Just Imagine

[CultOfTheNorth 32]

Hello interwebs recently a friend asked me a question that got me thinking……….

All day I spend on my computer, many other children around the world do the same but what if there was never a computer at all, what if you were just looking at the wall? Would anything change? sure your tweets and facebook messages would never have existed, but did they ever have a real impact? steam has a counter for how many hours you have played a game what if there was a counter for how many hours you have spent looking at one webpage hoping for a reply from someone or playing a game with no real motivation, imagine the hours that you could have spent with family and friends or just having some social interaction, the small things that we neglect can have an impact…..all that it takes is someone noticing

[DeiStar 248]

If I never had a computer or Internet, I'm pretty sure all that time spent would have been replaced with console videogames and TV.

[Fluttershyfan94 5,739]

I don't know, for years I have been behind the computer screen. I'm pretty sure I would have used that time in what I was doing before. Exercising, I used to be an athlete of some sort. Loved exercising, running and just simply being outside. I haven't gone outside for two years now.  I used to go out for a walk, just to get some exercise but stopped doing so and before deciding to take a walk, I also did not do any exercise. I only go outside to go for a drive, which is the only exercise I do. Now that I think of it, maybe computers ruined my life.. But I don't care, the time I have spent behind my computer have served me well. My eyes don't even get tired anymore. My body has adapted to this new environment. But sometimes, you start thinking. How would my life be, how would I look like if I would have kept exercising. I started lifting weights earliest in my school, I was actually years ahead in physical appearance. But I stopped exercising and I became a nerd.. I should never have stopped exercising. I feel bad about not using my time better, but what is done is done.

[Michael DeSanta 258]

It scares me politically without the computer the state could control the television easier. The truth would be censored under our very noses. We would all gather in the squares to be told who to hate by the pundits that tell us who to hate. The corporation controls your speech Big brother controls your speech. In the end free speech would not have been universal and free if it were not for the internet.

[Rizoel & Crepuscule 490]

If I never had a computer or Internet, I'm pretty sure all that time spent would have been replaced with console videogames and TV.

 

I think what he's trying to say, is that the things we do on the internet, are about just as impactful on the world as staring at a brick wall. Playing on console video games and watching TV are not very different either in that regard.

 

I do agree with what he's saying; there are a lot more productive things I could be doing with my time instead of playing video games and watching cat videos.

 

But at the end of the day, doesn't the fact that whatever it is I do on the internet is about as impactful on the world as staring at a brick wall, also apply to pretty much everything else as well?

 

It's difficult to explain, so I'll let Hank Green from Vlogbrothers explain what I'm trying to say:

 

(Also, you might want to turn your sound down, as the start contains a crowd of people shouting.)

 

 

 

[ParsoOfEquestria 1,490]

well, without the computer means I wouldnt have found ponies and I'd be dead right now. after the awful life I lead before i watched MLP, wiping myself off the map sounded like a fantastic idea

[Mephala 2,633]

If I never had a computer, wouldn't I not notice? Were I even to realize, then whatever, I'd still rather have books than Interwebz.

My family and I don't get on anyhow. It's not like it matters to them.

In addition, I spend far less time on than most; it's about moderation.

 

And things posted on the Internet can be very powerful; it's not as useless as you make it out to be.

Edited April 2, 2013 by PinkieDaShy

[CultOfTheNorth 32]

Now yes I do believe that there are a fair amount of people who can make a difference on the internet but what about those who are on instagram, Facebook, Twitter, ect. posting nonsence pictures and information that we really don't need like "Just whent to the mall" or "Just feelin mad at some people, *Hint Hint* " when they are posting things like that its like a waste if time when they could just go and talk to friends and family, sure you can have a social life on the internet but there's just a better connection with people when you talk to them Face to Face.......I think ima go to bed and think this through a little more because right now this message seems like a jumbled mess until tomorrow Goodnight (o

                                                                                                                                                                        /\                                                                                                                                                                   That is my best attempt at a yoning face right now

Edited April 2, 2013 by CultOfTheNorth

[DeiStar 248]

See, this is the thing. People say "omg, you just spend a lot of time in the Internet. You need some contact with the real world bla blah you're wasting your time by staring at the monitor"

 

The reason why people use the Internet, or play videogames is because we want to forget about the real life and escape into another world.

 

I'd surely get bored as hell if all my life was about talking to people and friends and family and spending time together and social crap. Yes, it's important, but I don't feel like doing that 24/7.

 

I use the Internet to have some fun and stop caring about the problems in real life. Not to be reminded how much life sucks.

