Facebook/RealityTV era. Are we in a cultural dark ages?

[FourthTenor]

It occurs to me that 95% of the people I come in contact with are completely clueless about just about anything having to do with the world around them. Meanwhile, the ENTIRE modernized world spends like hours each day on facebook. I still don't even understand what facebook does. What does it do? What is the enjoyment from being on it??? I don't understand its stimulation or even what people are actually doing when theyre on it.

Also, the television is arguably the most powerful invention ever. We are only anatomically able to witness things close enough for our eyes to focus on, and now we have the power to record actual vision, images that are physically nowhere near us, and broadcast them anywhere on the entire earth. And the airwaves of this mind blowing technology are clogged with reality show after reality show, after reality show. Fake, scripted shows about people arguing in small claims courts, fake, scripted shows about people trying to lose weight, fake, scripted shows about beverly hills teenagers, fake, scripted shows about random chicks who have literally done nothing to warrant achievement.


Human history is so rich with thinkers, who discovered new elements in laboratories, writers who poured over manuscripts by candlelight, pioneers who navigated the dark, infinite sea by mere starlight, musicians who wrote and recorded brilliant art.

And I know there are people who do things like that today, and there were dumb people before, but I feel like in the old days there were probably a greater percentage of average people who at least aspired to be the great people. Now most people aspire to be one of these gimmicky dopes getting 15 minutes of fame for making a pointless, unintelligent, unartistic video that "goes viral" on youtube and gets laughed at for a hot minute then forgot about. Nobody is articulate these days, nobody can carry out a conversation without using facebook, nobody has any historical reference points for what quality is in a given area.


I'm sure everyone is familiar with the platitudes "what doesnt kill you makes you stronger" and "suffering/hard work builts character" and I now believe those things are a literal phenomenon. It seems to be like an actual law that as we develop the technology to add convenience to our lives, we necessarily lose character and perspective.

Hm?

[JtotheIzzo]

society has never had this much information so readily available.

it will take a generation before we learn how to properly handle it.

we live in an information age, NOT a knowledge age, as knowledge is not as marketable a commodity as it once was with the ability to gather so much data so easily.

our growth (as humanity) will lag a bit in this era, but I think we will recover and revert back to what is important.

sadly, a lot of our most intelligent and creative people are profiting off our bad habits as a society (egoism, attention whoring etc...).

I feel (or at least I hope) that people will realize that there is no real value in documenting your day to day life, nor is there any real interest in your take on every news worthy item. Twitter will evolve into a promotional tool, Facebook will be just a way to keep tabs on old friends, and reality TV will (hopefully) make being on TV a little less special.

[FourthTenor]

True, myspace was once a rage and now is a niche site for music and porn. Hopefully facebook goes the same way.

But even something like youtube which has trmendous benefit, I mean you can explore all genres of music instantly, you can watch documentaries on science, history, culture, you can watch classic programming like Frasier... And its not like the average person simply isnt USING youtube, theyre on it but theyre watching cats falling off desks, street fights, babies making funny faces etc.

Its like, yeah, i guess that stuff is amusing in small doses... But dont u wanna learn stuff to??? Its seriously like the "base" of society needs to wallow in ignorance like hippos wallow in mud to keep cool. It boggles my mind.

[PowerGlove]

I feel like it has always been this way.

[heyhey]

so we gonna act like only stupid people use facebook, watches youtube, and reality tv?

[FourthTenor]

I feel like it has always been this way.

In some ways, yes, but in many other ways, no.

Before we had microwave burritos, the only mexican cuisine was authentic mexican cuisine. Which is better?

Or could say the same thing about pizza flavored hot pockets vs. actual clay oven pizza.

You know what I mean? Food that was made before convenience became such a prioritized element, is made of much better quality. So it seems to go with information and thinking and communicating, etc.

When it was actually a process that took time and effort, I think people were more concerned with making sure to squeeze quality from it. Now that everything in society is "microwaved" and prepared for quick and easy consumption by the masses, nobody cares about quality. This reality tv show doesnt pan out? Who cares, you can make a new one in 3 days and air it three days later. People aren't writing novels, they're writing tweets. So who cares if its meaningless drivel? It takes 10 seconds and they can always just delete it.

You know what im sayin? Like, the easier it is to make something, the less concerned people are about actually making it well.

[FourthTenor]

so we gonna act like only stupid people use facebook, watches youtube, and reality tv?


Not stupid, but I guess, uninspired.

Like I personally have a very curious mind, always want to gain perspective, have discussion, think critically etc. and so I tend to gravitate toward that kind of media and the people who produce it.

But it seems like the majority of people don't really care what's going on outside of the kardashian house or the american idol stage. like that stuff is the lowest quality of creativity and intelligence and production. but its by far the most popular stuff that gets consumed.

And I just don't get it.

[FourthTenor]

Also, crousna just reminded me of another example of this with the thread he just made where he basically posted a youtube link and didnt even describe what its about. i didnt check it out, but most people who click the thread will.

I frequently open threads where someone is like "yo check out this youtube vid" and doesnt even state what it is, and there's a bunch of responses from people who didnt even bother to wonder if it was worth their time, and just instantly clicked on it to sit there and mindlessly watch.

[Doomsday Dallas]

but I think we will recover and revert back to what is important.


That's gonna be a difficult process because I think the growth of the internet
is slowly destroying our humanity. I'm old enough to remember a world when
nobody had a cell phone, and nobody had internet access... and in many ways,
I think my childhood was that much better because the technology didn't
exist (from a social standpoint).

I think the OP raises some interesting points about reality TV and how it's
destroying our culture, but I'd like to point out that our entertainment industry
in general has gradually gotten polluted over time.
(cartoons, Hip Hop, movies etc.)


Have you seen children's programs on Nickelodeon these days? It's
not very thought provoking... In fact it's mindless garbage.
icarly, Big Time Rush, Sponge Bob Square Pants... I don't
remember seeing crap like this when I was a child.

Have you turned on the radio recently? Are we really gonna call
some of this crap Hip Hop?

Hollywood? There is a reason why Fast Five has already grossed
over $100,000,000.


There are a thousand different directions I could take this post thanks to the OP...
So let me end by posting a brilliant youtube video:



http://mayhem-chaos.net/photoblog/images/pine_tree.jpg

THIS IS A PINE TREE... ESCAPE BEFORE IT's TOO LATE!!!





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uAiWFdoJDg
'My dinner with Andre'





Are we in a cultural dark age? ..... YES.

