Comments on: The dark side of social networks http://futurismic.com/2008/10/23/the-dark-side-of-social-networks/ Presenting the fact and fiction of tomorrow since 2001 Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:55:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: ZZMike http://futurismic.com/2008/10/23/the-dark-side-of-social-networks/comment-page-1/#comment-16661 ZZMike Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:36:05 +0000 http://futurismic.com/?p=4454#comment-16661 "... people seek out groups with similar ideologies, which makes them less prone to objective, flexible thinking." That was true even before the Web. You joined the Rotary, or Kiwanis, or your church. You went to This club, with all your friends, or hung out at That bar/restaurant. What the Web does is much the same thing, the big difference being that no-one ever has to actually meet anyone else in person, face to face, in the flesh. Which means that we lose a great deal of humanity in the process. "... can be useful tools once the “strong individuals or groups that can lead to group-thinking shifts” are identified." That reminds me of one of the books in the "Ender" series, where the two young protagonists change the course of history with internet posts. “… people seek out groups with similar ideologies, which makes them less prone to objective, flexible thinking.”

That was true even before the Web. You joined the Rotary, or Kiwanis, or your church. You went to This club, with all your friends, or hung out at That bar/restaurant.

What the Web does is much the same thing, the big difference being that no-one ever has to actually meet anyone else in person, face to face, in the flesh.

Which means that we lose a great deal of humanity in the process.

“… can be useful tools once the “strong individuals or groups that can lead to group-thinking shifts” are identified.”

That reminds me of one of the books in the “Ender” series, where the two young protagonists change the course of history with internet posts.

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