The Internet Is Not Evil

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It’s easy to blame technology, Social Media and even Facebook when people do bad things.

Please watch this:

"Guns don’t kill people. People kill people."

I actually don’t believe that. I’d prefer a world without weapons. That being said, the Internet is neither good nor evil. It’s what people do with it that will make it good or evil. When the Internet first began its ascent into our daily lives, the skeptics would often say, "the Internet is nothing but porn and gambling." The truth is that you get out of the Internet what you put into it. You can spend years reading, sharing and contributing to online channels without ever being faced with porn and gambling. It can just as easily be used for good (look at Kiva, Kickstarter, etc…), it’s when the people who do bad things use it to do more bad things that we tend to shine a light on the channel of communication instead of on the root of the problem. Flash mobs, text messaging and Twitter doesn’t create a platform for crime.

It’s the people. Not the technology.

8 comments

  1. Love the sentiment here – yes the internet is only a tool.
    Staggered though by the Police chiefs response at the end of the video that the Police really need to have the same capability. Isn’t this sort of mob activity (by people with often very limited means) really being enabled by the easy availability (ubiquity?) of the internet & social media tools?
    Without knowing if they are or making a statement that they aren’t…If the Police were an active participant in the local community through irl and social media then the capability would already exist.

  2. “‘Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.’
    I actually don’t believe that.”
    “It’s the people. Not the technology.”
    Isn’t this a double standard? People are always the factor that determines whether any tool is good or bad.

  3. Guns are used for protection, provision, competition, and harm. Most of the people who choose to use them for the first three purposes would never consider the last option. Technology and the Internet may have different purposes, but as we’ve seen, they can be used for extensive harm. Your point, “It’s the people, not the technology.” is spot on. Starting the post with similar comment that you don’t believe undermines the strength of your excellent point.
    I’m not looking for a gun debate, just wondering why you lead with a point you don’t believe.

  4. You prefer a world without weapons, and I agree… but I believe the definition of what we consider ‘weapons’ is changing!

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