Technology is making people morons. The shorthand (read: inexcusable grammar and spelling errors thinly disguised as hip type-speak) that far too many people use for chat rooms, instant messaging, and e-mail is proof:
“how r u?”
“g00d, u?”
“gr8”
“blink182 r00lz, yo!”
“yah. well, g2g. c u l8r”
“ttyl, w00t!”
Disgusting.
Yeah, yeah, I know—this is a well-worn rant by others. But I’m making it my well-worn rant. This is just one of the many factors leading me to believe that computer technology may be doing more harm than good to society.
Here’s a question: How many hours per day do you spend catching up on internet news, e-mail, chatting, and other monitor-and-keyboard-related activities? One hour? Two? Five? Ten?
My answer is: far too many. This is quality time (all time has some sort of quality) that could be better spent with a loved one, in nature, in reading a good book, or in even writing a good book. The fact that most of us have to “catch up” with our daily e-mails and news headlines means there is something amiss.
Before the internet even existed, C.S. Lewis advocated severely limiting one’s time with news periodicals. Even then, there was far too much useless information in the world with which to fill one’s head. Now we have the internet, and the quantity of information available has increased exponentially.
So here’s my challenge to you, dear reader: turn off your computer right now and go do something else (not including TV). Don’t even bother adding a comment to this article—it’s a waste of your time.
