Source: The surprising Internet forum some alcoholics are choosing over AA – StumbleUpon
So many traditional organizations like AA are being challenged by the Internet. This is a nice service and if it helps people, even better. I think one of the things that turns people off of AA is that it requires a belief in a higher power. Many people do not feel comfortable with its religious component. It is nice there are choices for people. It is remarkable the choices people have.
One of the great things you might have experienced using the Internet is the support and community you can have. There are plenty of places where you can find a group of like-minded people who will reinforce your own views. Or you can go to other websites and have your views challenged, and plenty of people love to debate. Really anything you want, there is a group for it and is easily found.
I wonder if this kind of support is a sign of things to come. Rather than have therapists, you will have virtual avatars to talk to who won’t get bored, tired or lack insight. Rather than have doctors, you will scan your body with a machine, and it will tell you what is wrong with you, or if you need to go for more expensive scanning. Right now, it isn’t the lack of data that patients find confusing but the abundance of data. One doctor suggests one thing, and another doctor suggests something else. Who should you trust and use?
To me, what makes internet support so interesting is that the idea of being physical and moving seems to be diminishing in importance. We can easily get everything delivered to our home in most mid-sized and metropolitan areas. We can have a standard of living and ease that you had to be wealthy to enjoy in the past. I have many things outsourced like my financial plan, insurance and so on, and I can immediately find out details if I wish. Not even wealthy people in the past had this kind of access to information. However the downside is that I have noticed that people are less inclined to actually live and go places and do things. When I see customers who have almost everything they want through the computer screen, it makes it hard for people to do something in the real life.
For example, when someone is drinking their craft beer they ordered from a special website and sitting in their comfy chair, listening to their music stream, while also playing video games and doing whatever else, what possible draw would going to a bar or the library be? I myself, as much as I like books, find they are so out of date and full of errors as to be a waste of time. I don’t say reading is a waste, because clearly reading is valuable, but there is so much garbage written, it is hard to find good, interesting things to read. The same on TV, or many things in culture. The useful things are always buried beneath the things that are “profitable” and easy for people to consume. This is not a judgement on culture, just that as society is changing, what are we changing into?
I don’t think society is going down the tubes. I think the internet is a fascinating experiment with how people live and their values they have. Every technology has benefits and drawbacks. I am excited to see what is next for society. Aren’t you?
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