Wednesday, February 20, 2008

the internet is huge

"The Internet promotes a form of cultural obesity – its vastness, often heralded as an unparalleled good, now threatens our intellectual health," says Lee Seigel in a book called Against the Machine: Being Human in the Age of the Electronic Mob.

as i've found myself whiling away hours and hours in the blogosphere of late, i've been pondering whether the internet is good for me or not. it's so vast. one site leads to another and another and another and pretty soon, it's 2 p.m. and i've spent 6 hours surfing from one source of inspiration to the next and i haven't eaten lunch or gotten dressed. (not that i really mind those days where i stay in my pjs, there's something decadently liberating in that.) and i haven't really created anything either. i get tons of inspiration and impulses, but what am i DOING with these things? at the moment, not very much, other than acquiring the supplies necessary to do some creative projects myself. i haven't done a whole lot of creating, just a whole lot of reading and of imprinting impressions upon my brain.

which is why mr. siegel's comment on the "cultural obesity" of the internet spoke to me. i'm sitting here, day after day, gorging myself on impressions and information, but not really doing anything with them. at least not yet. as long as i'm sitting here at my computer and not sitting upstairs in my creative space, what good does it do? it's high time i stopped surfing and started creating. i need to go on an internet diet. no more than 1 hour a day. or maybe 2. max.

2 comments:

Maryam in Marrakesh said...

Sigh, I know you are right. The internet is so seductive. But there is life to be lived.......! I must go on a diet, too:-(

julochka said...

and there were actually TWO comments from you! i am really quite dense. please forgive me! thank you for reading. i hope you'll come back, now that i'm getting the hang of it!