Would the world be a better place

[jazz]

Thank god I am past the dating stage because it would drive me nuts doing the online thing.

But some people getting back to basics. Getting dogs and meeting up in the dog parks are big now.

Social media has become too toxic because its been taken over by the radical left mostly. The MSM, big tech and anyone with an agenda to drive home no matter how foolish or wrong they are, they are back again the very next day pushing it. Programming.

It can be great for researching very neutral topics, like taxes or finance etc. Its toxic for anything that has a political tinge to it and those topics are increasing exponentially. On other topics the censorship is nothing short of Nazi germany.

[Hamloc]

I certainly echo the beneficial aspect as far as using you tube in relation to repairs, there are certainly times this has come in handy.

Certainly a negative as far as basic socializing, really should be a tub at the door everyone puts their phones in would certainly improve social gatherings and I am as guilty as everyone else.

The BIG negative is it has made is so much easier for those who hold extreme views to extend their reach and this has certainly denigrated our society as a whole!

[blackpowder]

Just in case anyone was curious.
Online dating is a sick joke.

[GDR]

Certainly a negative as far as basic socializing, really should be a tub at the door everyone puts their phones in would certainly improve social gatherings and I am as guilty as everyone else.

Hamloc, you mean like a key party? Wow, guess that really could improve social gatherings!😎

[AlbertaFarmer5]

I was a late bloomer to discovering the internet. But since then, I've made full use of it.
Found my wife on other side of the world(technically, she wasn't actually my wife when I found her, otherwise, I suppose that would qualify as stalking if she went that far to get away from me, and I still found her...)
At that time, I was having email or messenger conversations with my brother in Austalia, a good friend who was touring SE asia, another who was touring Europe, and of course, Russia, my cousin who was working in the eastern US, and a few others which escape me now, all for free, which I found just incredible.
Phoning Russia is prohibitively expensive, while skype is practically free, made full use of that, still do. Kids video call their grandparents regularly.
For a while I made my living online trading.
Early adopter of Kijiji, one of my first transactions was convincing people to come and pick my rocks, then pay me for the privilege.
Upgraded highschool online to get a course not offered in my school back in the day.
In University, while trying to simultaneously farm 2 hours away, thankfully most professors put notes up online, because I rarely made it to lectures.
Discovered NewAgTalk for diagnosing equipment problems, which led to combine forum, then agriville. 2 of which are still really useful for that. Lots of chaff to sort out, but some really valuable marketing insights when you have access to info ( or propaganda) from all over the world instantaneously. No one has a monopoly on information anymore.
We have travelled a lot in the internet era, and I honestly can't imagine doing so before. Finding affordable hotels, planning routes, reviews, conversing at times that are convenient for both parties, and cheaply, using google translate, comparing flights or car rental rates.
Online auctions instead of wasting an entire day, or more if out of province, spend a few minutes. It's so easy that I end up buying things all over the prairies, then learn how far from home it is, and what a treasure* it turns out to be when I get there.
And of course, I discovered Chuck. Thanks to him, I've been inspired to learn so much more, and all of the info is available on the internet, some of it is even true!

[6V53]

Worse,and going downhill fast.

[burnt]

I was a late bloomer to discovering the internet. But since then, I've made full use of it.
Found my wife on other side of the world(technically, she wasn't actually my wife when I found her, otherwise, I suppose that would qualify as stalking if she went that far to get away from me, and I still found her...)
At that time, I was having email or messenger conversations with my brother in Austalia, a good friend who was touring SE asia, another who was touring Europe, and of course, Russia, my cousin who was working in the eastern US, and a few others which escape me now, all for free, which I found just incredible.
Phoning Russia is prohibitively expensive, while skype is practically free, made full use of that, still do. Kids video call their grandparents regularly.
For a while I made my living online trading.
Early adopter of Kijiji, one of my first transactions was convincing people to come and pick my rocks, then pay me for the privilege.
Upgraded highschool online to get a course not offered in my school back in the day.
In University, while trying to simultaneously farm 2 hours away, thankfully most professors put notes up online, because I rarely made it to lectures.
Discovered NewAgTalk for diagnosing equipment problems, which led to combine forum, then agriville. 2 of which are still really useful for that. Lots of chaff to sort out, but some really valuable marketing insights when you have access to info ( or propaganda) from all over the world instantaneously. No one has a monopoly on information anymore.
We have travelled a lot in the internet era, and I honestly can't imagine doing so before. Finding affordable hotels, planning routes, reviews, conversing at times that are convenient for both parties, and cheaply, using google translate, comparing flights or car rental rates.
Online auctions instead of wasting an entire day, or more if out of province, spend a few minutes. It's so easy that I end up buying things all over the prairies, then learn how far from home it is, and what a treasure* it turns out to be when I get there.
And of course, I discovered Chuck. Thanks to him, I've been inspired to learn so much more, and all of the info is available on the internet, some of it is even true!

Good post.

Only one thing I would challenge - is it free?

Gonna head out now to refill the trough for the steers. They shovel their muzzle to the bottom. They think it's free.

Not gooder or badder. It is what it is.

[Old Cowzilla]

Get a bit jealous of some of the mechanical and woodworking skills of some of the folks on the internet.Slow day if you don't learn something. More business done on here every year and will have to change or retire. Lots of small town jobs gone because of it. Local bank teller showed me how to do her job the other day and the bank makes her do that sad.

[jamesb]

Sitting here at my desk in rural Sask I think of the change from say 30 years ago. In the "old days" news was from Time and Mcleans magazine, Western Producer and other farm publications, the Leader Post now and then and of course the local town papers. I felt we could trust the TV news in those days, it wasn't their comment, they just reported the news. These days with satellite and internet we are just as plugged in as any where in the world but man o man one has to take everything with a grain of salt because everyone has an agenda. The sad thing is that so many cant see the problem. For me the reality that differing opinions are not tolerated these days by many. With the www, its easier than ever to see what is out there for ideas. I am not a fan of censorship. It is glaring in places like China and other places that access to the internet is controlled. In my thinking the printed book is important more than ever as once its out there it is not susceptible to revisionist history as least that edition. It is amazing how the narrative has changed over the years as we become enlightened ? Some for the better , some for the worse.

[malleefarmer]

Yeah death of print media.

AB5 you really have rock pickers that pay for the priveledge wow I could be a millionaire.......

Yeah your post showed positives of internet but slightly different than social media if ya get my drift

Yeah well used to a get a dose of CC I’ve weaned myself off him