Yes, I get the hypocrisy in writing a post about the dangers of the internet and posting it on the internet.
The internet is much like money, no matter what you think of it, you use it. Every time you swipe your debit card or use your GPS or check your bank balance from the comfort of your living room or order something off of Amazon, the internet is helping you out.
It is also like money in that it is neutral.
It’s a tool to be used, and nothing else.
But, like all things, when it becomes something it is not, it creates suffering.
I am not even going to touch on pornography or videos of people dying or the silliness of Tumblr. Those things are obviously problematic in their own ways.
Just ask yourself how much time you waste online. Don’t even think about social media, because we’ll look at that tomorrow.
Think about browsing news sites or memes or pictures of cats.
There’s nothing wrong with these things, but they are not useful beyond a small amount of time to decompress (whatever that means).
Are you mindful on the internet?
How often do you click on something that brings you suffering?
How often do you feel that familiar twinge of guilt over the time you’ve spent online?
How often do your kids or partner try and fail to get your attention away from Reddit or whatever site has your awareness fixed?
It is hard to be mindful with a thousand choices flying at your every second.
We are not evolved to handle things in this medium, yet we saturate ourselves in it for hours each day.
It is insane to think this is free of consequences.
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