Does the internet ruin or better people's life? Your life?

[ER Eddie]

Yeah, that is definitely one annoying part of the modern world -- seeing people walking around with their heads buried in their phones all the time.

 

[photoguy]

Unlike other media formats - television, radio, newspapers, magazines? If there's a fault with the internet is there is so much information to wade through, you definitely have to be selective with sources, not unlike television, radio, newspapers, magazines...

I think sturgeon's law (90% of everything is crap) needs an update for the internet. Maybe 99.9% or something

How did this thread get in Fire and Money?

 

[Enuff2Eat]

I have a love/hate relationship with the Internet. I am a software engineer so I depend on it on a daily basis for my work.

But the Internet has also caused incredible pain in my life. My first H of 20 years always had a bit of a problem with computer addiction. It came to a head 6 years ago when he started secretly playing Second Life for 8 -12 hours a day. (He claimed he was working.) He met a woman playing that game who he "fell in love with" even though he had never met her in real life. He adandoned me and our two young children for this lifestyle.

I supported the children as a single parent while receiving almost no child support. I pulled myself together and built a new life, but the damage the abandonment and divorce has done to our children is horrendous.

Meanwhile, the karma bus drove up. In time, I remarried and we are doing better than ever financially. (Turns out 1st H was also sneaking money out of our joint finances for his addiction.) Life has challenges but is good. We have a healthy net worth and plan to retire in 7 years.

For my ex-H, life is a mess. He has lost several jobs and makes a fraction of what he did. His beloved internet woman has scammed him out of tens of thousands and ex-H was forced to move into the basement of his mother's townhouse. He has a negative net worth and won't be retiring for a long time. I consider his computer addiction every bit as serious as alcoholism or gambling.

The children have gone to counseling and are doing better but will never be the people they could have been. Both children see how unhealthy his lifestyle is and are pulling away from him. They are doing well in school, have good social lives, and have bright futures.

RetiringAt55, Thanks for sharing your story and I am glad life is getting better for you and children. Most of the members of this forum have a good head on their shoulder and will mostly likely take good advantage of the internet to better ones life.

My DW, however, does a lot of volunteer both locally and internationally which allow me to see how internet can hurt many low income family just like alcohol, drugs... Cheating, pornography, gambling, gaming, shopping.. has ruin many life more than we think.

enuff

 

[Enuff2Eat]

How did this thread get in Fire and Money?

yes it does. Internet can ruin life or make a ton of money for you so you can retire early.

 

[Tyro]

Putting on my big fat whiner hat, I'd say the internet is terrible for promoting junk science, misinformation, and enabling confirmation bias to an unprecedented degree.

Yeah, but at least it's dispelled that pesky ol' 'infinite monkey theorem'....

“We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.” ~ Robert Wilensky
​

Tyro

 

[audreyh1]

To me, the internet is the ultimate innovation that has unlocked human productivity and innovation. Think of it...almost all of the knowledge known to man...available in a device you can carry in your pocket.

Market power has shifted dramatically from the producer to the consumer. You can shop the country...or the world instead of your local stores and mall.

I think of how many things I have been able to do myself that I would have had to pay someone to do. Small example...I had a 2000 Honda Civic Si and the driver window got stuck in the channel. Pre-internet, I would have taken it to a dealer and paid out the waa-zoo. Using the internet, I was able to find out what part I needed, ordered it cheap online, installed it myself in a short period of time and saved over 50%. I could tell you dozens of stories like this.

It used to be when I had a problem with a product, I thought it was just dumb luck. Now, using the internet, you can see many people with the same problems, and better yet, you can thoroughly research a product before you buy it.

Bill pay...in the old days, used to write checks by hand, pay for a stamp and hope and pray the USPS would get it there on time. Now it is all done electronically so simply.

I remember in the old days, I used to watch the predecessor to CNBC...watch the ticker go around on Friday nights and write down the prices of my stocks. Seems laughable today.

My two kids...live hundreds of miles away. In the old days, we would have snail mailed letters back and forth; can you imagine? Now we can video chat in real time.

I could go on and on. If you are not getting value from the internet, you need to examine what you are using it for.

+1!

Excellent - very much my experience!

 

[John Galt III]

Seems to me, the advent of cyberbullying has made life more miserable than pre-internet times for those poor kids who are selected for bullying.