Thursday, 16 November 2006

YouTube will be a revolution of the human mind

I wasted again some precious time on youtube.com.
For me this site is not only a gash in the history of multimedia and the development of the internet in general. Long-dated it will change the way of thinking, the way of interpreting the world. It will be a revolution of the human mind. With YouTube the german term "selektive Wahrnehmung" (which is a term of the communication science meaning "selective cognition") gets a new acception. As a consument of media you are no longer regulated by the etablished mass-media-enterprises and TV-stations. It is possible (when you register yourself and confirme that you are able to stand "abnormal" pictures) to watch movies of iraki extremists constructing mines, placing them on some bridge and let them detonate when an american convoy is passing. In the background one can hear some arabic sounds and listen to a lot of propaganda. Get the documentary "Code of silence" made by the iraqi resistance and you know what i am talking about.
The influences from our environment are getting more progressive. Ten years ago I would have never been able to whatch islamic terror-propaganda in such an easy way. You are able to catch any form of information and any interpretation of it. Is that positive? Is this leading to a higher level of individual freedom?
First you have to say: sure! In a world (mass-) communication is getting more importent (and diverting!) its getting harder for the media to manipulate us and easier for us to find the access to an established truth.
Otherwise this massive flow of information (and ability how to get it) could also lead to a furthermore shattering of the world. There will be no more room for dualism (like "good" and "evil", "truth" or "lie"). This could lead to a new era of mental insecurity. Think of the industrialisation of western europe. On the paper this development meant more freedom for the crowd(after blasting the chains of absolutism). But reality of the working man was even worse than before.
I compare this "materialistic" shattering of industrialisation with the upcoming of youtube.com (and future, similar electronic platforms) and its insubstantial modification and shattering of the human mind which will lead to a higher level of disorientation.

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