Dreyfus and his view on the internet
It seems to me that Dreyfus is very critical of the internet in a conspiracy theory type approach. He has such a dark approach to the internet saying that it leads to depression, limits communication between people which will lead to nihilism. Some of these physical side affects I do agree with because there are people who poor so much time into the internet they become “vegetables” because they sit around to much. But to say that it will lead to nihilism is a huge statement to make and makes it seem that we are all plugged into the internet matrix style and that we cannot break away from it because it is the main staple of our lives. Also how he hates hyper links which I do agree is not the best way to categorize information but then we wouldn’t have the freedom that we do on the internet to add to its content because it would be impossible categorize all in hierarchical structure. Dreyfus makes the internet seem like an impossible web to get through and that logging on it is at your own risk. He never looks at the internet as a tool that we use for instant information but rather as a life controlling entity that we all get sucked up into. There are plenty of individual cases were some of his arguments hold true but I have a hard time viewing the internet as something as scary as he makes it out to be.
There is a lot of bad information out there on the internet that is worthless but Dreyfus in my opinion makes it seem that we do not have the ability to discern quality sources from the rest. Yes he is right there is a sense of disembodiment on the internet because there is no sense of personal obligation to other people because you can hide behind your screen but that doesn’t mean that you have to be sucked into it. For instance on aim you cannot get a sense of feelings through the text. But does it really matter? I just use aim as a tool to talk to people half way across the country that I couldn’t normally talk to on my phone. Even though this post is a bit wordy I still feel that Dreyfus puts the internet on a higher pedestal than is really necessary and his fears are a little far out.
Ryan Riordan | 22-Apr-07 at 11:55 pm | Permalink
I agree that Dreyfus seems to have a slightly radical approach to viewing the internet. His points on the internet having control over people seems to be true in a lot of ways. People constantly check facebook, check their emails, or just search around. It seems that for some people the internet is something they cann live without. It’s sad to see that some people become so consumed with this cyber world and don’t enjoy the world we have already. i know that sounds like a nature-lover type thing to say, but i do feel that people get too wrapped up in what the internet. It is useful and very helpful, but in my opinion, slightly enslaving.
Jeremy Mcguire | 23-Apr-07 at 10:51 pm | Permalink
I think it is good for someone like Dreyfus to warn us about the dangers of the internet but the way he presents them is a bit off the wall. Maybe my problem is that I can’t identify myself with the problems that he is presenting. Yes our minds may become dependent on the stimulation that media provides but as I have said many a time how about the physical losses to our body that is incurred from replacing exercise with the media.
Krystal Kniep | 25-Apr-07 at 9:03 pm | Permalink
I also agree that Dreyfus’s ideas are a bit off. One of the major advantages about the internet is the use of hyperlinks and organizing information in an easy way for people to obtain information. If the internet did not have hyperlinks, it would lose it’s positive appeal and would be very difficult to find any useful information.