit. No one had to know who you were, where you came from, what kind of cereal you ate in the morning.

But that's not actually what's going on. With a little effort, even casual surfers can track down people they know using google and facebook. And then, there are the randomized (or not so randomized) advertisements,  gimmicks, e-mail buddies you've never met before, purchase tracking devices, and countless more ways to screw or find or spy on a person than I can imagine. Our world really is being sucked into computers, and surprisingly, we're going along with it, while at the same time lamenting our loss of privacy. It's as if rich and modern citizens from rich and modern countries have somehow become addicted to the net, much like one becomes addicted to cigarettes, so that it becomes a necessary evil...

This is something that less developed countries have better than we do. With all our time and focus being drawn into the codified void, what happens  to our physical reality? We really are being shackled into following this new social phenomena, "connection through the void"

I did a little research, and was flabbergasted to find that people are actually finding ways to make use of cybershit like virtual reality practical, for teaching, or rehab. I always though I was a pretty techie guy, but as it turns out, I'm analog after all. Computers are nice for entertainment, instant gratification of a desire for information, and e-mail. (which really is instant gratification of mail sending). I was horrified when I saw all the positive, peer reviewed articles on the OCAD database that had to do with the benefits of VR. Online games? not in this lifetime, not unless I was being held at gunpoint, and even so, it would have to be a pretty big gun.