The Powerful Trend No One Comments On

by metatron 39 Replies latest jw friends

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  metatron

  I happen to work with a number of 20 - 30 year olds and I am stunned by the overwhelming social/tech trend that has emerged among them:

  The obsessive - minute to minute use of electronic devices (i. e. 'smartphones, I phones, and the like')

  These people are so intensely addicted that they can't stay away for more than a few minutes and keep using them during critical functions at work. I have also noticed that this obsession is partly spreading to many that are 30 or 40 plus as well. They can't keep away from it.

  I would not be surprized in the least to learn about botched operations or crashed planes or other frightening failures based on this obsession to be in constant communication with your friends.

  I happen to also believe that fanatical religion is firmly based - not on any logic - but on persistent habit and this in particular is why so much terrorism springs from the world of Islam with its '5 times prayer'. Now, my pointing this out may seem off topic or an intuitive leap that you may have trouble appreciating - but I conclude that by reason of habit, this obsession with texting, etc. has huge unrealized implications for our economy AND for the Watchtower's survival.

  I could offer another theory about this trend - but you would really think I was nuts ( more so than already!!!!)

  metatron
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  Nathan Natas

  I'll sext you my thoughts on this, K?
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  BurnTheShips

  Metatron, I would love to hear your speculations. Regarding the disruptive effects of mobile communications, we are already seeing it in places with religious regimes that make the Watchtower look mild by comparison. I think we could compare it in some ways to what the printing press did to despotic theocracies in Europe in the 1400s. It democratized information and opinion.

  BTS
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  Mad Sweeney

  The point is excellent, Metatron.

  Research shows that habit is crucial in the mind control techniques of indoctrination. What people DO shapes the self-image of who they ARE. Cults get people in the habit of doing all the things that are central to the cult lifestyle and they've got them. You no longer have people who say, "I am a member of Jehovah's Witnesses;" you have people who say, "I AM ONE of Jehovah's Witnesses."

  The difference is not merely as semantic as it may seem on the surface. The self-image is crafted by the cult mind control methods and one of those important methods is getting people involved in cult habits, or as the Borg tells the members, "maintaining a theocratic routine." By doing so, members redefine themselves.
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  metatron

  Exactly so. I am much afraid that the breadth and depth of this habit spells doom for both our economy and the Watchtower. Let's say I'm 25 years old and male. I have all the free porn I want - to the point (now often reported but NOT analyzed by the medical establishment) that I am effectively impotent ( this is not a joke).

  I expect to be graded on a 'curve' at high school and college. Mom does my laundry. I have no motivation to do much else beyond video games and texting.

  Imagine the above as the broad trend of the future. Now, cringe.....

  metatron
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  eric356

  How does unlimited porn -> impotence?
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  Satanus

  Great observations, met. One thing about extrapolating new trends is that we tend to see them as going in a straight line. Trends rarely do that, though. That is because human nature, society, or the fabric of the universe is fairly robust. Afterall, we have been on the planet many thousands of yrs, and come through many extreme circumstances. Therefore, while this techno trend is disrupting, at times, i doubt that it will lead to the downfall of western civilization. In many cases, it also facilitates getting things done.

  S
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  wasblind

  Back to News

  • Print

  Pilots forget to land plane due to using laptops

  Oct. 27, 2009 ( 9:17 am ) By: Matthew Humphries

  laptop.

  You may have heard about the Northwest Flight 188 last Wednesday that caused concern as it went silent on the radio and failed to come in for its scheduled landing at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. When an Airbus 320 carrying 144 passengers fails to land it’s easy to fear the worst, but thankfully the aircraft did eventually land after going 150 miles off course.

  So what was the cause of this flight going astray? A mechanical problem, electrical, fuel? None of the above. It turns out both pilots were using their own laptops and disregarded both radio communications and the flight controls for 78 minutes. This was only realized by the pilots when a flight attendant contacted the cockpit to ask how long until landing by which point the plane had flown past its intended airport.

  Metatron said:

  " I would not be surprized in the least to learn about botched operations or crashed planes or other frightening failures based on this obsession to be in constant communication with your friends."
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  moshe

  I have a friend who is 70 who has never owned a computer, done email or surfed the Internet on his own. He is a retired electrician, so he knows a thing or two about industrial computers. I have noticed that he has more time for hobbies and he actually gets things done.
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  chickpea

  i believe there are unintended consequences
  waiting to manifest for the generation that
  has yet to learn there CAN be such a thing
  as an unpublished thought!!!! srsly!!!

  research is showing activation of an area of
  the brain identified in addicts when a texter
  does not receive a response ... jonesing for
  a reply!!! frikkin terrifying to contemplate!

  ps: i HAD to get a trac phone so i could
  be contacted by the school as my son
  is now on Rx meds with multiple side effects....
  3 people know the number... i am one of them...

  it is hard to remember to carry it!!! srsly!