[big_chungus]

My word, but it must be awfully sad to have such an outlook.

Let's take the other side of what you just said. More information today is available than at any other time in human history. Their are those who choose to spend time in a futile fashion, and there are those who choose to learn. Perceptions of which is which vary person-to-person. For instance, I read HN because there are a lot of very smart, technically-savvy people. Others might believe it a waste of time. Maybe someone spends time on pinterest, but wishes to be an interior decorator and does further homework on the pictures found. I think most of us would agree tick tock is an abject waste of time, but so what? Adults have been watching tv long before "kids these days".

Now let's consider the benefits that the information age brings. A life expectancy double what we might achieve in the wild, plentiful food, a good job, and so much more. Though some people waste their time, all this information has opened greater orders of learning to those with the inclination.

On the whole, I believe "modern technology" to be a marvelous innovation, rather than a prison. While it certainly ought to remain open to critique, this sort of nihilistic opinion has never made sense.

[JoeAltmaier]

But the internet accelerates drug-innovation and drug-delivery to the speed of … well, of the internet. Easy to throw out 'kids these days' but its actually a different thing (at least in quantity if not quality), and kids are actually responding to it poorly.

Outdoor time has dropped precipitously. Coordination and physical agility are reputed to have dropped. Social interaction has been reduced to worse than sound bytes.

Despite its good intentions, the internet is fabulously addictive. This should not be brushed aside Pollyanna style.

[ff317]

Right, this is what I fear somewhat as well, especially more on the mental than physical side. I'm very cognizant of the fact that people have complained about the latest tech ruining society since the time of Socrates (who apparently railed against how the written language was ruining everything vs the oral memorization style of teaching and learning that came before), and yet we're all still here and doing ok.

But that being said, my personal observations of the communications and social interactions of kids and very young adults these days scares me a bit because it seriously lacks depth. People are growing up optimizing their behavior and brains (including socially) for the internet of memes, soundbites, and impermanence, and not for the "real" human world of meaningful and fruitful long-term human connections.

I'm not a believer in an artificial future singularity point, but this stuff sure looks a lot like what a singularity-believer would expect: the early stages of a trend away from humans as individual thinkers with higher-bandwidth/quality interpersonal interactions, and towards interactions that are very light and content-free because they're just the unthinking synapse firings of some larger emergent consciousness in the form of overlapping memetic mobs of humans. Perhaps this has a role in explaining political polarization/isolation as well?

[JoeAltmaier]

Wow that's hugely optimistic to imaging anything like 'an emergent consciousness...overlapping memetic mobs'. More like, ignorant masses all reacting emotionally with no emergent anything.

[pvinis]

Hey at least we have faster thumbs.

I can see how both of the above views are valid, but I also tend to agree with the optimistic one, that it's better to have a lot of information and let the users choose/get manipulated, than not have the option at all.

[JoeAltmaier]

Yes of course. We just have to survive it. And the human animal is not prepared for unlimited heroin delivered to your phone.