Seán Óg is a Slugger regular…
For a while now, I’ve come to the conclusion that somewhere in the late 90s/early 00s, we hit peak technology. We had phones and text messaging to keep in touch; businesspeople had their little blackberries and electronic planners. There were Internet chat rooms, but none of these totally overtook our lives. We met partners in pubs, clubs, at work. We had a communal aspect of watching TV, and if we got box sets, we would swap them and have that conversation next time we met up.
I remember getting the Rocky DVD collection one Christmas and swapping it in school with a kid who got the Nightmare on Elm Street collection – we weren’t good friends before but it was a transaction that sparked loads of conversation afterwards. The benefit of DVDs was cool special features and access to subtitles. Whilst still retaining the excitement of Christmas gifts and swaps with friends. Even into adulthood as the Sopranos got exchanged for The Wire in work and I got a loan of Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid after mentioning at my desk I hadn’t seen it. Better than video but retaining a social interaction that has been lost. All the modern benefits with less social atomisation.
Now we just sit alone at home and stream. Scroll for partners on a dating site, watch endless YouTube videos and argue with strangers. Where is the joy? Is it any wonder there is a loneliness epidemic? Where once the internet enabled us to find places to go and gigs to attend, now it replaces the need to leave our homes.
I often feel like I’m on a fast track to middle age with this thinking, but it seems young folks may agree with me – with the Guardian reporting half of young people would prefer a world without the internet – so have we passed peak internet? Is it time to get back in the real world? Surely we can keep the benefits and find a way to drop the huge negative, soul-destroying aspects?
This is a guest slot to give a platform for new writers either as a one off, or a prelude to becoming part of the regular Slugger team.
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