[PowerGlove]

Also, crousna just reminded me of another example of this with the thread he just made where he basically posted a youtube link and didnt even describe what its about. i didnt check it out, but most people who click the thread will.

I frequently open threads where someone is like "yo check out this youtube vid" and doesnt even state what it is, and there's a bunch of responses from people who didnt even bother to wonder if it was worth their time, and just instantly clicked on it to sit there and mindlessly watch.

I hate when people do that shit. If you really wanted me to watch, describe it first.

[DeuceWallaces]

And what are you doing with your time that makes you so much different? How are you impacting the world? What are you doing to make it a better place? It's easy to sit here and call shit out and talk crap about facebook. But in the end you're just talking shit on the off topic section of an internet basketball message board. I'm not certain that's any better.

[FourthTenor]

And what are you doing with your time that makes you so much different? How are you impacting the world? What are you doing to make it a better place? It's easy to sit here and call shit out and talk crap about facebook. But in the end you're just talking shit on the off topic section of an internet basketball message board. I'm not certain that's any better.


Well, the rest of us were having a discussion about current events and society. I'm interspersing that with the book I'm reading as I sit here.

You are the only one who failed to contribute anything intelligent. Where are your posts where you contributed something thought provoking or analytical? This post was just pissy bitterness. Suffice to say, nobody is impressed with it or thinks you intelligent for making it, although you probably expected and hoped for that when you made it. It's your ace in the hole.

"Act pissy and bitter and people will think it somehow makes me smart, even as I blatantly say nothing intelligent or substantive." Ace in the hole, baby. Go-to move, like a Melo jabstep or a Duncan bank shot.

[Doomsday Dallas]

And what are you doing with your time that makes you so much different? How are you impacting the world? What are you doing to make it a better place?


It's not about changing the world (other human beings)... It's about
changing yourself.

http://www.movies-wallpapers.net/Movies/Into%20The%20Wild/Into%20The%20Wild-14.jpg



I can't intervene on America's nasty addictions... but I can change my own.

"God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
courage to change the things we can,
and wisdom to know the difference."

[iamgine]

And I know there are people who do things like that today, and there were dumb people before, but I feel like in the old days there were probably a greater percentage of average people who at least aspired to be the great people.

Where do you pull that out from? How long ago is this 'old days'?

[FourthTenor]

"God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
courage to change the things we can,
and wisdom to know the difference."


I love that quote, minus the religious aspect.

But i think its important to be vocal about creating worthwile change where possible, and lame to run your yap for the sole sake of being noticed by others, like the poster DeuceWallaces

[FourthTenor]

Where do you pull that out from? How long ago is this 'old days'?

I dunno, like the days when Dickens and Shakespeare were writing and were popular. Of course theyre still read and acted today, but what constitutes art/entertainment today - like this kardashian or jersey shore nonsense - does not compare to what they made popular in their day.

[Doomsday Dallas]

I love that quote, minus the religious aspect.

But i think its important to be vocal about creating worthwile change where possible, and lame to run your yap for the sole sake of being noticed by others, like the poster DeuceWallaces


Yea, but I've had to come to harsh reality that I'm not gonna be waking
up to the country anytime soon.

People are gonna keep believing the lies politicians feed them, people
are gonna keep on supporting their corrupt government, There really
isn't anything I can do to change that... I can "rage against the machine"
all I want... but that at the end of the day, the beast isn't going anywhere.

The system is broken... and I'm not going to be the guy that fixes it or
replaces it... So instead of trying to CHANGE the system... I can do
my best to remove myself from it.



Personally... I just need to GTFO of the "city life" for a few months and
experience some good ol fashion "Mother Nature"

[FourthTenor]

The system is broken... and I'm not going to be the guy that fixes it or
replaces it... So instead of trying to CHANGE the system... I can do
my best to remove myself



Yeah, i go back and forth a lot myself over whether its worth it to even try and what good it even does me to try and help these morons.

[iamgine]

I dunno, like the days when Dickens and Shakespeare were writing and were popular. Of course theyre still read and acted today, but what constitutes art/entertainment today - like this kardashian or jersey shore nonsense - does not compare to what they made popular in their day.
You bring up Shakespeare, but he is the exception to the rule. So many artists and brilliant people were shunned and unrecognized in their own time. There were times where people killing other people in a stadium was recognized as great entertainment. They have their own version of Jersey Shore back in those days.

This might not be the golden times but it's also not the dark ages. Shakespeare, Dickens and all great stuff is available and performed freely and can be enjoyed by anyone, unlike in the past where translations were not always available and the only ones who can enjoy them are the rich.

[JtotheIzzo]

Humanity has faced these challenges before and moved on past it.

When radio was first introduced, there was real concern of its power to inform (or misinform the masses).

TV brought a visual aspect that people thought was negatively impacting society (Kennedy, Nixon debate was viewed at the time as being perverted by visual images, and there was fear TV was going to make everything a visual contest).

With the internet, reality TV and the 'ME' generation things are really compounded.

-kids for the last 20 years have been raised to think they are 'special' and can do anything they want. So of course, no one wants to clean toilets, they want to be on TV...reality TV is now a bright shining star.

-information is so easy to get now, it is insane. I remember when I was young buying a Streets and Smith NBA preview mag (or something of that ilk) and staring at the pics for hours thinking how cool it was. I can only imagine being young with the internet today, I'd be bored of everything.

We are also in the business of valuing information, not thoughtful knowledge.

Society will adjust, it always has, this time however it might take a little longer as we are battling our own egos and our own laziness.

[Jackass18]

Blah blah blah Facebook blah blah blah generalization blah blah blah Reality TV blah blah blah generalization blah blah blah. That rant has been done to death years ago.

[Dasher]

Retrospective fallacy...

[Jackass18]

Have you seen children's programs on Nickelodeon these days? It's not very thought provoking... In fact it's mindless garbage. icarly, Big Time Rush, Sponge Bob Square Pants... I don't
remember seeing crap like this when I was a child.

Are you serious? There was plenty of crap shows back in the day, too. I think a bunch of them were kind of cheesy and lacked a good deal of realism. Just look at the near perfect worlds in some of those TV shows.


Hollywood? There is a reason why Fast Five has already grossed
over $100,000,000.

It's gotten mostly positive reviews. Have you even seen the movie?

I think there's way too many assumptions and generalizations flying around in this thread.

[IcanzIIravor]

I dunno, like the days when Dickens and Shakespeare were writing and were popular. Of course theyre still read and acted today, but what constitutes art/entertainment today - like this kardashian or jersey shore nonsense - does not compare to what they made popular in their day.