[Shift 4,271]

All of the time on here would be wasted into Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Kunckles, or Skyrim. 

 

I use the internet, because I can be social, it's just that most of the people I can talk to can't have a mature conversation without bringing up something stupid. I'm pretty much one of the only girls in my grade that likes video games, and typically anything all of the other girls care about is fashion.

 

And since my family cares really much about academics,  I need some time to get away from the 2+ hours I spend writing essays or doing homework at home, and the hours I spend at my classes at school.

[Scootalove 10,685]

I guess without my computer, I would have never found this amazing forum or never know about ponies at all. My life before ponies, was well the worst life I ever had to experience as a teen now. Even though I am social, I'm more social on the internet then in real life.

 

Plus, homework usually kept me away from ponies, but that didn't stop me.

[Алексей 110]

Now yes I do believe that there are a fair amount of people who can make a difference on the internet but what about those who are on instagram, Facebook, Twitter, ect. posting nonsence pictures and information that we really don't need like "Just whent to the mall" or "Just feelin mad at some people, *Hint Hint* " when they are posting things like that its like a waste if time when they could just go and talk to friends and family, sure you can have a social life on the internet but there's just a better connection with people when you talk to them Face to Face.......I think ima go to bed and think this through a little more because right now this message seems like a jumbled mess until tomorrow Goodnight (o

                                                                                                                                                                        /\                                                                                                                                                                   That is my best attempt at a yoning face right now

Stupid social networking sites=/=the entirety of a computer's purpose.

If you meant to be talking about those who spend their time on social networking sites, perhaps you should have said social networking sites instead of computers.

 

As for me, without my computer, I wouldn't have been able to learn any kind of programming(and, it would have been for naught, anyway), I wouldn't have been able to learn(albeit, not that much) Russian, I probably wouldn't be a paintballer(or at least not much of one, and a bit more lost in how to play well), I would have never heard of Roadside Picnic or Metro 2033, I wouldn't be a Brony, and I'd probably just spend my days playing video games on a console instead.

[Betez 1,734]

I'll admit it, I'm on the computer a lot. But I also try to go outside when I can. I'm a runner, or I was (Cross Country season's over, but it'll start up again soon. I really need to get back to running.) Anyway, at the beginning of the school year, I went outside almost every day for a month or 2. I know that really isn't anything to be too proud of, but it's still something. I also try to spend time with my family, and I feel like I do a decent job at it. I have talked to some pretty great people online. I feel like I do a pretty okay job at being online and maintaining a life offline. But I have wasted many hours not just on the internet, but on my computer, that I'm not too proud of.

 

I feel like without the computer, we'd definitely be a lot closer to people who live near us. But we'd also never know anyone outside of where we live. At least I wouldn't. I've never even been outside of America, other than this one time when I went to the Bahamas.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Link

[Evilshy 5,089]

I don't like the assertion that interactions over the internet are worthless. It's true that in person, you have body language, intonation and such, but it doesn't mean that people talking about serious things on Skype or a forum are having a worthless conversation.

 

Also, I live on a mountain, far away from town. None of y friends are close enough that we can just hang out without arranging to meet somewhere first, and since most of us work and have school, doesn't happen often. A lot of our communication is through texting, on Facebook, or through Skype/Steam. Not to mention my friends who live in different states.

 

When I think about it, very little of y computer time is spent gaming. And really, gaming is just a form of entertainment, which everybody needs.

[Ano170 162]

Well honestly, without the computer I would never have gotten into anime and probably never made a connection with a good few of the friends I've had in the past. I would never have had the chance to speak to people from around the world, finding like minded people who accepted me as well as being exposed to new opinions and ideas, and I'd still be as close minded as I was when I was, say, ten. I'd probably never have started looking at the Big Questions regarding my religion or morals or ethics, or been able to get information regarding my sexual confusion or any other somewhat personal topics without having to ask someone in real life, an option I don't think is really open to me. In addition, the internet is a tool for me regarding practicing my writing; I can share my work with people from all around the world and get feedback, that's fundamental for my writing as far as I'm concerned.

 

I'd also have never become a brony and discovered this community, which has put some light back into my life after realising I'd chosen the wrong friends to stick with (coincidentally, the ones who thought I spent too much time online) in real life. Not only that, but I'd never have found out about tulpae -

 

And then I wouldn't exist!

