Are we too distracted?

For all the wonderful aspects of the internet, there is one feature that has condemned it among many. It is a huge distraction.

It would be interesting to run an experiment or find an experiment in which people are given access to the internet while doing homework and others only have tv and other traditional entertainment, and to see how much work they complete comparatively.

I recently talked about the sheer amount of stuff that we can access, thanks to the internet. That leads to a very important question. What is worth looking at and what isn't? I don't have an answer for this question. Personally I am on the internet too much. The fact that I made this blog about Youtube videos was because I thought I knew about this subject to be able to talk about it in-depth three times a week for a whole school year, which is a lot in total.

There is a reason that I get to sleep at 2 am some nights. There is a reason Stumbleupon-induced sleep deprivation is a running joke. There is a reason that there are Youtube playlists in which you can watch days worth of videos. There is a reason that people become emotionally attached to Youtubers. There is a reason that I am typing this blog post three hours before it is due. Part of that last one is due to procrastination, but also it's because I was watching a dumb video on Youtube when I realized I needed to do a blog post.

Youtube is distracting. Is it a detriment to our society as it drains vital mindpower and attention away from the youth that will one day run the country? Is it a welcome relief in the high-stress lifestyle we all live?

The key, as with all addictions, is to find the moderation point. If you are hurting your social life, physical health, or career by watching too much online videos than you should stop. If you are always working, maybe you need to sit down and have a good laugh over a kitten video. This moderation point may shift as you age, get married, or switch jobs, but it is vital to find it.

The internet is an extremely powerful tool, we must be wise and judicious in the way that we use it or we risk letting it envelop us. Let the internet be an enhancement to your lifestyle instead of a hinderance. There are plenty of ways that we can use the internet to make us more efficient, mentally acute, and physically fit. It is up to us to use it correctly. Be smart web surfers. Thanks for reading