Is technology making us unhappy?

[Carvalho Diablo]

Ive read a little about this kid who took his mom's assault rifle and shot up the school in Connecticut, killing 20 first grade children.

 

He was described as having no friends or aquaintances. Spent all his time out of sight at home. His mom took care of all his necessities.

 

I think its a pattern in these horrifying attacks. Overriding loneliness.

 

Its just not in our nature, we are social beings. We need others to bring out our compassion, to feel our unity with things. There was a tribe of untouched indigenous peoples in the Brazilian jungle in the 70s, and one of the anthropologists who went to study them married a girl there and brought her back to New York. She left in shock. She had spent her whole life in a giant palm leaf lodge waking up surrounded by every person in her tribe, generations all together all the time. She couldnt understand how we survive in our little boxes, separate, stuffed with our possessions.

 

I guess its a bit broader than technology- just the way out society has evolved in general. We live in boxes and amass the things we think we want. We indulge our egos and wonder why we become ever more insecure and fickle. We immerse ourselves in a job and wake up 30 years later, miserable, living an elaborate life we've constructed just because we were told that's the way it's done. In short, we spend a lot of time trying to reinforce the illusion that each of us is separate, important and permanent.

 

An illusion that brings us great suffering.

 

That's a great post. I think.

 

Repped.

[Liquid football]

One way in which technology has given people a gloomy outlook is the fact that it is ridiculously easy to know about all things going on in the world at all times. For obvious reasons, evolution has seen to it that we pay far more attention to bad news and it has a much more powerful impact on us than anything pleasant. It's a simple equation: better access to news will usually mean a gloomier outlook on how the world is. News outlets will favour negative stories and always will simply due to the fact that they are competing for our attention. This understandably leads to us thinking everything is going to shit when the world is actually improving in a huge number of ways.

 

We are living in the most peaceful time in all of human history (google Steven Pinker).

In the last 100 years the average human lifespan has more than doubled and infant mortality has dropped tenfold.

The cost of food has come down tenfold.

Literacy has gone from 25% to over 80%.

People have cleaner ass holes.

The cost of electricity has come down a hundred fold.

In the UK drug addiction has been falling. There are less people addicted to drugs right now than there were in the mid 90's when records began.

 

And all of these, bar the last one perhaps, due to technology.

 

There's more of that kind of thing that i know i've read but i cant remember because no-one got killed.

 

 

Related: Bill Clinton On Why The World Is Getting Better All The Time - TIME

 

from the article: "A 2010 U.N. study, for example, found that cell phones are one of the most effective advancements in history to lift people out of poverty."

[moof]

Related: Bill Clinton On Why The World Is Getting Better All The Time - TIME

 

from the article: "A 2010 U.N. study, for example, found that cell phones are one of the most effective advancements in history to lift people out of poverty."

 

That's pretty interesting, cheers for posting mate

[Unrighteous]

 

Natural world trumping Technology.

[llego]

 

Natural world trumping Technology.

 

See, browsing on my fancy fucking iphone I missed this entirely. Technology...

 

Ace gif!!

[Section_31]

Heard a thing on the radio ages ago where some bloke reckoned one of the reasons for kids causng trouble these days is because they've grown incapable of dealing with boredom. That when we were kids it was just a fact of life, if it was raining and you couldn't go out, you just dealt with it and found something to do, but that in the age where you're constantly being bombarded with information, you can't cope with anything less.

[Unrighteous]

Heard a thing on the radio ages ago where some bloke reckoned one of the reasons for kids causng trouble these days is because they've grown incapable of dealing with boredom. That when we were kids it was just a fact of life, if it was raining and you couldn't go out, you just dealt with it and found something to do, but that in the age where you're constantly being bombarded with information, you can't cope with anything less.

 

It makes sense. I have trouble when I'm not multi-tasking.

 

The only time I can really do that is when I'm reading.

[Pidge]

We indulge our egos and wonder why we become ever more insecure and fickle.

 

Great post, just quoting this line as I think this is the heart of the matter even more than the social side of things. I mean, the cliched chav kids can't cite individual isolation (even if they often isolate themselves within their microcosm) as a reason, but an affront to their ego is one thing they just can't handle. It's not just the extreme cases, but part of our culture with this ridiculous notion that respect must be demanded and never given.

[llego]

It makes sense. I have trouble when I'm not multi-tasking.

 

The only time I can really do that is when I'm reading.

 

Does this article work for you guys? If not I can post it

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/the-power-of-concentration.html?smid=pl-share

 

 

Great post, just quoting this line as I think this is the heart of the matter even more than the social side of things. I mean, the cliched chav kids can't cite individual isolation (even if they often isolate themselves within their microcosm) as a reason, but an affront to their ego is one thing they just can't handle. It's not just the extreme cases, but part of our culture with this ridiculous notion that respect must be demanded and never given.