 

Hmm, maybe OP has a point. XD Seriously though, the internet is a vast wealth of information, and chances are you're learning something even if you don't always realise it. Yes, even on social networking sites. While it's true that like everything the internet should be taken in moderation (I myself probably need to cut down a bit) at the end of the day it's so much more than just a brick wall. Besides, time enjoyed is not time wasted.

[Dimitri Hammer 3,645]

I'd be fine. I only started using the computer since about a year ago.

 

It wouldn't have changed my life at all. I'd never have found the good friends I have on here though and that depresses me to think about.

 

But I'd be doing what I was doing for two decades before I used the Internet. Working, and living my life normally.

[Fanned 88]

If I didn't have anymore internedzz, I'd probably just replace it with some other cheap form of entertainment like games, sleep deprivation, etc.

 

Although my life would become much more boring. :|

[NightOwl 911]

If there wasn't any internet or computers for me I'd probably take up Golf again haven't played in ages. I'd also learn a musical instrument. Yeah I spend most of my free time around computers because it's one of my hobbies.  

[Hawk Moth 390]

Computers are only a form of entertainment and getting work done. If I didn't have a computer, I'd be watching TV. The only change would be that I'd have to find something new to entertain me.

[SrFrog 926]

I've always hated socialing for most of my life, hell if I didn't have internet I'd just fall back to books. The thing about the internet though, it reasuress my ego to a certain point.

[Shanks 10,811]

I would probably have to use typewriters since nobody can read my writing, which would suck as if you make a mistake on one of those you have to start over again. My aspiring dreams of becoming a writer would be more difficult but still possible, as advertizing it and getting connected with people that would be interested would be a bit harder. And I would probably play video games and read a bit more often as almost everything is complete and utter crap. I have met a lot of great people on the internet so not knowing them would be a little sad, and I may not have discovered MLP as the friend that convinced me to watch it got into after his curiosity got the better of him after seeing a bunch of fanart of it on the internet and deciding to see what all the fuss is about.

[silvadel 1,393]

It really depends on the day.  Today I wouldn't have read about 150,000 words of fanfiction, and I wouldn't have done about 1/4 of my taxes.  I did not actually write any fanfiction today so that element of it would be no big loss. 

 

While I may have had more time had I not spent so much of it over the years in front of the computer, I might have taken a walk outside only to be hit by a car also.  You never know the path not traveled.

[Zygen 6,065]

I honestly have no idea, I'd probaly just play consoles and watch TV.

 

If neither of those where around I don't even know honestly :/.

 

Without my computer though i'd never have met all of the awesome people here! And come across these awesome forums.

 

And I wouldn't say that what you post on the internet is meaningless, I mean real people inhabit the internet, and I've actually helped a good bit of people over the internet just by listening to them. And I enjoy that, Heck i've even talked someone out of suicide one time online.

 

Plus I don't have many IRL friends, so i'd be pretty lonely and depressed. Expecially during the times of my life where I had like next to no friends.

 

Before coming here honestly I had all kinds of depressive times where I'd get pretty depressed, but honestly after coming here those have lessened a whole lot.

 

So yeah, the computer has made a pretty big impact on my life, and I'd like to think I've brightened up or even helped others with their lives.

[Celtore 2,769]

Well, that would be a pretty interesting wall to be sure. Can you program a wall?...

 

If my computer never existed, I would probably be reading at the library as much as I use the web. Socially I would be ok because I mostly talk to my closest friends in person; the only major social networking account I have is google plus and that's just for the instant upload feature on my mobile phone.

 

I think it's important to note that the separation of myself from the web wouldn't necessarily cause me to become an extrovert. I would simply take that time and spend it somewhere else where I can relax.

Edited April 3, 2013 by Celtore

[Dj Bron3 19]

What is the internet?

 

To me, the internet is an opposite world full of fantasy and adventure. People Go to this world to pull away from this graying world of polution and hate. One who pulls away from the dream that is only stopped by a screen might try to recognize it's beauty, but alas even the green of the earth is fading. The internet is a place where people who have failed at life go to ease their pains. Their lives consist of waking up early in a bland apartment. Only to slave at a job that gives them enough sustinance to keep working and keep our soul from leaving us. Internet might simply be a passtime to keep us from putting guns to our head but that is all we have.

 

'I have something else to say first. I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired. I have had a long life, I have had much time for thought as I lay alone in my stall, and I think I may say that I understand the nature of life on this earth as well as any animal now living. It is about this that I wish to speak to you.

'Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short. We are born, we are given just so much food as will keep the breath in our bodies, and those of us who are capable of it are forced to work to the last atom of our strength; and the very instant that our usefulness has come to an end we are slaughtered with hideous cruelty. No animal in England knows the meaning of happiness or leisure after he is a year old. No animal in England is free. The life of an animal is misery and slavery: that is the plain truth.

'But is this simply part of the order of nature? Is it because this land of ours is so poor that it cannot afford a decent life to those who dwell upon it? No, comrades, a thousand times no! The soil of England is fertile, its climate is good, it is capable of affording food in abundance to an enormously greater number of animals than now inhabit it. This single farm of ours would support a dozen horses, twenty cows, hundreds of sheep �C and all of them living in a comfort and a dignity that are now almost beyond our imagining. Why then do we continue in this miserable condition? Because nearly the whole of the produce of our labour is stolen from us by human beings. There, comrades, is the answer to all our problems. It is summed up in a single word �C Man. Man is the only real enemy we have. Remove Man from the scene, and the root cause of hunger and overwork is abolished for ever.

'Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to pull the plough, he cannot run fast enough to catch rabbits. Yet he is lord of all the animals. He sets them to work, he gives back to them the bare minimum that will prevent them from starving, and the rest he keeps for himself. Our labour tills the soil, our dung fertilises it, and yet there is not one of us that owns more than his bare skin. You cows that I see before me, how many thousands of gallons of milk have you given during this last year? And what has happened to that milk which should have been breeding up sturdy calves? Every drop of it has gone down the throats of our enemies. And you hens, how many eggs have you laid in this last year, and how many of those eggs ever hatched into chickens? The rest have all gone to market to bring in money for Jones and his men. And you, Clover, where are those four foals you bore, who should have been the support and pleasure of your old age? Each was sold at a year old �C you will never see one of them again. In return for your four confinements and all your labour in the fields, what have you ever had except your bare rations and a stall?

'And even the miserable lives we lead are not allowed to reach their natural span. For myself I do not grumble, for I am one of the lucky ones. I am twelve years old and have had over four hundred children. Such is the natural life of a pig. But no animal escapes the cruel knife in the end. You young porkers who are sitting in front of me, every one of you will scream your lives out at the block within a year. To that horror we all must come �C cows, pigs, hens, sheep, everyone. Even the horses and the dogs have no better fate. You, Boxer, the very day that those great muscles of yours lose their power, Jones will sell you to the knacker, who will cut your throat and boil you down for the foxhounds. As for the dogs, when they grow old and toothless, Jones ties a brick round their necks and drowns them in the nearest pond.

'Is it not crystal clear, then, comrades, that all the evils of this life of ours spring from the tyranny of human beings? Only get rid of Man, and the produce of our labour would be our own. Almost overnight we could become rich and free. What then must we do? Why, work night and day, body and soul, for the overthrow of the human race! That is my message to you, comrades: Rebellion! I do not know when that Rebellion will come, it might be in a week or in a hundred years, but I know, as surely as I see this straw beneath my feet, that sooner or later justice will be done. Fix your eyes on that, comrades, throughout the short remainder of your lives! And above all, pass on this message of mine to those who come after you, so that future generations shall carry on the struggle until it is victorious.

'And remember, comrades, your resolution must never falter. No argument must lead you astray. Never listen when they tell you that Man and the animals have a common interest, that the prosperity of the one is the prosperity of the others. It is all lies. Man serves the interests of no creature except himself. And among us animals let there be perfect unity, perfect comradeship in the struggle. All men are enemies. All animals are comrades.'

At this moment there was a tremendous uproar. While Major was speaking four large rats had crept out of their holes and were sitting on their hindquarters, listening to him. The dogs had suddenly caught sight of them, and it was only by a swift dash for their holes that the rats saved their lives. Major raised his trotter for silence.

'Comrades,' he said, 'here is a point that must be settled. The wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits �C are they our friends or our enemies? Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?'

The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered to have voted on both sides. Major continued:

'I have little more to say. I merely repeat, remember always your duty of enmity towards Man and all his ways. Whatever goes upon two legs is an enemy. Whatever goes upon four legs, or has wings, is a friend. And remember also that in fighting against Man, we must not come to resemble him. Even when you have conquered him, do not adopt his vices. No animal must ever live in a house, or sleep in a bed, or wear clothes, or drink alcohol, or smoke tobacco, or touch money, or engage in trade. All the habits of Man are evil. And, above all, no animal must ever tyrannise over his own kind. Weak or strong, clever or simple, we are all brothers. No animal must ever kill any other animal. All animals are equal.

 

From animal farm by George Orwell.