the benefits of connectivity
posted 2003.07.05
Cory Doctorow recently took some shots at a NYT article about something they’re calling OCD–Online Compulsive Disorder.
He argues: “When do we stop lamenting a change like this and start looking for the value of the new trend? When do we start examining the upsides of fluid and multifarious attention, rather than popping off reactionary warnings about the dangers of being ‘addicted’ to communications?”
I have to agree. It’s this kind of knee-jerking that drives me crazy.
And knee-jerking it is.
Choice quotes from the NYT article:
1. As a result, Mr. Meyer said, businesspeople who multitask “are making themselves worse businesspeople.”
2. At a recent technology conference [...] the organizers decided not to provide wireless Internet access inside the conference. “We wanted people to absorb what the speakers were saying,” said Walt Mossberg, a technology columnist at The Journal. “We decided that if you have Wi-Fi, it would be destructive,” he added.
I’m reminded of a quote from The American President: “You gather a group of middle aged, middle class, middle income voters who remember with longing an easier time and to preach to them about American values and character.” This is exactly what I think of when I hear this voodoo alarmist crap about how thinking and interacting online is so much more dangeous than the things that have come before. Sure, life is crazy, and people will always long for simpler times. But I see the connectedness of our lives today as a good thing.
I spend a lot of time online. I run my online business, I do my errands online, I do my learning online, I catch up with friends online, and I feed the machine that is my brain online. I also see this as something very beneficial. I’m interacting, learning, sharing and creating. Certainly it’s better than the multitudes of people who go home and watch TV all night, or go out drinking every night. What I do allows me to learn, allows me to expand and grow, keeps me thinking (as opposed to passively watching the boob tube). It is a valuable part of who I am.
The mass dissemination of thought, opinion, and fact is (to my mind) the most valuable thing about the Internet. It enables education, free speech, and debate. With these powerful tools, we can change the world, given enough time. Just as the printing press revolutionized the masses hundreds of years ago.
My name is Angie McKaig, and I am Always On. And proud of it. :)
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Thanks for the compliment, and for sharing your thoughts. I, too, believe that people largely underestimate the power of this new network in which we live... one day, I hope, the media will stop focusing on (as they have for nearly a decade) its ability to do perceived harm, and instead focus on the improvements and benefits that this network can wreak upon the whole darn world. :)
:cynicism on:
Right off the bat, I'd say that it's pointless to hope that the media is going to focus for long on the positive aspects of any subject. That's not what sells papers.
:cynicism off:
That said, it seems to me that the point of the article wasn't "communications technology is bad, don't use it" as much as "how much is too much".
That's not knee-jerk at all. That's exploring limits, which is essential in any business venture. Of course, it's good to be connected, in the right context and to the proper degree. But there are limits. Take the conference that doesn't offer wi-fi *inside* the conference. That is simply an effort to reduce distractions during the presentations. Hell, that's simple common courtesy. You wouldn't surf the net during an interview, whether giving or receiving (unless particular circumstances make that appropriate).
The bottom line is that there are times to be connected, and there are times to disconnect. Knowing when to disconnect, and having the control to do so is what comes into question in an article like this. If you don't know when to, or can't disconnect at appropriate times, then that is bad business. Period.
Now, all business aside, I'm going to disconnect for a bit and take in some blue sky and sunshine.
spoken right from my heart. this phenomenon that is the internet is putting anyone willing in contact with numerous potential's of the mind...a connection with people otherwise inaccessible...a forum for educated banter, quality argument, and genuine humor. i went to stanford and did that thing pretty much without a hitch...including the hitch that is attending classes. i learned more from the people i ate lunch with than any class could teach me (largely because i may not have been listening), and since that experience the web has kept that kind of rewarding mind-community intact. people totally underestimate this thing and the awesome places that development could take it.
i love your blog, angie. rock on.