I don't think you would feel this way if you lived back in those days. Most people born to a class died in the class. You think it is hard to innovate or move up in todays world, try that time period. I think people who have a rosy view of the past have mostly just been exposed to the good things that happened. There is more innovation and creativity going on in the world than you can imagine. The problem is that you don't see the great leaps in technology and knowledge.

[heyhey]

It's not about changing the world (other human beings)... It's about
changing yourself.

http://www.movies-wallpapers.net/Movies/Into%20The%20Wild/Into%20The%20Wild-14.jpg



I can't intervene on America's nasty addictions... but I can change my own.

"God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change,
courage to change the things we can,
and wisdom to know the difference."

you always post these things about how we need to wake up and face realities about the lies of the world... which you substantiate by posting posters from popular movies (fight club and now into the wild). Aren't these films which are produced by large corporations and viewed by the masses just part of the lies placating the people?

[Doomsday Dallas]

you always post these things about how we need to wake up and face realities about the lies of the world... which you substantiate by posting posters from popular movies (fight club and now into the wild). Aren't these films which are produced by large corporations and viewed by the masses just part of the lies placating the people?


Well... to some degree Hollywood can serve as a great distraction/ deception...
and other times it can be a wonderful escape from our harsh reality. When it's
all said and done... I'm starting to see less and less movies with a solid
Christian message behind it. (to some this Wonderful, but in my opinion it's bad.)

I think my greatest concern is our dependency on technology and perhaps our
government as well... I think it's been well documented that as our production
in oil has increased so has the population... So what
happens if society can no longer consume oil at the rate we've been using it?



http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6VyYcOvb9XE/SlTbRvmoNUI/AAAAAAAAAAc/4zN0PQLdvUY/s400/WorldPopOil.PNG



You have to ask yourself... Is this the reason we are in Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Libya?
I think it is... We've now reached a way of life that we will do anything to try and sustain,
Blood for Oil so to speak...


$Hit... I need to go to work.

will continue this thought later...

[Jailblazers7]

It's easy to get caught up in the small trouble of our everyday lives when comparing it to the grand pictures of history. Art and knowledge is now avaiable to a much larger proportion of the population and people overall have a higher level of education and a better standard of living. Sure a lot of peopple have bad habits and abuse new technology but there are still a healthy number of people applying themselves intellectually and appreciating good movies, tv, books, etc. The majority of the population willl never strive to be great and they never have.

[FourthTenor]

I don't think you would feel this way if you lived back in those days. Most people born to a class died in the class. You think it is hard to innovate or move up in todays world, try that time period. I think people who have a rosy view of the past have mostly just been exposed to the good things that happened. There is more innovation and creativity going on in the world than you can imagine. The problem is that you don't see the great leaps in technology and knowledge.


Not at all sying id have wanted to live then. What im saying is the quality of art, writing, performance was better. Not saying its just the victorian era either. The music and tv programming was better in the 60s-90s. Now we have reality tv, horrendous popular music, the same batman or spiderman movie every 4 months, and hordes and hordes of people spend all their cpu time on facebook trying to craft a social image and personality they dont actually have in person. Who are the creative icons of this current era?

Im not saying "the 1800s were better than now!" im saying juat about every other era had some kind of art or cultural habits worth rememering. I feel like right now things are very stagnant in terms of the quality of what constituts "pop culture"

Feel mey??

[mcrd101]

I don't think you would feel this way if you lived back in those days. Most people born to a class died in the class. You think it is hard to innovate or move up in todays world, try that time period. I think people who have a rosy view of the past have mostly just been exposed to the good things that happened. There is more innovation and creativity going on in the world than you can imagine. The problem is that you don't see the great leaps in technology and knowledge.

this.

when we look at history books decades from now, they aren't going to be highlighting jersey shore and facebook may only get a mention to discuss the improvements in technology and communication (both good things). what we will see in text books is things like "first black US president-the recession of 2007-2010(some say 2007-present), death of bin laden" and countless others.

if you think about it, comparatively there's only a few hundred revolutionary innovators in a given generation, if that much. we still have those innovators; neil degrase tyson (i butchered his name but point made), steve jobs (you can say his creations are used for just pop culture but they do provide access to information and such in an easier way not done before.), bill gates (you could include him more with the last generation but it's questionable) and others im forgetting.

facebook gets too bad of a rep when it has done some very good things or is capable of doing it. if i remember correctly, the protests in egypt were organized via facebook. those protests may not have been able to be organized at such a large scale if not for facebook.

[FourthTenor]

I think there's way too many assumptions and generalizations flying around in this thread.

Well, i guess it is a common assumption that people who love nascar and bush beer and bad movies and college football and country on the radio do have a lesser refined taste in general.

But remember that stereotypes are grounded in some kind of observable pattern.

[FourthTenor]

this.

when we look at history books decades from now, they aren't going to be highlighting jersey shore and facebook may only get a mention to discuss the improvements in technology and communication (both good things). what we will see in text books is things like "first black US president-the recession of 2007-2010(some say 2007-present), death of bin laden" and countless others.

if you think about it, comparatively there's only a few hundred revolutionary innovators in a given generation, if that much. we still have those innovators; neil degrase tyson (i butchered his name but point made), steve jobs (you can say his creations are used for just pop culture but they do provide access to information and such in an easier way not done before.), bill gates (you could include him more with the last generation but it's questionable) and others im forgetting.

facebook gets too bad of a rep when it has done some very good things or is capable of doing it. if i remember correctly, the protests in egypt were organized via facebook. those protests may not have been able to be organized at such a large scale if not for facebook.

Well again like i said, im not talking technologicly or politically. Im not talking about a LITERAL dark ages.

Im talking about culturally. The Beatles and Stevie Wonder were icons of yesteryear, they were talented.

The icons of today are kim k and The Situation. Thats wht im talkin about. The viral/reality stardom era is a massive step back

[FourthTenor]

And i feel like people are afraid of interpersonal communication bc theyre so used to typing "omg kool pic" all day on facebook and not actually interacting in social situations in Real time. People are just goobers.

[VishaltotheG]

I had a group interview where I had a question where I had to talk about which reality show I would like to be in and I couldn't answer it :facepalm

[FourthTenor]

I had a group interview where I had a question where I had to talk about which reality show I would like to be in and I couldn't answer it :facepalm


Dont be ashamed. Be proud. Lettuce band together and reject this absurdity!

[CasterL]

I just finished writing a essay relating to this topic last night.

