Is the internet making us crazy?

Jamiroquai the band along with their lead singer Jay Kay had the the right idea with their 1996 smash hit (Lord I can't believe it's been that long) Virtual Insanity

Some of the lyrics are as follows

Hook]

Future's made of virtual insanity

Now always seem to, be governed by this love we have

For useless, twisting, our new technology

Oh, now there is no sound

For we all live underground.

Now this song came out when the internet was still full of creepy chat rooms and dial up modems. However there was some strang foreshadowing going on with this song.

Over the past few years we have witnessed the rise of the true behemoths of the stock markets in  the form of companies such as

Facebook, Goggle, Amazon, Twitter, Netflix and YouTube to name a few.

These companies have grossed more profits and wealth  for stockholders and a elite few then has ever been recorded in modern history.

They have done so be utilizing the most addictive and manipulative phycological technologies know to man.

By utilizing algorithms that are able to predict our future actions and behaviors with pinpoint accuracy.

We the general public or the malluble herd are living through the largest social experiment of this generation.

For far too many  hours each day, billions of us bury ourselves in devices designed to manipulate our emotions and behavior. Changing the human mind to be more compulsive and addicted is simply good business for many tech companies, but it is having a profoundly awful effect on our mental health.

To quote the American author, Harvard professor, and author of the book Surveillance Capital. Shoshana Zuboff

"As information technology restructures the work situation, it abstracts thought from action".

All of this begs the question how bad is all our Internet usage for our mental health? How does it affect our happiness? Is tech just the latest punching bag for age-old issues like addiction and depression?

How are smartphones and these technologies changing the way we focus, and experience emotion? Can Facebook actually help us lead a happier, more meaningful lives?

As we see more articles asking the questions "Is the internet making us crazy"  there is a compelling narative to research the bold claims of social media's failed promises to bring us closer together.

As we ask the question  is this much information and 24/7 mental stimulation sustainable.

The more ubiquitous question we need to ask is, can we  harness and control  these technologies or are we destined to live  within our own virtual Insanity.

Research and sources

Jaron Zepel Lanier

Shoshana zuboff

Rebecca Greenfield

Featuring iSchool Professor David Levy and Assistant Professor Alexis Hiniker, and Seattle University faculty Joshua Johnston.