Far Removed Friendships

The Internet. The Internet has proven a blessing in many ways, providing the means for acquiring information that simply were not available before, the possibilities of mass communication that have previously been non-existent and so on. However, with blessing has come much that is not – indeed, the curse of the Internet. The curse of the Internet is a many-headed beast, including the ease of access to pornography to all and sundry, cyber-bullying and the like, troll behaviour across the board, etc. The Internet of course is not alone in this seeming dichotomy of blessing and curse, for everything seems to have the ability to both bless and curse, so why should the Internet be any different – it all comes down to how we use it and how we prepare ourselves for what we will inevitably by bombarded with once we enter the World Wide Web. That both exist should not surprise.

In my younger days I seemed to be a far more sociable being – or perhaps more accurately, my sociability and friendship was closer in real terms than it is now. I used to spend quality time with people, whether that was in one-on-one encounters, or as part of a meaningful group of friends interacting with one another during a social outing, while enjoying a meal together, or in one of a myriad of ways. Today things are far different and the Internet may well have been the means for accomplishing this rather less than brilliant array of social norms. It has not been the only catalyst for a changed socio-environment, but it has perhaps been the most aggressive counter to what were the social norms of my younger days.

Friendship had been one of the most important aspects on my life and something I both guarded and cultivated with great jealousy. As I look back on those days I now ask myself ‘what happened?’ Now the people I once counted dear and who’s friendship I cherished are no longer to be seen in my life to the same extent as they once were. Sure, people move on and circumstances change, so you expect some to no longer be there – but you would expect them to be replaced by others, at least that was how life used to be. Not anymore. They have gone and there have been none to replace them in the same way – now I have far removed friendships, friendships with people I have never physically met via the World Wide Web. These are not the same. Sure, they can be regarded as important and greatly valued, but they are not the same and the previous form of friendships that I valued so greatly are missed and mourned as the great loss that they are, especially with people who have been and continue to be, people of importance to me, though there is now little or no contact with them – certainly not in the same quality or even quantity as before.

Today is the day of far removed friendships and I am lesser for them.

An Age of Knockers

Why is it that the Internet has bred an age of knockers? You see it all of the time on Twitter, which seems especially to be a form of media that attracts the trolls and other types that seem unable to communicate anything positive. Message Boards and comments after articles is another breeding ground for this sort of thing. 

Here in Australia we have the ‘Tall Poppy Syndrome,’ which is essentially the same sort of thing, but pre-dates the Internet, so perhaps the desire to knock people all of the time has always been there, but now has a medium in which it seems to flourish. 

Being a knocker has been a particular character flaw of mine since I can remember and it has also been one that I have continually fought against since I can remember, being one of those ‘darling’ sins that I need to be continually seeking to mortify by the grace of God. So I find it to be something personally offensive and sickening.

I do however find that the knocker in people seems to be becoming more pronounced since the advent of the Internet as a popular mode of communication and social networking. It has become more vicious and most certainly has lost its more ‘digging’ nature that was perhaps not so bad. When it is just light-hearted fun, light-hearted digging – that is not so bad. These days it is far more sinister.

The link below is to a recent article I came across and is an example of the very sort of thing I am talking about. It is not just in the article itself that this sort of thing can be found, but also within the comments that follow (though there are some supportive comments also).

In my own circle of friends and people I know, I am increasingly surprised at the many, many, examples of it I have stumbled across in recent times and that from those who also profess to be Christians. It has not just been criticism, which I don’t have a problem with, but something with a lot of personal malicious intent about it. It seems that there is a fair amount of bullying involved in it as well I think, yet some of these people doing the attacking and knocking are very vocal when it comes to bullying and the like. 

Any thoughts?

For an example visit:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/26/taylor-swift-losing-face-grammys_n_4671397.html

Posts for the Time Being

I thought I’d post a quick update on what is currently happening with me and posts to my Blog. It is a short story really. I live in a town which is a massive tourist destination during the holiday season – especially at this time of year. What this means for me – being reliant on wireless access to the Internet – is real difficulty gaining Internet access. There are so many people in the area, using so many gadgets and the like, that the Internet is locked into a constant traffic jam. It is practically impossible to get Internet access most of the time. You do get the odd time where you can get access, but it is so slow that it is pointless to try and use it. For example – it takes minutes and minutes just for one page of the Blog to load.

I’ll keep trying to access the Net every so often, but it is likely I’ll be unable to post much for the next couple of weeks. There is good news – the number of tourists in the shopping centre here have diminished, which probably means we are heading back to some form of normality.

Internet Speed

Towards the end of each month I have to struggle with my Internet connectivity. This is why I so often find myself unable to post to my various Blogs and why my readers and visitors are deprived of fresh content. I am unable to access the Internet in any modern, speedy manner other than wireless, which allows me a lesser amount of bandwidth. After I use my monthly allowance I get stuck on a slowed connection. However, when it is holiday season here (this is a tourist town on the coast) access to the net becomes even slower and can be likened to a crawl. It is almost impossible to access the Internet at such times. I am really struggling with access at the moment and it is truly frustrating me. I have much that I want to do, but no ability to get it done.