In short, Media ownership and convergence is an increasing problem which threatens public interest in lots of ways. Corporte media are intertwined with governments and big buisess, which is dangerous as journalism essentially should serve as watchdog of the public. There are manyways in which these relationships undermine media content, i can't be bothered to explain. Journalism and media in general are undergoing a vast reduction in quality, this is due to the corporate commodification of their media empires. An abundance of entertainment options in todays' world serve to distract the public.The media have cottoned on to this, and have also encourgaed public ignorance by increasingly focusng their media output on entertainment etc. Reality tv, celebrities gossip and news are just some of the junk they shove down out throats.

I am undecided on facebook and twitter to be honest. Alot of people are moronicly obsessed with them, deluded and self absorbed enought to actually think that people give a shit about what they have to say. I think its pretty unhealthy how much time alot of people spend on these sites, do they not have other interests? on the other hand they are a very efective new age communication tool.

[Harion]

It occurs to me that 95% of the people I come in contact with are completely clueless about just about anything having to do with the world around them. Meanwhile, the ENTIRE modernized world spends like hours each day on facebook. I still don't even understand what facebook does. What does it do? What is the enjoyment from being on it??? I don't understand its stimulation or even what people are actually doing when theyre on it.

Also, the television is arguably the most powerful invention ever. We are only anatomically able to witness things close enough for our eyes to focus on, and now we have the power to record actual vision, images that are physically nowhere near us, and broadcast them anywhere on the entire earth. And the airwaves of this mind blowing technology are clogged with reality show after reality show, after reality show. Fake, scripted shows about people arguing in small claims courts, fake, scripted shows about people trying to lose weight, fake, scripted shows about beverly hills teenagers, fake, scripted shows about random chicks who have literally done nothing to warrant achievement.


Human history is so rich with thinkers, who discovered new elements in laboratories, writers who poured over manuscripts by candlelight, pioneers who navigated the dark, infinite sea by mere starlight, musicians who wrote and recorded brilliant art.

And I know there are people who do things like that today, and there were dumb people before, but I feel like in the old days there were probably a greater percentage of average people who at least aspired to be the great people. Now most people aspire to be one of these gimmicky dopes getting 15 minutes of fame for making a pointless, unintelligent, unartistic video that "goes viral" on youtube and gets laughed at for a hot minute then forgot about. Nobody is articulate these days, nobody can carry out a conversation without using facebook, nobody has any historical reference points for what quality is in a given area.


I'm sure everyone is familiar with the platitudes "what doesnt kill you makes you stronger" and "suffering/hard work builts character" and I now believe those things are a literal phenomenon. It seems to be like an actual law that as we develop the technology to add convenience to our lives, we necessarily lose character and perspective.

Hm?
blah, blah, bah, blah, blah :blah we're in the greatest cultural revolution in the history of humanity. revolution and evolution. if you can't see that, then you're just a pseudo-intellectual waxing nostalgic about the "good 'ol days when people were smart."

Not at all sying id have wanted to live then. What im saying is the quality of art, writing, performance was better. Not saying its just the victorian era either. The music and tv programming was better in the 60s-90s. Now we have reality tv, horrendous popular music, the same batman or spiderman movie every 4 months, and hordes and hordes of people spend all their cpu time on facebook trying to craft a social image and personality they dont actually have in person. Who are the creative icons of this current era?

Im not saying "the 1800s were better than now!" im saying juat about every other era had some kind of art or cultural habits worth rememering. I feel like right now things are very stagnant in terms of the quality of what constituts "pop culture"

Feel mey??
orly? you know, i'll let you continue if you can explain to me the basics of evolution. did you know that memes participate in evolution? or are you one of those dupes who think evolution only pertains to living things?

[Jackass18]

Well, i guess it is a common assumption that people who love nascar and bush beer and bad movies and college football and country on the radio do have a lesser refined taste in general.

Who are you referring to?


But remember that stereotypes are grounded in some kind of observable pattern.

One could say that they're grounded in ignorance.

[Jackass18]

I had a group interview where I had a question where I had to talk about which reality show I would like to be in and I couldn't answer it :facepalm

Your avatar is that of a reality show.

[Rake2204]

Well, the rest of us were having a discussion about current events and society. I'm interspersing that with the book I'm reading as I sit here.

You are the only one who failed to contribute anything intelligent. Where are your posts where you contributed something thought provoking or analytical? This post was just pissy bitterness. Suffice to say, nobody is impressed with it or thinks you intelligent for making it, although you probably expected and hoped for that when you made it. It's your ace in the hole.

"Act pissy and bitter and people will think it somehow makes me smart, even as I blatantly say nothing intelligent or substantive." Ace in the hole, baby. Go-to move, like a Melo jabstep or a Duncan bank shot.
With respect, I was kind of thinking the same thing Deuce wrote when I read your post. Surely, I think this topic is worth a debate and surely I believe there could truly be something to it. However, I don't agree with the platform with which you are making your stance.

Unfortunately, I admit I am not very familiar with all forms of entertainment from the Shakespearian period. Sure, there was Shakespeare, but was there not also low brow entertainment arguably on par with the reality TV we see today? Another poster mentioned fights to the death. I'm quite confident there were a number of forms of entertainment that found themselves much, much below the level of Shakespeare back them.

That would lead me to my next point. It seems as if you're comparing what many perceive to be the "best" of certain eras to what others perceive to be the worst of this era. So the 2000's have reality shows. The 1990's had Jerrry Springer. The last 60 years has had a pile of (in my opinion) horrible soap operas. Of course, that's just speaking to the television angle.

I fear you are very much generalizing 99% of the human race. I also fear you are developing these generalizations based off of what you read or heard from a news agency or television show. Then again, all these generalizations could be based off of personal experience. In the case that is based off personal experience, I feel it may be helpful to offer my own personal experience. Amongst my extended group of friends and acquaintances, I have not observed a mindless oversaturation with Twitter and Facebook.

Clearly, it would be shortsighted to state that all of my acquaintances are "responsible" Twitter and Facebook users. They don't all only use these sites to complement social connections and friendships, but the majority of them do. I have some friends who post "follow me on Twitter" status updates on Facebook. I do not care for that. However, Facebook has bolstered my ability to interact with others. There are a lot of situations where calling someone to tell them one thing, or meeting up with them to just tell or ask them something else wouldn't make sense. I am thankful I have an alternate means of maintaining my friendships.

