I shall begin this post by expression my apologies, profusely. For what reason I did not post, nor did I vote, I am entirely unsure. I came onto the computer and clicked the button that reached to me with all the allure of a world of information at my fingertips. I couldn't resist. I had to click. You know the feeling? The feeling of infinite knowledge at your fingertips. A very powerful feeling to say the least. And we all know that power corrupts. Alas, to what extent can we expect this? How corrupting is the internet, in this day and age where information is as free as a butterfly flutters its wings? Should this corruption give rise to greater censorship?
Firstly we must analyse the extent to the fullness of this information. To say its infinite could be considered an overstatement, to some, but in reality, does the information contained on the world wide web have a limit? Hypothetically, yes. But if you were to eternally search for new information and data, I assure you that there would be a surprise waiting around the corner. You can always find something new out on the internet, whether it a dreary snippet of a dreary life, or the latest news story. I shall make the assumption while testing my hypothesis that indeed, information is without limit on the internet.
If you were to read everything that the internet had to offer, obviously, as the above explains, this would be impossible, but, for arguments sake, let us assume it were possible. Under this assumption, what kinds of information would be be exposed to? Undesirable information, I assure you, that many people would never like to see again in their lives. Yet as we absorb limitless information, do we become acclimatised to our surroundings? Do our social surroundings condition us to accept what we might have previously considered vulgar?
Using an example to express a point, what of a policeman? There are many policemen out there. Many of these policemen are perfectly capable and moral beings, but some abuse their power, and are corrupt. What has corrupt them in this instance? Some may indeed argue that their position of power has actually led to their downfall from otherwise upstanding beings. Perhaps the constant feeling of fighting a war that they're losing has run them down over time, leading to them joining the rat-race of criminality and corruption? It is certainly within the bounds of logic and reason. But does logic and reason uphold itself even on the internet? Some may argue otherwise, but for the bounds of the hypothesis, I shall null such arguments and accept that the internet is just the digitalisation of our human lives, where we live and breath with the powers of cables and electricity.
How does this reflect the absorption of all information available at our fingertips, you may query? I believe that this proves that in the majority of cases, eventually, with such high degrees of power available to us, the huge amount of knowledge will corrupt our thinking and our morals, turning us into mere ghosts of our former selves. Many would face such a problem, I believe, unable to find optimism as we are confronted with the bleakest of subject matters. Would be join the rat-race? Perhaps not in all cases. But would be accept it as part of the ordinary? I think this is certainly within the bounds of reason, in fact, it is highly likely. Our strong moral fights against such subjects would be worn down as the sense of helplessness drowns us, and we are left floundering in seas of evil.
Knowing that this is inevitable in the majority of cases, should usage of the internet be censored such that our time is limited, perhaps? This would certainly remove the threat of corruption and dangerous behaviour encroaching society. How much is this a freedom of our civil liberties and free will? I believe that such action may be seen as drastic by some, certainly those who have already indulged in such corruption and are themselves corrupt and endorse such behaviour, but perhaps a necessary breach of our liberties in order to prevent the liberties and beliefs we today stand for from deteriorating and becoming but glimpses into history. The age of information is perhaps our darkest yet in contrast to alleged enlightenment, as information is taken from beyond its purpose and corrupts, making otherwise respectable humans power-hungry and criminal, I believe. I think such effects are already becoming increasingly apparent, especially among internet morsels like one in particular on this thread, by the name of Syrill. Perhaps his overly extravagant and lewd behaviour is the result of power and knowledge corrupting him? I think this is entirely plausible.
I invite all to discuss and debate the points of the above argument.
Click the wonderful signature. You know you want to.
|