Thoughts and opinions
The information age has shed light on pretty much everything, in ways that are often great… and ways that are perhaps not very effective.
How many times have you consulted with Doctor Google, semi-freaked yourself out, only to eventually be told by a doctor that it’s probably nothing. Super reassuring, but not worth dwelling on too much, probably because if you believed Google, you’ll definitely believe a medical professional, right?
And it’s not like we didn’t survive before the internet. In fact, we did perfectly alright to not think about some things that only have a 1/1000 chance of happening.
I don’t think I’m alone in this.
And it’s not just professional opinions either. We’re relying on strangers’ reviews of pretty much anything. No longer is a praise or complaint a private matter, or a letter to a newspaper/magazine at worst, but a public display of good and bad (al be it justified or not).
But it’s not all like that. No other time have anyone and everyone’s written thoughts been so accessible, to anyone who chooses to read it.
Sometimes, the absolute privilege of reading someone’s thoughts online, whether in a blog or otherwise, would not have been possible before. Previously confined to a hard copy or lost, these have never been as straight forward to share – most of the time a great thing, and other times, less so.
I, for one, am happy to be part of it… most of the time. And I don’t think I’m alone this.