 

Ego is a slippery word isnt it, it can mean the narrowly defined "self worth" or a much broader part of the mind which constructs a reality of desires and knowledge hierarchies to avoid and deny painful aspects of existence. Or just the part of you that insists you are more important than everyone else. Either way I think its applicable!

[Remmie]

Recently heard the word 'trendify'. I feel physically ill.

[Jonjo Baldy]

Porn is the worst for this, everyone is so desensitized to it these days it effects dopamine response which in turn effects all sorts of things including general hapiness. Remember back in the day you would see page 3 of the star and think it was amazing? and now you try and find the weirdest stuff around because your brain has been reprogrammed, and it effects real relationships, men not being interested in having sex with their girls or wives, because mentally have alredy have their fill with millions of girls on the internet. Men are addicted to porn and most dont even realise.

 

Good post as it highlights a massive issue in society these day. Porn has fooked up a lot of things, and it's really worrying the access kids have from a young age, what is worse is music and music videos these days, full of soft core porn and horrible lyrics, which kids listen to. Give it a decade or two and when these kids have grown they will be fucked.

 

Good thread though. It's really about balance, I only have things that I 'need' and not want, I wanted a Tablet when they came with all the hype but manage to tell myself I don't need it and I'm glad I never bought one!

 

I love this clip from Apocalypto.

 

[Adebisi]

Technology, people, drugs, football, women.. they all make me unhappy. What are my options?

[Jonjo Baldy]

Technology, people, drugs, football, women.. they all make me unhappy. What are my options?

 

Top floor of a rather tall building?

 

I don;t think anyone is ever going to be 100% happy all the time, it's somewhat relative, but indulging yourself in all these kind of materialistic shit in pursuit of happiness is only going to have the opposite effect. Less is more, living a more simple life doing the things you actually enjoy is better.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Happy fucking Christmas everybody.

 

[YOUTUBE]tCeG9PhAkhI&playnext=1&list=PLC06F617B9750A5AB&feature=results_video[/YOUTUBE]

[Liquid football]

One way in which technology has given people a gloomy outlook is the fact that it is ridiculously easy to know about all things going on in the world at all times. For obvious reasons, evolution has seen to it that we pay far more attention to bad news and it has a much more powerful impact on us than anything pleasant. It's a simple equation: better access to news will usually mean a gloomier outlook on how the world is. News outlets will favour negative stories and always will simply due to the fact that they are competing for our attention. This understandably leads to us thinking everything is going to shit when the world is actually improving in a huge number of ways.

 

We are living in the most peaceful time in all of human history (google Steven Pinker).

In the last 100 years the average human lifespan has more than doubled and infant mortality has dropped tenfold.

The cost of food has come down tenfold.

Literacy has gone from 25% to over 80%.

People have cleaner ass holes.

The cost of electricity has come down a hundred fold.

In the UK drug addiction has been falling. There are less people addicted to drugs right now than there were in the mid 90's when records began.

 

And all of these, bar the last one perhaps, due to technology.

 

There's more of that kind of thing that i know i've read but i cant remember because no-one got killed.

 

Related: Bill Clinton On Why The World Is Getting Better All The Time - TIME

 

from the article: "A 2010 U.N. study, for example, found that cell phones are one of the most effective advancements in history to lift people out of poverty."

 

 

Read another article along these lines today.

 

A crime mystery. It's going down, but no one really knows why | Andrew Rawnsley | Comment is free | The Observer

 

Some of the comments are hilarious by the way. England is the most negative whiny country on Earth bar none.

 

 

edit. the gist of the article is that crime is falling uniformly throughout the "developed world" and has been for decades.

[manwiththestick]

Yesterday our Vigin media went down for a couple of hours, no tv, no internet. I felt like Helen Keller.

[DPW]

I'm considering having a digital detox for a month or so. See how I feel after.

[Bjornebye]

strontium dog is making the internet unhappy

[Champ]

Yesterday our Vigin media went down for a couple of hours, no tv, no internet. I felt like Helen Keller.

 

We were without internet for about 3 weeks when our router died on us. We were bereft but I saw more of my daughter than I had done for months and I dont know but after a while she actually did seem to become more sociable, sitting with us and just seeming to be more friendly and communicative. Maybe that was going to happen anyway but interesting that it happened then

[Remmie]

When I go abroad I try to ween myself off a fairly unhealthy internet addiction and it's great. I of course look forward to coming back and catching up on everything and upload all my pictures though. Worradick!

[s(k)aturation]

is technology just making us greedy, unhealthy and unhappy?

 

Computer say yes.

[Champ]

Who/what would I have to help me through the last hours of my night shift without t'internet?

[s(k)aturation]

A make an exception for TLW.

[Champ]

I make an exception for TLW.

 

I love my phone too...for keeping in touch with the kids.....a really helpful tool in communicating/conversing with teens.....and all the other nonsense I use it for

[s(k)aturation]

I have a shitty old mobile. No internet, no email, no shite.

Talking and texting only, and only if absolutely necessary.

If I don't know the number I don't answer.

And sometimes when I do know the number, I don't answer.