In regards to reality shows, may I ask what - besides from what you see on TV or read in Entertainment Weekly - makes you believe that 99% of the American public loves these shows so much that they now no longer want to yearn for anything great in their own life except for starring in their own reality show? And what provides the feeling that everyone wants instead to just make a YouTube clip and call it good? If I walked in on my cat secretly playing Beethoven on my grand piano, would my life be considered shallow and a failure if I posted the footage on YouTube and drew 50,000,000 views? Would that mean I must have had no real goals in life aside from being a 15 minute YouTube sensation?

Lastly, can a person not learn and be entertained at alternating moments? Why is it suggested that the majority of humans only use YouTube to watch people falling out of desks or moose dramatically stealing a man's wife? I am upset when someone does not label what a particular YouTube link is here, but if I'm reading information on the Teapot Dome Scandel and I decide to take a break and see what's going on here, is it really so bad that I click on a title-less link in a thread called "This Clip Is. . .Hilarious"?

[Jackass18]

The music and tv programming was better in the 60s-90s. Now we have reality tv, horrendous popular music, the same batman or spiderman movie every 4 months, and hordes and hordes of people spend all their cpu time on facebook trying to craft a social image and personality they dont actually have in person. Who are the creative icons of this current era?

See. These are the type of generalizations I'm talking about. It's not a good idea to bring up Spider-Man when most of the movies have been pretty good and the reboot of the Batman franchise has been great so far. There's been really good TV shows like The Wire, Lost, The Walking Dead, The Sopranos, etc... There have been many great movies like the LOTR trilogy, TWBB, NCFOM, Hotel Rwanda, City of God, etc... Every period has its bad side. The '90s had all that boy band shit.


The icons of today are kim k and The Situation.

How are they the icons of today? A great many are embarrassed by them, namely the Situation.

[FourthTenor]

There are a lot of situations where calling someone to tell them one thing, or meeting up with them to just tell or ask them something else wouldn't make sense. I am thankful I have an alternate means of maintaining relationships

In those situations you could email or text.

But then, the whole world wouldnt get to see it, and i think what really drives this stuff is that people are trying to create an image and impression of themselves for the world to see, based on the lil messages they post or things they "like" or pics they add.

Until recently, stars were people who actually did the creative and talented things in entertainment. Now "hide yo kids, hide yo wife" is a star overnight and thts what most people usin facebook, twitter an toutube are doing, tryin to gain attention without actually being an artist.

But thx for the good reply, im on an iphone but ill reply more at length later

[JtotheIzzo]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6VyYcOvb9XE/SlTbRvmoNUI/AAAAAAAAAAc/4zN0PQLdvUY/s400/WorldPopOil.PNG



You have to ask yourself... Is this the reason we are in Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Libya?
I think it is..

finally, you said something intelligent.

[Rake2204]

In those situations you could email or text.

But then, the whole world wouldnt get to see it, and i think what really drives this stuff is that people are trying to create an image and impression of themselves for the world to see, based on the lil messages they post or things they "like" or pics they add.

Until recently, stars were people who actually did the creative and talented things in entertainment. Now "hide yo kids, hide yo wife" is a star overnight and thts what most people usin facebook, twitter an toutube are doing, tryin to gain attention without actually being an artist.

But thx for the good reply, im on an iphone but ill reply more at length later
You're correct that email and text are also options. To be truthful, I was big on instant messaging over the past decade. However, all my AIM friends seemed to shift to Facebook Chat. Similarly, I do not have the email addresses of all my friends and my texting plan is quite limited. I know I'm just one example, but I think it's a good indication of one of Facebook's biggest draws: it's a central communications hub. Texting, emailing, letters by mail, and phone calls are all options, but so is Facebook and oftentimes, it's easier and more convenient.

I still text, I still email, I still make phone calls. It's just now Facebook is another option that is sometimes the better route for me, especially in E-Mail-like messages. E-mail addresses amongst friends seem to frequently change. And in my case I must constantly log-in and check my mail while waiting for a response. With Facebook, I know as long as my friend still has a profile, my message will reach them and I will be notified when I get a response. It's just an additional communication weapon to me. It would not surprise me to hear that people initially balked at the invention of the telephone, finding it completely unnecessary and a danger to human relations.

I'll say though, I do very much agree with you in regards to people creating an image of themselves that they want to be seen on Facebook. That is completely and totally evident. To be clear, private messages are very big part of Facebook, so the presumption that using Facebook instead of texting simply because Facebook happens in public is a bit misguided. The Facebook Wall in my experience is mostly often used for little quips. Those who handle their personal issues with public Wall Posts often find themselves to be the object of ridicule.

My last two Wall activities have been posting an article about Team Six Dogs (and their titanium teeth) on my friend's wall (because he loves dogs and I thought the article was so cool that I wanted other Facebook friends to read it) and congratulating a family member on the half marathon she just ran. It just works smoother. The honest truth is if I didn't post that article on Facebook, I probably would have just stumbled through a story of "Dude, you have to look up this article" when I saw him next - of which he'd subsequently forget and I probably would have forgotten about my family member's half marathon if not for Facebook. I'm glad I knew she was running it and I'm happy she posted the results and I could then congratulate her.

The point remains, however, that people surely are creating a way in which they want to be viewed by others via Facebook. In truth, that's not a whole lot different than the rest of our lives though. We create that facade with what we wear, what we say, and what we do in real life. Most often, I'll tell the story about my greatest dunk a lot more often than all the times I missed because I want to create the idea that I'm a better dunker than I am. Similarly, people are likely going to post the best pictures more than their worst. Some may even alter their true Movie and Music interests to create a "cooler" version of themselves. I'm not sure I've seen that happen, but it wouldn't surprise me. So I agree with you on that regard.

Now, above all, I disagree at least in part with this statement, "Now "hide yo kids, hide yo wife" is a star overnight and thts what most people usin facebook, twitter an toutube are doing, tryin to gain attention without actually being an artist." I strongly disagree that "most people" using Facebook and YouTube are doing so as a means to become a star overnight. With respect, that type of statement suggests you may not be very familiar with these websites (as you admitted in Facebook's case). 99% of YouTubers use the website to watch videos. 1% is responsible for creating them. As for those who create the videos, I'm sure a lot of them love the attention. And I'm not sure what I see wrong with that. So someone posts their high school basketball mixtape and it gets 2,300 views. Why not? Someone wanted to provide his video and apparently people believed it was worth 2,300 views. Both sides are happy.

So my question would be, why does someone have to be an artist in order to gain attention? If anything, I prefer a world where people don't have to be spectacular to be noticed. Everyone likes some form of attention. I find this to be natural. Awesome, stupid, hilarious, mundane, normal. All those characteristics have fascinated humans through time. We have better access to all of them now. To single out present day as the dark ages? I'm not so sure. A lot of people seem to like reality TV. You know what though? A lot of people loved Milli Vanilli too.

