The End of the American Way of Life

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An essay on how the net affects American life.
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Bakeboss
Bakeboss
1,363 Followers

I wish to pose the question, 'Will the Internet be the end of life in America as we know it?' I find this a difficult subject to write on with an unbiased eye, as I am a big fan of the Internet and find myself on it daily. We see institutions of the American way of life collapsing around us every day and most due at least in part to the Internet.

As a long time subscriber to the Daily News, I find it difficult to think of life without my newspaper. Maybe it's just my routine but I enjoy my morning coffee with my morning newspaper. The thing is I have already learned yesterday of almost everything that is in my paper today. Headlines, sport scores and even columns I've already read on the net. Ads and comics, all listed somewhere and at my fingertips with just a few touches of my mouse. I know all this and yet I still want that hard-copy in my hands with my coffee, to peruse at my leisure. I understand I'm in the minority here but I worry about future generations not having the choice of whether to read the paper or not.

We see all the newspapers in the land floundering in a sea of red ink throwing nonessentials overboard in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. Smaller paper, cheaper ink, smaller staff, whatever they can jettison, to stay afloat they cast off with no regard to the finished product. Things that just a few years ago no self respecting newspaper would even dream of they now beg to do, such as ads on the front page and raving product reviews placed next to ads for the same product. I'm not laying blame here, I realize to survive you have to make sacrifices.

The Bizarre part in this is that the Internet gets most of its news from newspapers so if the print media goes bust the net loses its main source of news. The meager revenues generated by a news web site would never be able to support a newspaper type of operation and as a few newsgroups have discovered putting a pay to view site up won't work as it can't compete with a view 'for free' site.

So just what is the answer, how do we save the print media? I wish I could say but as your basic pessimist, I see nothing but darkness in the future for 'Fourth Column' and yet I can still hope.

Another industry with a bleak future is the porn industry. How can you possibly make a living making and selling porn when the net is full of amateurs broadcasting for free? It's a world wide web of sex out there and it is a smorgasbord beyond comprehension. From peeking to snuff it's all out there, and no matter how kinky you think you are there is something on the web that will make you go 'Ug, that's sick.' There is no way the porn industry can survive the web, why go pay for a porno when you can watch one free. Even hookers are feeling the pinch with all the on line hook ups why go pay for it, it just doesn't make sense.

I worry the institution of marriage itself is in danger of collapsing in no small part due to the net. OK tell the truth, how many of you have sat in the den or wherever looking at porn and masturbating rather than going in to the bedroom and making love to your spouse. Truth be told, so many times it just that much easier to toss one off yourself than to put up with whatever the spouse wants for sex. I'm not saying that self-love is better than sex, I'm saying it's just so much easier with less hassles. The problem with porn on the net is it's addicting, there is always another page or picture you want to look at. Of course, this time you weren't going to play with yourself but that one pic gave you the itch and the more you 'scratched' the more you itched and soon you've had another climax. I realize this is mainly a male problem but I know many females who follow the same line. We all know we're not hooked and we can stop any time but maybe just another hour and then we'll go into the wife.

There are many more changes in the American life style brought on by the web. When's the last time you looked something up in the yellow pages? How many of you don't even know what the yellow pages are? I'll tell you what they are they're history. When's the last time you bought a map? Map Quest, etc has killed the map industry.

Is all this change good for America, I don't think so, but ask me again in twenty or so years. Good or bad it is all set in motion and maybe down the road we'll laugh about trying to save newspapers as we laugh now about trying to save the buggy whip industry. If it is no longer useful, there is no reason to try to save it.

Bakeboss
Bakeboss
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AnonymousAnonymousabout 14 years ago
What way of life, exactly?

Are we by any chance talking about the cuckolding lifestyle you seem to adore so much? Or perhaps the repression of the 50s? Or the time when people like you had the willpower to tear themselves away from screens rather than blaming the screen for their weakness? If so, I for one welcome change.

You're set in your ways, apparently too much so to use a spelling and grammar checking program. Grow up and learn to learn.

PistolpackinpetePistolpackinpeteabout 14 years ago
Why are you giving the .....

...flat-line right wing-nut society fodder to waste byte space on their miscegenated ramblings about "where we're headed"? With not very convincing or in-depth analysis to boot.This is not the forum for wimpy hand-wringing over the bastardization of culture.Fight hard or stay out of it.

AnonymousAnonymousabout 14 years ago
Huh?

you meant to post this under humor right? Because otherwise all I see here is an old man who's to old to change with the times. Things have always changed and always will change. If you can't learn to adjust you may as well be died.

AnonymousAnonymousabout 14 years ago
OK but no, no and no again

I do agree our older American Way of Life is changing however it has always been that way. The newspapers are for the most part populated by far lefties and I for one am glad the biz is going under. Most drivel they pushed out on us is now on the net and that's about all that's there these days. It takes a diligent person to seek out real news that has actual facts accompanying and supporting the article or item as 'published'. The Wall Street Journal now owned by Rupert Murdock has made a valiant effort to change the image of pure biz and leftism to something closer to centrism in a socio/political sense though still is losing biz and is in trouble financially.

I'm still with you and sad to see the once slow drift towards socialism in this country however younger peeps have voted for it and apparently like the direction towards pure socialism so . . . live with it.

AnonymousAnonymousabout 14 years ago
It Gave

Your old queer ass a outlet.

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