Distance Learning, mLearning, Digital Education, Technology

Well, yes. Until I have evidence of a Twitter or FaceBook “revolution,” I’m going to go out on a limb and say selfies and cat videos are not particularly effective tools of change. At least they haven’t been to date. Who knows, maybe the cats will save us. Or maybe video games. Or VR. Or AI.

 

Not. These things are all the work of the Devil, designed to 1. Get your money and 2. Get your attention and 3. Get your “data.” OK, OK, not the Devil, but rather devils, plural. Many Evil Geniuses plotting to keep you in Mushroom Mode: in the dark, and fed s - - t. OK, OK, not like Evil evil, just the kind that puts money ahead of everything else in the world…including The World. The inter webs can still save us, but only if we DYODR..

 

“Tech” is mostly about military and security: better weapons and better ways to keep track of you; specifically anything to do with money. “They” really don’t care about you otherwise. Then it’s mostly about getting you to buy something. Yes, even I have succumbed to the magic of Amazon Prime. (I wish they had better movies though). That’s OK, Netflix has been satisfying my movie addiction since they mailed CD’s from a warehouse in Palo Alto. Ahhh, the good old days…oh wait, I had dial-up. The only “streaming” was this thing called Bit Torrent…..

 

Well, the hardware is improving, but still not exactly making Moores Law-type leaps ahead. A phone is still a phone; not a computer. I believe phones make people lazy and complacent. The “Face-Down” Generation. Literally bumping into or walking past the thing they’re looking for. while staring at a screen. Many people never bother to actually learn anything because they assume they can find it on their phone (even though they may not even know how to do a proper search).

 

Then when you challenge some off-base statement they made with “Google it,” they say “You can’t believe everything on the internet.” Which is true. But you can believe some things, and it’s actually pretty easy to get a consensus opinion from actual experts on almost any subject. That has always been the major benefit of the internet; fast, and mostly free access to information. 

 

I was on MySpace way back in the day. I tried FaceBook when it started; I immediately realized that it would consume all of my free time, so I bailed. I have been off and on of Yelp! three times.  When it started, I was telling one young lady about it and she said “Yelp? Is it family-friendly?” I guess she thought it was some kind of S & M site. Yelp! is presently one of the most community-based, troll-free, and useful website out there today. And it’s well-designed, too.

 

Here we are, in 2018, and most websites still look as if they were designed by 5-year olds, especially Facebook and Instagram. And LinkedIn. And Google+. Wouldn’t know about Twitter, never seen it. Never will. For what, exactly? Send me an IM, or better yet, a free (for now) email. But keep in mind that male-chauvanist pig that I am, I’m only comfortable with getting emoji’s from females.

 

But I digest. What is called social networking is mostly narcissistic gossip, online gaming, and some form of gambling. Online gambling has wreaked the lives of individuals and families just like the other kind has. It’s another multi-billion dollar industry based on a distraction. Worse, it plays on humans most disgusting trait; greed. The most popular social platforms that people stay up late and wake up early to check are little more than hyper-effective methods to separate you from your the contents of your bank account.

 

While you self-gratify by getting “likes” or trolling someone, a couple of wealthy men get even wealthier. Apps, telecom services, phones, and accessories are multi-billion dollar industries. How does this benefit society, or even an individual? A momentary and cheap thrill for you, another dollar for…whomever.

 

Meanwhile, many if not most people rely on social networks for their news. Big mistake. What happened yesterday halfway round the world is not news; what your crooked Congressperson is doing right under your nose is. But you won’t find that in the news. This type of news is soon lost in the next overwhelming tragedy. Also, your platform has algorithms that censors what you see. “Fair and objective?” Not anything that can be considered mainstream media. In fact, most corporate media today is really closer to propaganda than information. Just like most of our so-called “education” is actually indoctrination.

 

So, in a time when there is more information available to “everyman” than ever before; more people know less. Oh, they may know the name of the latest pop tune or Hollywood celeb, but they couldn’t find Latvia on a map. Most people “believe” what they see on television, which is the Second Social Network (Radio was the first). Fans of shows like Game of Thrones or The Wire can’t wait to twitter about the latest episode. Texting about movies and video games, selfies, and cat videos all feed upon one another, creating a self-enforcing resonance, an echo chamber… a silo.

 

So put down your bleepin’ phone, and dust off that laptop or desktop. Plug it into your smart TV, and DYODR. Know this; the anchors on CNN and Fox don’t actually know anything. They are only repeating what they are told by their producers, who don’t actually know anything either, because they are only producing what comes from “official sources,” which is often a CIA -approved press outlet or individual. And although the CIA can be a good source of information , I would compare and contrast what in their “Fact Book” just as I would any other source. When it comes to political matters, they definitely have an agenda…..

Via ThePlanetaryArchives/BlackHorseMedia - San Francisco