*promote

Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Wednesday, March 8th, 2017 7:27am PST - promote requested by eric3579.

Don't know if I can upvote this. I got bored at the 1:33 mark and quit watching.

I hate to pluck holes in what might be something intended in jest, but I have found the opposite to a lot of what he is saying. Just one example - i would never have learned to play the guitar without the internet.

I was born in the late 70s and had the fortune to experience the early days of personal computing and the internet via BBSes. The biggest issue I've personally experienced with the modern internet is the ease at which you can get side-tracked by deep links. I've lost count of the number of times I've started researching something work-related in the evening only to end up linking through two or three related articles and ending up on a YouTube video about the latest game trailer or whatever.

I've also noticed that my reading habits have changed. Instead of reading articles in their entirety, I will, at times, read a few sentences to get the gist then scan ahead to continue reading. I never used to do this but it is something I've caught myself doing with greater frequency over the past couple of decades. This has tripped me up a few times where I've had to go back and read the information again. I wonder if children that have grown up with the modern internet and its web of distractions (pun intended) are even worse off.

Maybe our brains are trying to adapt to a new way of gathering and processing so much disconnected information (e.g. one minute you're reading about a physics algorithm the next minute about screaming space goats). Perhaps it is a way to contain information overload and only retain what is useful?

The internet is an AMAZING invention and something everyone should have access to and be taught how to use effectively. As was mentioned above, you can pretty much teach yourself anything using the internet. The challenge is staying focused and sifting through all the ads, fluff articles, and random garbage that you get bombarded with every time you browse a website.

But then aren't you using the internet as a tool? Learning guitar, even with the internet, is hardly instant gratification. You still have to sit there developing a loathing for your FUCKING STUPID FINGERS OMG WHY CANT YOU JUST GO WHERE I WANT. I'M LOOKING AT YOU ESPECIALLY RING FINGER...ahem.

I read an article a little while ago about a guy who gave up the internet entirely for a year. He found that at least to begin with his mood improved, he felt more fulfilled etc...but by the end of the year he'd simply found non-internet based unfulfilling activities. I think humans just like to be comfortable, but comfortable is rarely (if ever) fulfilling. You have to be careful not to fall into the trap of "learning" that one song you can play well over and over because its more gratifying than swearing at your fingers.

But hey. Its lent. I'm not religious but maybe it isn't such a bad thing to give up some comforts for a little while.

I think I have a problem, because I've taken to watching videos at 1.5x or 2x speed so that I can watch more lol. I'm serious.