[mlh1981]

When I was a kid, I watched the Jetsons, and thought THAT was our future.

Instead, we have websites where people can post updates to every little thing they are doing.

I think it goes somewhat hand in hand with this current generation of 20-somethings that grew up in the 80s and 90s. We are basically the first generation where pursuing higher education was basically expected. We were pumped full of sunshine as kids, constantly told how "special" we were. Everyone was looking for our unique gifts and talents.

The constant updating and the narcissistic style of a site like facebook plays into that, somewhat. We have been told all our lives how special we were, and how we can go out there and "change the world."

Just my theory. Maybe I'm reaching.

[JMT]

When I was a kid, I watched the Jetsons, and thought THAT was our future.

Instead, we have websites where people can post updates to every little thing they are doing.

I think it goes somewhat hand in hand with this current generation of 20-somethings that grew up in the 80s and 90s. We are basically the first generation where pursuing higher education was basically expected. We were pumped full of sunshine as kids, constantly told how "special" we were. Everyone was looking for our unique gifts and talents.

The constant updating and the narcissistic style of a site like facebook plays into that, somewhat. We have been told all our lives how special we were, and how we can go out there and "change the world."

Just my theory. Maybe I'm reaching.

Well thought out post, but isn't posting philosophical discussions...or for that matter, opinions on music, sports, or any aspect of life...on a message board just as narcissistic?

We didn't all decide at one point that we had something to say. We simply responded to the presence of an audience.

This is a great thread, and I wish I had time to address each point that caught my eye. But to those discussing Shakespeare; his was the low brow entertainment of the day. It wasn't revered as classical or important. It was tv before there was tv.

[Harion]

the OP's fallacy is that he compares an era's highs with this eras lows. so he takes Shakespeare and compares it to Jersey Shore. fact of the matter is, if you're gonna take the best of the best from the past and compare it to the best of the best from the present, you'd find out our culture is evolving - and evolving BETTER. we're not in a "cultural dark ages." that's stupid. we're exactly on the path to the golden age. this internet thing, and the explosion for freedom information is bigger than anything you've ever imagined (and that's because you have no imagination). you know how printing changed the world for the better? lol. get an education. you're smart but you're just halfway to using your brain.

[Joshumitsu]

And so, this answers why we're on ISH.

I think that all of us have a hard time finding an audience. We're surrounded by circumstances that won't let us fulfill ourselves. We're surrounded by mundane, useless people who don't want to do anything with their lives except live in the false paradise they've created for themselves.

This information age isn't an age of newfound narcissism or of ingenuity, or lack of. It's an age of confirmation. We're aware that we're all doomed to die and are only trying to buy our time by building up these walls and barriers to protect ourselves. We do it by pretending we have knowledge and by pretending money can buy us happiness.

And so we alienate ourselves from each other. And we become bored. And our paranoia, our images, our insecurities slowly add to the weight of our shoulders as everything collapses upon us. And we know no way of escape. And so we crawl back to our infantile stages in hopes that everyone will be okay. And the world turns, and your spouse comes home, and your children grow old. And nothing will have changed.


I don't know about you, but I'd rather die on my own two feet.

[Abd El-Krim]

And what are you doing with your time that makes you so much different? How are you impacting the world? What are you doing to make it a better place? It's easy to sit here and call shit out and talk crap about facebook. But in the end you're just talking shit on the off topic section of an internet basketball message board. I'm not certain that's any better.

This.

Either you're genuinely concerned about the issues in the first post and you're taking action, or you're *********ing ego in discussions about it.

(fap fap fap fap fap)

[Jackass18]

I haven't used Facebook in quite some time, but I'll give it props. It allowed me to communicate and see what was up with family and friends I haven't talked to in a long time.

Maybe there are a number of people that are addicted to Facebook, but those are the types that would have been sitting around and gossiping for hours on the phone or something equally as or more wasteful in the past. This is nothing new. There has always been many people who have spent their free time wasting it in what you deem as in a worthless manner. Facebook just makes it more visible and known.

[Norcaliblunt]

It's called 2011 Corporate Fascism.

[hwliuLAP]

you want to connect with the world by watching what's going on with the world, go for it.

I want to connect with the world of my friends and see the growth in real life human beings and how they overcome adversity as individuals, that's my decision.

you think you can connect with someone on TV who you've never talked to in your life and be inspired, that's awesome.

I like reading about my friends life as an autobiography, knowing where they come from, and connect with them at a different level because of similar past and analyze our differences.


In the end, we're all just trying to understand ourselves, it's just observing events at a large scale or small.


It's called technology, what we do as a mass is what define us as a culture. So really, what is a cultural "dark age"? Dark age is just a subjective term that has no real objective meaning.

[FourthTenor]

It's Dark And Facebook Is Hot

[FourthTenor]

Maybe there are a number of people that are addicted to Facebook, but those are the types that would have been sitting around and gossiping for hours on the phone or something equally as or more wasteful in the past.


That's true, but I do believe just circulating in a facebook loop from page to page, looking at random pics and trite comments, things that are mildly amusing but mentally unstimulating, and seeing the same ads for the same bands and brands narrows your scope. It's slowly narrows your mind into a tunnel over time.

[RainierBeachPoet]

culturally speaking, the fall of "rome" has been occurring for some time now...

[thatoneblackguy]

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/4158/tumblrloa8tfrg3t1qz6f9y.jpg

[FourthTenor]

culturally speaking, the fall of "rome" has been occurring for some time now...


I quite agree and I was thinking about that the other day actually, in the same context of rome's rise/fall.

Literally EVERYTHING in the universe has a life cycle. it is born, it grows, it peaks, and it declines.

I was pondering whether or not America's literal true "peak" of its lifespan was in the 90's, and we are now on the inevitable slow decline.

[Saintsfan1992]

Well again like i said, im not talking technologicly or politically. Im not talking about a LITERAL dark ages.

Im talking about culturally. The Beatles and Stevie Wonder were icons of yesteryear, they were talented.

The icons of today are kim k and The Situation. Thats wht im talkin about. The viral/reality stardom era is a massive step back

You're over exaggerating now. No one looks up to Kim K or The Situation.
stop it, I dont even watch neither of their shows. :facepalm

[RainierBeachPoet]

I quite agree and I was thinking about that the other day actually, in the same context of rome's rise/fall.

