As a millennial that has grown up
around tech and the Internet, I would have to say some of the most defining
aspects of my life could be derived from some form of digital means. Whether it
be videogames, TV, smartphones etc. I can attribute much of who I am as a
person to the digital age. Before I get a little too ahead of myself and
blatantly paint a picture of a neck beard in your mind, it goes without saying
that many other defining moments of my life can most certainly be attributed to
things not involving anything digital. I played sports all my life, I am an
avid lifter of heavy objects and I love to socialize outside of technology. But
I stand firmly with the notion that the Internet has undoubtedly molded my ways
of thinking as well as help procure great knowledge pertaining to a plethora of
subjects. As I clearly strive to not be cut from the same cloth as most of my
counterparts I will now provide you with my recommendation as to what I believe
you should read: the Internet.
Well I have
managed to do it again. I was able to generalize something as ambiguous as the
Internet and recommend you read it. That’s it, you’re welcome, nothing left to
read here. Okay I will go into a bit more detail if I must. No I did not
actually mean for you to attempt to go and read the Internet, if you tried I am not sorry, as I’m sure you may have
learned something. No, instead I am recommending a specific niche of the
Internet. I am not entirely sure how to specifically narrow down a label for it
other than an online community forum of sorts so I will use an example: Reddit.
Yes this time I am actually encouraging you to go and read Reddit.com. It is literally called the front page of the Internet,
and for good reason to. Keep in mind there are an absurd amount of online
community forums out there but for the sake of my own familiarity as well the
diverse nature of Reddit I am using them as a reference.
So why am I
recommending that you should read Reddit? Well there are many reasons but the
most important reason I believe why you should is the obtainment of knowledge
from your peers. Reddit is an online community, which means although you may
not be interacting with another human face to face, you are in fact still
interacting with a human and you are actually interacting with many more than
you possibly could in person at least in terms of the ease at which it brings
tons of people together. This means of interaction is beyond beneficial to
anyone as it allows many different perspectives on various topics that people
face or come up with. Some of the greatest stories I have ever read have come
directly from someone posting in an online forum, they happen to be some of the
most genuine reads that you can find. My hypothesis as to why they are so
genuine lies within the fact that you are able to maintain anonymity (my
favorite thing) while also expressing yourself and allowing for yourself to be
vulnerable. Yes, the anonymity part can easily be manipulated in the form of
fallacies, which goes without saying. But over my years of experience I would
have to say I am able to differentiate between what is real and what is not.
While
reading other peoples stories whether it is personal experiences that people
have lived through or it is a made up story with the intention of entertaining
the community in which the story was posted is extremely valuable, I would have
to say that it is the actual discussions that take the cake regarding increase
in intellect. If I were to narrow down the Internet and internet community
forums even more in what I recommend you read, I would say that it is the
discussions and debates found in the comment sections of these posts on these
forums. I cannot begin to describe some of the knowledge I have acquired simply
by lurking the comment sections of
intelligible posts. The reason I think the comment sections of online
communities or any type of article is so valuable in nature is that it allows
for the promotion of further interaction and input of opinions that could quite
possibly change the way you think on a certain subject. It has definitely had
this affect on me personally. I would go into a topic that someone has posted,
only to come out of it with a completely different viewpoint on the subject.
That is truly remarkable and can all be credited to the comment sections of
online communities.
Look, I get
that I may come off as a bit of a farce straying from the typical Oprah’s book
club method of recommended readings, but seriously I highly encourage you to
drop in on a forum that you find interesting and then look to the comment
section and just observe. Once you do that I guarantee you will have an
incredible urge to get involved and give your input on the matter. As someone
who preaches the advocacy of heightened intellect, I would highly advise this
route as a means to furthering yours as it allows you to interact on a level
that very few other outlets are able to provide. Trust me, just go do it. Try
it out. Read the post, read the comments, then my challenge to you would be to
NOT insert your two cents on the matter. If you are able to read something you
are passionate about, then read the comments associated with it from other
readers who may stand on the complete opposite side of the spectrum and not try
and actively debate with them, well I would have to say you have an inhuman
level of self-control. Go further your knowledge, read what is going on right
now and go in with an open mind. What is there to lose? Better question, what
is there to gain¿
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