intarweb of evil
Recently, Dr. Vinton Cerf (the V.P. of Google) has been quoted with the following: "The Internet is a reflection of our society and that mirror is going to be reflecting what we see. If we do not like what we see in that mirror the problem is not to fix the mirror, we have to fix society."
Personally, I love this quote. It was obviously intended to be a comment on how people can't blame the Internet itself (or the technology and ideas behind it) for the content or its use; however, I feel that it applies to far more than just that.
Ever seen a lawyer on T.V. blaming video games for his client's mental breakdown in which the teenage jackass shot up his school? Ever seen the local news playing a story on how guns are destroying our society, or how television, movies, and games are corrupting the youth? It's a complete load.
In all reality, all of these things we blame for our problems in society aren't really at fault. A gun doesn't necessarily make a person violent - it simply provides an outlet for someone who doesn't have the capacity to deal with violence on their own. It's the same thing with video games, music, or movies - they aren't the reason for an ugly or reprehensible culture, they're just a reflection of it. If you don't show someone why they shouldn't hurt another person, or hate a group of people, or something else of the like, then it's not the fault of the tool if they use it to self-destructive (or worse, just plain destructive) ends.
Yeah, the Internet's a haven for the immoral, the selfish, the despicable, and the twisted. But does that make the Internet the problem, or the people?
BBC News Article
InfoWorld Article
Personally, I love this quote. It was obviously intended to be a comment on how people can't blame the Internet itself (or the technology and ideas behind it) for the content or its use; however, I feel that it applies to far more than just that.
Ever seen a lawyer on T.V. blaming video games for his client's mental breakdown in which the teenage jackass shot up his school? Ever seen the local news playing a story on how guns are destroying our society, or how television, movies, and games are corrupting the youth? It's a complete load.
In all reality, all of these things we blame for our problems in society aren't really at fault. A gun doesn't necessarily make a person violent - it simply provides an outlet for someone who doesn't have the capacity to deal with violence on their own. It's the same thing with video games, music, or movies - they aren't the reason for an ugly or reprehensible culture, they're just a reflection of it. If you don't show someone why they shouldn't hurt another person, or hate a group of people, or something else of the like, then it's not the fault of the tool if they use it to self-destructive (or worse, just plain destructive) ends.
Yeah, the Internet's a haven for the immoral, the selfish, the despicable, and the twisted. But does that make the Internet the problem, or the people?
BBC News Article
InfoWorld Article
2 comments:
Well put. I have been trying to figure out how to say just that for a long time. Thank you for spelling it out.
I completely agree. Not to mention, any new form of media takes a lot of fire from the older generation. Salsa was once the devil's music. Now it's rap.
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