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[A potpourri of cultural observations, thoughts & trends] A WEB OF PARADOX
"The World Wide Web is more than technology, more than modems, bandwidth, computers. It is a thing made of language and of history, a Web of Metaphor. Consider such rich but also limiting descriptors as cyberspace, highway (or the bilingual neologism infobahn), market, space, site, frontier.
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UNEXPECTED RESULTS
In a recent study conducted at Carnegie-Mellon U., researchers were surprised to find that people who spend even a few hours a week online experience higher levels of depression and loneliness than they would with little or no Internet use. The results were unexpected, and point to the fact that virtual relationships can’t replace face to face contact. |
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Am I wrong to think that these are especially American and capitalist metaphors, carrying an undersong of adventure, of risk and speed and danger, of entrepreneurs or starfleet commanders or homesteaders braving the wilderness? . . . Odd at first thought, but deeply instructive on reflection: that such swashbuckling metaphors should define the essentially sedentary experience of sitting at a computer terminal with mouse and keyboard at the ready.
The computer encourages joining, interaction, sharing, the creation of communities of interest; yet it is also congenial to our uncivic preferences for isolation, the avoidance of human contact, solipsism, "lurking," voyeurism. Through its power to confer anonymity, it feeds instincts for scandal, revenge, name-calling, surveillance, pornography. It is the best of Webs, the worst of Webs."
David Thorburn, in The American Prospect, Sept/Oct 1998
GO PLAY IN THE SANDBOX
Psychotherapy’s prop of the minute is the sand tray. Used on children for years, this therapy is now gaining ground with adults. The patient chooses ten figurines (monsters, babies, knights, angels) or objects (trees, fences, mirrors) and arranges them in a sand-filled tray. Then the therapist and patient discuss what the figures and their positions may represent.
Quoted in American Health for Women, September 1998
ENERGY ZAPPERS
Wonder why you’re tired? Aside from the normal late-night abuse of your bod, consider some of these recent findings:
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THE ALLURE OF DR. LAURA
"Sixty thousand people call in to Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s radio show each day . . . , nearly 20
million tune in to listen, and more than 2 million have bought her books.
"Her huge following is enraptured by the absolute certainty with which Dr. Laura passes judgment."
Vanity Fair, September 1998 |
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1) You may not blink enough. Studies have shown that you blink one third less often when you work at a computer. The result? Dry eyes, which leads to eye strain and an overall energy downturn. 2) You "tough out" allergies. You may avoid medicine that makes you drowsy, but a stuffed nose, postnasal drip, itching eyes, a cough also decrease energy. 3) You go to bed hungry. The hormones that are released to break down fat when there are fewer calories available make it difficult for you to sleep. But then a large fatty evening meal may disturb your sleep by producing indigestion. So much for the midnight pizza!
Adapted from Redbook, Sept. 1998
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