Literally EVERYTHING in the universe has a life cycle. it is born, it grows, it peaks, and it declines.

I was pondering whether or not America's literal true "peak" of its lifespan was in the 90's, and we are now on the inevitable slow decline.

the usa rode the wave of a surplus under clinton; now, we are screwed with our economic situation

the usa will decline in terms of its global influence but since there is no military that comes close (and the usa will not allow anyone to develop weapons to challenge us), we will remain a world power because of our military might.

our reputation will most likely be like a big, dumb bully who most everyone fears because they do not want to get beat up, but who people will be civil with-- but not really respect

[Jailblazers7]

I saw a news segment last night on the avatars that xbox live has that now mimics your movements and voice so you can go out on the web and meet other avatars. I honestly wanted to punch the tv. Pretty soon communication will be completely digital and then hopefully the human race will just stop reproducing and die out.

[Balla_Status]

finally, you said something intelligent.

More like absolutely retarded.

[joe]

I think the success of Facebook is connected to both reality TV and our obsession with celebrities. Facebook allows all of US to be the celebrities, in our own little world.

Our friends see our pictures (always with us looking our best). They read about the mundane details of our life. They see how much other people like us, etc.

[Noob Saibot]

I saw a news segment last night on the avatars that xbox live has that now mimics your movements and voice so you can go out on the web and meet other avatars. I honestly wanted to punch the tv. Pretty soon communication will be completely digital and then hopefully the human race will just stop reproducing and die out.

LOL...That is so Matrix!

[Stuckey]

stop reproducing and die out?

meaning ppl will get tired of getting pvssy?

i guess i would rather have sex in a virtual world in my brain with 5 pornstars, then go on dates and shi

[lilojmayo]

It occurs to me that 95% of the people I come in contact with are completely clueless about just about anything having to do with the world around them. Meanwhile, the ENTIRE modernized world spends like hours each day on facebook. I still don't even understand what facebook does. What does it do? What is the enjoyment from being on it??? I don't understand its stimulation or even what people are actually doing when theyre on it.

Also, the television is arguably the most powerful invention ever. We are only anatomically able to witness things close enough for our eyes to focus on, and now we have the power to record actual vision, images that are physically nowhere near us, and broadcast them anywhere on the entire earth. And the airwaves of this mind blowing technology are clogged with reality show after reality show, after reality show. Fake, scripted shows about people arguing in small claims courts, fake, scripted shows about people trying to lose weight, fake, scripted shows about beverly hills teenagers, fake, scripted shows about random chicks who have literally done nothing to warrant achievement.


Human history is so rich with thinkers, who discovered new elements in laboratories, writers who poured over manuscripts by candlelight, pioneers who navigated the dark, infinite sea by mere starlight, musicians who wrote and recorded brilliant art.

And I know there are people who do things like that today, and there were dumb people before, but I feel like in the old days there were probably a greater percentage of average people who at least aspired to be the great people. Now most people aspire to be one of these gimmicky dopes getting 15 minutes of fame for making a pointless, unintelligent, unartistic video that "goes viral" on youtube and gets laughed at for a hot minute then forgot about. Nobody is articulate these days, nobody can carry out a conversation without using facebook, nobody has any historical reference points for what quality is in a given area.


I'm sure everyone is familiar with the platitudes "what doesnt kill you makes you stronger" and "suffering/hard work builts character" and I now believe those things are a literal phenomenon. It seems to be like an actual law that as we develop the technology to add convenience to our lives, we necessarily lose character and perspective.

Hm?


Don't see what the big hype about FB is. I get you can keep in touch with people you never see, work related stuff etc.

That's not enough to make me want to get one of my own. But I only log on my friends account to look at pics of hot girls I know. That's my only use for it. Before facebook ( Myspace Era), we had to photobucket girl's pics.

Now the girls put out.
How times have changed. :banana:

[FourthTenor]

Don't see what the big hype about FB is. I get you can keep in touch with people you never see, work related stuff etc.

That's not enough to make me want to get one of my own. But I only log on my friends account to look at pics of hot girls I know. That's my only use for it. Before facebook ( Myspace Era), we had to photobucket girl's pics.

Now the girls put out.
How times have changed. :banana:


I can understand and appreciate the concept of it as just sort of a little virtual network that connects you online to your friends and family, but what blows my mind is the amount of time the average user spends on it, and how casual people are about "adding" friends.

If I had a facebook I would just want the people I know well to be connected to my page, and I'd just visit it to see pics and whatnot from time to time. Nowadays instead of exchanging phone numbers, new acquaintances literally exchange facebook pages. I just don't get that. People have upwards of 1,000 "friends" who can go on and peek at their lives and stuff, and all day long they're logging on from home or from work or probably from their phone while they're driving through a busy intersection and trying to see if anyone left a message underneath the latest cell-phone-bathroom-mirror pic they put up.

I'm not down on the concept of facebook itself, but really the way its used as a crutch for validation, popularity, voyeurism, the self-delusion of being a "rockstar" and showing it to everyone, and its replacement of actual interpersonal social skills. Let's be honest: I feel fairly certain that if you were to chart people by how much time they spend on facebook, as time spent goes up, the likelyhood of users being people who can play instruments, know languages, understand history or astronomy or zoology, collect art, write creatively, etc. goes down. And to be frank, it seems like spending a lot of time on facebook isn't really something atypical of its average user or confined to a specific type of person. Most of its users are constantly on there obsessing over whatever mundane stimulation facebook provides them, at least from what I've observed.

And yes, I know that in any society, throughout all history, the "base" is always the largest portion of the pyramid. But I think programs like facebook actually magnify that reality by creating a self-imposed loop of experience and perception. Like going around on a car track. It's just the same road over and over. You're bombarded with the same ads, the same gossip, the same pop culture references and jokes, and that's all you do on there. And you're logged in day and night. While your potential to develop a more well-rounded set of life skills slowly deteriorates.

I think that picture someone posted recently of the "like" button with the 1984 quote is actually VERY apt, and also very scary. We are literally funneling ourselves into a narrower and narrower track of experience. As I have said before, convenience almost always comes at the expense of quality. A microwave burrito will never be as good as an authentic burrito, altho its cheaper, easier to store, and more readily produced. We are now in such a bullrush to keep up with the rest of pop culture that nobody wants to slow down and learn about the world, and only is interested in staying on top of whatever inconsequential "news/gossip" is circulating around facebook. Socializing no longer takes place at the pace of just a church function, back yard bbq, sporting event, etc. which, when these were the only means of interacting, left plenty of time in between for other pursuits. Socializing now happens any time, any where, and that leaves precious few moments available for personal introspection, skill-development, observation of the world and so forth.

