I don't believe in it ...

free2beme

I was speaking to an elderly man the other day and I offered a solution on something that said, "You should go to their website and." To which I got a response of, "I do not believe in the internet and wont have it." Sitting there for a moment, feeling rather shocked at this comment, I realized this kind of response is common. People now a days, love to say they do not believe in things and think that makes sense. Why do I say this?

Think about the comment I mentioned. Does the mere fact that a person does not want to use something, touch something or acknowledge the presense of something. Make it not real? So, does the internet exist? Yes, it does and without it we would not be able to read this and actually share comments. So why would someone say they do not believe in it?

While I know several elderly people use the internet, many have let society pass them by. Taking the stance that I will walk to catch up to a world that is running, and hope that one day people will see my response as smart. Too which the gap between where you left off, grows wider and wider, from the reality of where society moves with each day. Yet to many, this makes sense? Why?

Because of fear! If we accept that something we want to ignore is real, we have to acknowledge that we have not done enough to acknowledge it or are too weak to face it. Basically, we have to just say to ourselves, "I have a responsiblity now, and can not always lean on others to do everything or accept my ignorance." So I will simply say I do not believe it in and act as if I am right.

So, as I reflect today on this comment, and type on the internet. I am glad I do not sit in ignorance and fear, in a place with a television with no remote control. In a home with rabbit ears to tune in my 3 channels. In a place that has magazines on the table that have dates that show they came out in 19 something and so on. I know the future moves on, that things we might not be fully aware of, exist. For just simply saying, "I do not believe something," does not make it any less real.

The internet exist!

laverite

This is correct. This dude doesn't believe in the internet, and that disbelief makes the internet not exist --for him- and the consequences of this disbelief are that it's the same (for him) as if the internet didn't exist. We actively construct our own realities. We all do this. Every single one of us is guilty of it.

If you do not believe in something, then it is, in fact, not real (at least to you). If you perceive something to be real, it will be...in its consequences...for you. When there is a disconnect with perceptions and lived experiences, cognitive dissonance sets in.

jamiebowers

Ha! I showed my dad how to search the Internet 10 years ago. Everytime he saw a new web site he'd ask, "Who is in there?" He couldn't grasp the concept that there wasn't someone personally sending the informtion to him. He's 72 now and still is afraid to look things up by himself. It just freaks him out too much. But he'll have someone else do it for him.

mrsjones5

Some folks fear what they don't understand.

White Dove

I understand what he means. It's just too big to take in. They had to shove technology down my throat in college. I unsuccessfully fought it tooth and nail but tech won. I still don't seek out new tech things and I'm a relative young'un. My dad is the tech seeker in our family.

AGuest

Sometimes it's not fear at all, dear F2BM (peace to you!). Sometimes "change" is too fast... or too much... for a person to deal with, period. Not because they fear something but because they're habit/routine driven or stuck in a rut. Or... happy and content just as they are. In that light, some also don't "need"... "progress." They don't need "technology." Rather, they prefer a "simpler" life and so have either done away with things like the television, telephone, cell phone, computers, ipods, microwaves, even electricity... or never bothered with such things in the first place.

I didn't "believe" in CDs until I made my mind up that storage and maintenance was easier (actually, I still believe that vinyl gives the purest sound). I am just now starting to "believe" in MP3s (because I need them for my music gigs); but it was a slow process because I LIKE the case inserts with the histories, song lyrics and graphics that came/come with albums/CDs.

I think that as we get older and realize that we lived virtually an entire life without all of that technology, however... and quite happily so... and that a good deal of the "new" stuff really only adds more clutter to our life (and wastes an inordinate amount of time, which is precious and cannot be regained)... we realize that we don't "need" as much... or to be as "in touch"... as others may think we do.

My point? Don't read too much into the gentleman's statement of what he doesn't "believe" in. Sometimes, that's just a way of saying, "I don't have it/can't afford it/don't want it/don't need it/don't care about it... in a way that gets people off your back. For some reason, people tend to back off a little more readily when you state something in terms of your "beliefs."

Of course, with few exceptions, virtually every one of us in the western world have the paradigm that "my" way is the "best" (if not the only) way. Some of us are right... some of us aren't.

Again, peace to you!

A slave of Christ,

SA

White Dove

A Guest,

Very good point. My life was just fine without technology like computers and know how.

Problem with that is when you get into college and have to learn about life NOW and FUTURE.

Blech. I do kinda have fun with computers now...

A.Fenderson

AGuest seems to have nailed it: people don't generally use the phrase to mean they don't believe in something's existence, but that they don't believe in it's efficacy, relevance, propriety, moral correctness, or similar--and that they use the phrase intentionally (though maybe not consciously) to shut down further communication on that subject. The missing, unstated aspect of the thing they don't believe in then generally goes unsaid. So when people speak in these terms, you can do exactly what they're trying to prevent--call them on it. Try asking them "What exactly about it do you not believe? It certainly exists, so...." or similar. They'll be forced either to admit the hidden thought behind the evasion ("Well, I don't believe people should use the internet, it's of the devil!") or to explicitly shut the conversation down ("I don't care to discuss it.").

White Dove

How about the way we used to use the phrase: I don't believe in birthdays.

We meant: I don't do birthday parties.

free2beme

It sounds uneducated and makes a person look foolish.

I don't believe in it ...

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