{"id":370,"date":"2008-05-10T08:59:53","date_gmt":"2008-05-10T12:59:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/example.org\/children-of-the"},"modified":"2008-05-10T08:59:53","modified_gmt":"2008-05-10T12:59:53","slug":"children-of-the","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/?p=370","title":{"rendered":"Children of the Internet"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

I wrote this three years ago and I think it is worth revisiting in view of efforts being made by totalitarian regimes to control internet access. I think it will backfire and will actually accelerate the meltdown of any regime that seeks to do this.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The
\nChildren of the Internet will introduce change into our society in ways
\nwe cannot easily predict because they are bypassing traditional sources
\nof information. <\/p>\n

A culture controls change if it can restrict the flow of
\ninformation. As long as a child only learns skills, attitudes, and
\nfears from its extended family, that child is protected from the
\ncorrupting (and civilizing) effect of "outside ideas". <\/p>\n

The child of such a culture can be raised to regard all outside the
\ngroup as inferior or as enemies to be slain or subjugated. By the time
\nthe child is old enough to see that these "inferiors" have superior
\ntechnology and lifestyles, it can be so warped that its only recourse
\nis to destroy that which it cannot emulate.<\/p>\n

The internet, with its overwhelming abundance of information,
\nincredible beauty, and skillfully delivered lies, presents a challenge
\nto any culture, even an advanced and open-minded one. The internet,
\neven in its present limited form, presents the ultimate threat to
\nclosed cultures. The open flow of information exposes many lies that
\nthese cultures use to keep their citizens under control. <\/p>\n

In the past, children would not be immersed in cultures outside
\ntheir immediate environment until they were at least 12 years old.
\nToday, five-year-olds are finding out that Mom, Dad and other authority
\nfigures really do not know what they are talking about. This places
\ngreater importance than ever on telling your children the truth.<\/p>\n

When women of a closed and degraded culture see that intelligent,
\nstrong women of other cultures can excel in business and in war, it
\nstirs up the kind of ideas that despots really hate! <\/p>\n

When races deemed inferior by some, can see that others of their race are worshipped as
\npopular heroes, it tends to break down the mindset that caste systems
\nrely on to survive.<\/p>\n

Children given free access to the Internet may not easily unlearn
\nlessons of hatred and bigotry, but they will quickly spot when the
\n"truths" they have been taught bear little relationship to reality.
\nThis is true whether they live on the eastern seaboard of the US, in
\nthe heart of Los Angeles, or on the outskirts of Baghdad. <\/p>\n

I feel that access to unlimited information will eventually result
\nin children selecting the best parts of many cultures and synthesizing
\ntheir own, to the shock and horror of those who insist on acting as
\n"guardians of culture".<\/p>\n

Free access to information results in change. Denying access to
\ninformation only creates interest in what is being hidden. Intelligent
\nand honest communication can guide children and other seekers of information to use information wisely.\n<\/p>\n

I hesitate to predict anything more specific other than this: Those
\nwho cannot embrace change will go down fighting as they are rendered
\nirrelevant. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

For other articles in this series, see Children of the Internet – part 1<\/a>, and Children of the Internet – part 3<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\n

I wrote this three years ago and I think it is worth revisiting in view of efforts being made by totalitarian regimes to control internet access. I think it will backfire and will actually accelerate the meltdown of any regime that seeks to do this.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The
\nChildren of the Internet will introduce change into our society in ways
\nwe cannot easily predict because they are bypassing traditional sources
\nof information. <\/p>\n

A culture controls change if it can restrict the flow of
\ninformation. As long as a child only learns skills, attitudes, and
\nfears from its extended family, that child is protected from the
\ncorrupting (and civilizing) effect of "outside ideas". <\/p>\n

The child of such a culture can be raised to regard all outside the
\ngroup as inferior or as enemies to be slain or subjugated. By the time
\nthe child is old enough to see that these "inferiors" have superior
\ntechnology and lifestyles, it can be so warped that its only recourse
\nis to destroy that which it cannot emulate.<\/p>\n

The internet, with its overwhelming abundance of information,
\nincredible beauty, and skillfully delivered lies, presents a challenge
\nto any culture, even an advanced and open-minded one. The internet,
\neven in its present limited form, presents the ultimate threat to
\nclosed cultures. The open flow of information exposes many lies that
\nthese cultures use to keep their citizens under control. <\/p>\n

Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1759],"tags":[1037,1036,1038],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3R4iK-5Y","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/makingripples.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}