Nobody likes being wrong. And even fewer of us like being wrong all the time.So if fewer than none like being wrong pretty much every time they open their mouths or uncurl their fingers over a keyboard, how come so many of us are online so much?
Here’s Time’s Graeme McMillan talking (online, of course) about how you can never be right online:
The Internet’s ability to not only give voice to everyone with a web connection, but also—to an extent, at least—democratize the discussion by giving almost equal weight to all the voices participating has meant that, no matter what anyone may choose, for whatever reasons, someone will always be there to tell you that you’re wrong (and an idiot). For everything else, everything wonderful that the Internet can do, it has succeeded the greatest at being a machine that will tell you that Abraham Lincoln was only part right. Sure, you can please some of the people all of the time, but you really can’t please all of the people some of the time. Someone, somewhere, will always be so displeased with what you’ve done that they’ll tell you online.
McMillan was referencing news about the casting of a new Doctor Who and the Bank of England’s decision to adorn the 10 pound note with the face of author Jane Austen. But his argument ran far beyond specifics—and well it should. Because the Internet is indeed rife with rampantly contradictory ideas and ideologies.
Part of this is just the sheer volume of people who can jump in on any particular discussion. The more folks you have talking at once, the greater the chance of somebody sounding contrarian. But this is also a result of our changing worldviews, from modern to postmodern.
Your opinion is just as valid as mine, and mine is just as valid as yours. No matter the level of expertise one person may bring to the table, it’s more about passion than credentials in our online sphere. And this is something we know a thing or two about here at Plugged In. You see, we just so happen to review movies and music and TV and games, and everybody has an opinion about entertainment.
So we can post a well-thought-out review based on literally decades of experience and study in the field, but you can immediately counter it in a Facebook post or blog rebuttal even if you’ve only ever seen one movie or listened to one CD in your whole life. (Unlikely, that, of course, but I’m trying to make a point here!) Another reader can come along half an hour later, and calmly give equal weight to both screeds, ours and yours.
Now, I’m not decrying this habit we’ve all slipped into so much as calling attention to it for educational purposes. And I’m certainly not doing it just to boost the perceived value of our own (great) movie reviews. Folks get lots of medical advice online these days, too, with much of it dished out by, shall we say, less than qualified individuals. “How to fix your car” videos abound on YouTube, but how do you know whether the steps you see will actually work or turn your braking system into a coasting system? Diet advice. Exercise advice. Sex advice. Friendship advice. It’s all out there in abundance to say the least. And we’re all slowly turning into suckers for it since we’re buying into the notion that all information is equal information.
Now, somebody go ahead and tell me what’s wrong with what I’ve just written.
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