Things that we may or may not have in common...

I was thinking about this question while playing Quelf.

Quelf  is this crazy unpredictable board game that I'm pretty sure was made by crack addicts. The players have to answer this hilarious trivia, perform ridiculous stunts, and obey eccentric rules. It's a game where you are forced to use your creativity, wit, and sense of humor in ways that you never usually do. 
What does this have to do with the Internet, reading, and writing? Beats  me.
HA just kidding, I know how it relates (sorta).

I found that nothing that I do on the Internet involves serious thought, or really any creativity. I came to the same general conclusion after reading  everyone else's posts.
Quelf had me thinking of times in my life where I'm creative, and after re-reading my posts and everyone  else's, it was apparent to me that nothing on the Internet really surprises me or makes me actually think.
There can be exceptions to this obviously, like reading news articles on the web. But even there, I found that most people just skim articles for important key words and move on.

I think that all of our posts relating to our Internet use had this in common- a  lack of creativity.

Whether it's online shopping, surfing stumbleupon, or browsing through Facebook, I never got the impression that anyone was excited or enthralled about anything that they were doing.
Most things are dead and gone after the next click. Is anyone else perturbed by how much information you immediately forget about after "reading" it? I can't help but feel sorry for my brain... looking at all these colors and pictures and text and switching to new information every couple seconds. Reminds me of those flashing light tests that they do in hospitals to make people have seizures.

I think the most important question that  we aren't asking is: what are we gaining from hours of surfing on the Internet? Do you remember the statuses and pictures you saw? How have you changed now that you know the inside details of your friend's daily routines? Or the news stories and online shopping you glanced over? I'm not even going to ask about what you wrote because let's be real, none of us are writing.

The difference that was apparent to me was people's general attitude towards the Internet. I vaguely remember saying something in class along the lines of "I'm nervous that my computer is going to wake up in the middle of the night and kill me or something", which basically portrays my relationship with the Internet. Other people find it really useful, like for finding stuff to buy on craigslist or reading world news.

The Internet is useful if you allow it to be. And I think it's even better if you're actively reading, writing, or learning.