This week in the class something really hit me. We read some
talks from religious leaders in our church (being a religious school) that had
to do with the internet and social media and how we use them, and there were
some quotes that really stood out to me. I'm going to post them and go over why
I like them.
A poet described this delusion as an “endless cycle” that
brings “knowledge of words, and ignorance of the Word,” in which “wisdom” is
“lost in knowledge” and “knowledge” is “lost in information."- Elder Oaks
Here he is describing what our time in the internet has
turned into. Before the Information Age, before easy access to information,
people studied in depth the information they had. When they knew something,
they really knew it. People had personal libraries in their homes and offices.
But now that we have almost limitless information at our finger tips, but we
know nothing. We read something, and then we move on. We learn something but
then we don't internalize it, it doesn't change how we look at the world, it's
just information for regurgitating. Nobody thinks on what we learn, whether
it's online or not, because we have to learn the next thing, there's no time
for thinking. I'm guilty of this too, I know too many things to have learned
anything. We should cut back on information for information's sake and really
make the most of what we already have before moving on to something irrelevant.
I believe many of us are overnourished on entertainment junk
food and undernourished on the bread of life.- Elder Oaks
To me, this is pretty self-explanatory. It is very similar
to the above quote. We consume ridiculous amounts of information, mostly just
entertainment. But that really doesn't do anything for our minds. It doesn't
push or stretch our minds, it doesn't challenge us to grow and become smarter.
It is the equivalent to sitting on the couch of wasting time eating the potato
chips of internet jokes. In the end it kills us. And like I said before, I'm
guilty of this too. I spend so much time on the internet, but what am I
learning? What good does looking at memes and pictures of cats do for me? I
have noticed that lately, over the past few years since high school, I have
read very few books, way less than I used to. I haven't been mentally challenged,
and my mind has gotten lazy. This is what the internet is doing for most of us.
We could use it for so much more, but we figuratively (and literally) sit on
our butts doing nothing.
The wise understand and apply the lessons of tree rings and
air turbulence. They resist the temptation to get caught up in the frantic rush
of everyday life. They follow the advice “There is more to life than increasing
its speed.” In short, they focus on the things that matter most... Leonardo da
Vinci is quoted as saying that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”-
Elder Uchtdorf
All of these quotes really are saying the same thing, but
they are all good regardless. I really like this one because it makes me think
of how I am living. I have, and have had for some time now, aspirations to
learn so many things: extra academic subjects other than my major, a martial
art, yoga, principles of Buddhism, a vocational skill, how to dance, more
languages, etc. I want to learn these things, they interest me so much, but
what have I done to learn them? Ok, I took a dance class. And I've been
slightly more politically aware. But that's it. What have I been doing instead?
Wasting time on the internet. And the problem is, is that I don't really want
to get off of the internet. I like it. What I would give to, as cliched as it
sounds, give up modern life and, say, live in India meditating everyday.
Now, I am talking about myself a lot, but I think that many
people are like this, even if they don't know it, even if they don't want to
change like I do. But we as a society have been caught up in the Information
Age to the point that we can't really get out. And most people don't notice or
care. Or both. Hopefully we can figure out the negative effects it is having in
our lives and change, just like we did we radioactive materials and cigarettes.
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