For Better or Worse

Had this discussion the other day with my wife; curious to see what direction folks herein would choose, given the option.

Considering all that is available on the internet, from the goodReveal Hidden Content to the bad Reveal Hidden Content, are we better off having the internet?

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
Had this discussion the other day with my wife; curious to see what direction folks herein would choose, given the option.

Considering all that is available on the internet, from the good[hidden]education, medical, religious, etc.,[/hidden] to the bad [hidden]http://www.buzzfeed.com/reyhan/how-child-porn-and-the-other-awfulest-things-ever[/hidden], are we better off having the internet?

Why must we be better or worse off? The internet is a tool and all tools can be used for good or bad.

Originally posted by Phil Hill
Why must we be better or worse off? The internet is a tool and all tools can be used for good or bad.

Is the question that difficult for you?

If a tool has utility (for better or worse), the users are obviously changed as a result of its invention. If a tool has no utility, it is discarded and no change is realized.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
Is the question that difficult for you?

If a tool has utility (for better or worse), the users are obviously changed as a result of its invention. If a tool has no utility, it is discarded and no change is realized.

How is the question to difficult? It is a badly phrased question and if you do not like my answer, then refrain from asking in a public forum.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
Had this discussion the other day with my wife; curious to see what direction folks herein would choose, given the option.

Considering all that is available on the internet, from the good[hidden]education, medical, religious, etc.,[/hidden] to the bad [hidden]http://www.buzzfeed.com/reyhan/how-child-porn-and-the-other-awfulest-things-ever[/hidden], are we better off having the internet?

We are better off. Much better off.

There are some terrible things on the Internet but we can put resources into actually limiting those things and enforcing the laws that might be violated.

The benefits of having the ability to spread knowledge and communicate around the world outweighs the problems.

Originally posted by PsychoPawn
We are better off. Much better off.

There are some terrible things on the Internet but we can put resources into actually limiting those things and enforcing the laws that might be violated.

The benefits of having the ability to spread knowledge and communicate around the world outweighs the problems.

Just to throw a wrench in the works, are we still better off when some psycho or psychos decide to learn how to build a thermonuclear bomb with plans they downloaded off the internet and to make matters worse they set it off in the city you live killing the entire population? As I said, tools can be used for good or for bad so the question is phrased badly. For example a hammer is a great tool for building things but in the hands of a psycho it can be a great tool for bashing in a skull. Do hammers make us better off?

I would argue that the Internet, and digital communication, are arguably the most important and beneficial of inventions ever. Dictators have always tried to control communication and sources of knowledge and information. These inventions make this that much harder. Without these inventions, I wonder if the Arab Spring would have happened.

We are living through a period where we are seeing a huge widening of access to knowledge and information away from just the (relatively) few and to the many, and from 'authorities' to ordinary people. I for one think the benefits of this massively outweigh the downsides. The more, the better, I say.

Originally posted by Phil Hill
Do hammers make us better off?

Yes

Originally posted by Phil Hill
Just to throw a wrench in the works, are we still better off when some psycho or psychos decide to learn how to build a thermonuclear bomb with plans they downloaded off the internet and to make matters worse they set it off in the city you live killing the entire population? As I said, tools can be used for good or for bad so the question is phrased badly ...[text shortened]... hands of a psycho it can be a great tool for bashing in a skull. Do hammers make us better off?

Gee, it sounds as though you're making my argument for me. Um, thanks?

Since the concept appears to be above your pay grade, let's break it down for ya. When a tool is invented, people will either find use for it and thus perpetuate its existence, or find no use for it and it will fade from the scene. Conversely, some tools are used so predominately for bad that we move to rid ourselves of it their use.

Tools can be used for either good or bad or (in many cases) both. The internet is one of those tools. The OP asks, considering all that has been sponsored within its borders, does the good of it outweigh the bad.

If the good outweighs the bad, we ought to continue using it. If the bad outweighs the good, we ought to discontinue using it.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
Gee, it sounds as though you're making my argument for me. Um, thanks?

Since the concept appears to be above your pay grade, let's break it down for ya. When a tool is invented, people will either find use for it and thus perpetuate its existence, or find no use for it and it will fade from the scene. Conversely, some tools are used so predominately ...[text shortened]... ought to continue using it. If the bad outweighs the good, we ought to discontinue using it.

To put it another way, we can do a cost/benefit analysis.

For the hammer, on the benefit side we have a tool which is cheap and millions of people have used to make/mend things and improve their lives.

On the cost side, a tiny number of people have used them to kill people. However, this cost is reduced significantly by the fact that, had a hammer not been to hand, the nutter might have used a stone, a baseball bat etc.

So the benefits massively outweigh the costs.

You can do the same for the Internet, which is what I think the OP is aiming to explore. My view is that it results in being massively positive.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
Had this discussion the other day with my wife; curious to see what direction folks herein would choose, given the option.

Considering all that is available on the internet, from the good[hidden]education, medical, religious, etc.,[/hidden] to the bad [hidden]http://www.buzzfeed.com/reyhan/how-child-porn-and-the-other-awfulest-things-ever[/hidden], are we better off having the internet?

Freaky, we can't even agree if prostituting yourself for money and then having an abortion via taxpayer dollars that was mandated by the Unconstitutional Obamacare is good or bad. How on earth are we ever going to come to a decision about the internet? 😛

Originally posted by Rank outsider
To put it another way, we can do a cost/benefit analysis.

For the hammer, on the benefit side we have a tool which is cheap and millions of people have used to make/mend things and improve their lives.

On the cost side, a tiny number of people have used them to kill people. However, this cost is reduced significantly by the fact that, had a hamm ...[text shortened]... at I think the OP is aiming to explore. My view is that it results in being massively positive.

That's two for keeping it. I may need a larger sampling base to formulate a more accurate conclusion.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
Had this discussion the other day with my wife; curious to see what direction folks herein would choose, given the option.

Considering all that is available on the internet, from the good[hidden]education, medical, religious, etc.,[/hidden] to the bad [hidden]http://www.buzzfeed.com/reyhan/how-child-porn-and-the-other-awfulest-things-ever[/hidden], are we better off having the internet?

We are better off by far. I think the number 1 plus that the internet has brought is education. Number 2, is communication (don't forget that email uses the internet).
I don't buy the argument that the internet educates bad people and is therefore bad. That is like saying we should deny education to everyone just in case we educate some bad people by mistake.
I do think that the distribution of porn to children is a major downside but that is having its biggest effect in countries that have strong restrictions on porn. For countries that used to have readily available porn magazines and VHS, children were already getting exposed to it.

Originally posted by whodey
Freaky, we can't even agree if prostituting yourself for money and then having an abortion via taxpayer dollars that was mandated by the Unconstitutional Obamacare is good or bad. How on earth are we ever going to come to a decision about the internet? 😛

I figured the dichotomy of my scenario would lend itself to a more clear-cut response. I may have been too optimistic...

Originally posted by twhitehead
We are better off by far. I think the number 1 plus that the internet has brought is education. Number 2, is communication (don't forget that email uses the internet).
I don't buy the argument that the internet educates bad people and is therefore bad. That is like saying we should deny education to everyone just in case we educate some bad people by mis ...[text shortened]... to have readily available porn magazines and VHS, children were already getting exposed to it.

For 3.
Against 0.