[lilojmayo]

I can understand and appreciate the concept of it as just sort of a little virtual network that connects you online to your friends and family, but what blows my mind is the amount of time the average user spends on it, and how casual people are about "adding" friends.

If I had a facebook I would just want the people I know well to be connected to my page, and I'd just visit it to see pics and whatnot from time to time. Nowadays instead of exchanging phone numbers, new acquaintances literally exchange facebook pages. I just don't get that. People have upwards of 1,000 "friends" who can go on and peek at their lives and stuff, and all day long they're logging on from home or from work or probably from their phone while they're driving through a busy intersection and trying to see if anyone left a message underneath the latest cell-phone-bathroom-mirror pic they put up.

I'm not down on the concept of facebook itself, but really the way its used as a crutch for validation, popularity, voyeurism, the self-delusion of being a "rockstar" and showing it to everyone, and its replacement of actual interpersonal social skills. Let's be honest: I feel fairly certain that if you were to chart people by how much time they spend on facebook, as time spent goes up, the likelyhood of users being people who can play instruments, know languages, understand history or astronomy or zoology, collect art, write creatively, etc. goes down. And to be frank, it seems like spending a lot of time on facebook isn't really something atypical of its average user or confined to a specific type of person. Most of its users are constantly on there obsessing over whatever mundane stimulation facebook provides them, at least from what I've observed.

And yes, I know that in any society, throughout all history, the "base" is always the largest portion of the pyramid. But I think programs like facebook actually magnify that reality by creating a self-imposed loop of experience and perception. Like going around on a car track. It's just the same road over and over. You're bombarded with the same ads, the same gossip, the same pop culture references and jokes, and that's all you do on there. And you're logged in day and night. While your potential to develop a more well-rounded set of life skills slowly deteriorates.

I think that picture someone posted recently of the "like" button with the 1984 quote is actually VERY apt, and also very scary. We are literally funneling ourselves into a narrower and narrower track of experience. As I have said before, convenience almost always comes at the expense of quality. A microwave burrito will never be as good as an authentic burrito, altho its cheaper, easier to store, and more readily produced. We are now in such a bullrush to keep up with the rest of pop culture that nobody wants to slow down and learn about the world, and only is interested in staying on top of whatever inconsequential "news/gossip" is circulating around facebook. Socializing no longer takes place at the pace of just a church function, back yard bbq, sporting event, etc. which, when these were the only means of interacting, left plenty of time in between for other pursuits. Socializing now happens any time, any where, and that leaves precious few moments available for personal introspection, skill-development, observation of the world and so forth.

On serious terms, I understand where you're coming from. I've never had a legit social networking account ( Xanga, Myspace, Facebook etc). But at the same time I disagree with many of your concerns.

In terms of how many " friends" person has. I know at least in the Myspace days that the more friends you had the better. More= Better basically. Just like on your cellphone people have like 250 numbers, but really only talk to about 10 people ( at least on a daily basis) . But you never know when your going to need to text/call someone you don't normally talk to, so it is better just to have their number ( especially in my case since I don't have any social network account).

On the side note though the number of pics on a person's account has always made me laugh though, some of these females have like 2,000k pics on their account. I'm not complaining, but it is like ha.

And I also disagree with facebook causing people to not pursue personal talents/goals/skills/hobbies like instruments, astromony etc etc. People who want to pursue/improve on those things will do so. Facebook isn't going to stop them. If anything facebook filters out those pretenders out that just want to stay on FB 24/7.

Again, your not seeing the entire picture or taken all different types of people into account in terms of socializing. Not everyone is feels comfortable in the classic way of viewing socializing ( as you protrayed), like having get-togethers, laughing around a picnic table, seeing eye-to-eye. Speaking for myself now, I was never comfortable as a little kid ( and now) speaking verbally to family or at school to friends/classmates/teachers. Some people would call it extreme shyness.

But I realized at an early age like ten years old or so, the words that I couldn't express verbally I had ablility to express when writing/typing and eventually texting it ( like now). I don't say much in real life (verbally) to anyone, because I have never said much. Written dialogue through text has given people in my situation a voice.

Reality TV though :lol . I'll keep that short. I feel like it is interesting/hilarious to see how " real people" (not actors with scripts) act when in a controlled environment, like in the Jersey Shore house.

[Akrazotile]

#tbt :lol

[sundizz]

OP you couldn't be more wrong. You are wearing blinders to the power of the world we live in.

Right now, of course there will be a few bumps as we get acclimated to this new constant information world. We (I assume you are 20-35) are not the generation that can really judge this era.

We are sadly the cusp between both worlds. In our own way, for reasonably middle income or better people, we were lucky. We were the Boys Meet World type of life where we went outside and played. However, what you don't see is that during that same time we enjoyed a more "natural" way of life a large percentage of the world was suffering. We weren't truly exposed to the global problems. It was both a blessing and a curse.

Nowadays, every single kid has the capability of knowing what is out there. For kids nowadays a college degree doesn't seem like that big of a deal (for a low income kid I mean). This is because he compares himself not only to the small world around him, but rather to the global world he can experience through the internet.

While we highbrow attitude people may be losing out on a potential pool of people that want to contemplate and discuss the issues of the day, the world itself is improving because of the available to anyone information.

If anything, we are in the most enlightened era of civilization. We have truly given ANYONE in the world the ability to achieve. Civilization is measured, and moved forward, not by you or me, but by the genius level intellect of a select few. In this modern time, those genius level few will be recognized early on, from any country, from any economic situation.

The masses have been the same since the dawn of civilization. We bs at the marketplace, at the office, or on an internet message board. "Culture" is something that is constantly evolving.

To label an unfamiliar culture as the "dark ages" is short sighted. Reality television and facebook are merely the iceberg viewpoint of the capabilities we've given the world.

In a way, I'd say the fact that we can spend so much time on those two shows how far we've come as a civilization. Some day, not in the too distant future, humans won't actually need to work. We are the beginning of that. Our "work" is such ***** stuff compared to what has happened since the dawn of civilization. We sit in chairs and push some buttons and get stressed out. With the emergence of intelligent technologies we'll barely even be needed to do that.

At that point, we will likely revert to a more "play" culture. People will have more free time to sit around, talk, eat grapes, and etc.

I'm rambling. Just as someone that has traveled the world - i can say that any loss of "culture" is being replaced tenfold in value by a lessening gap between the educated and uneducated.