Frank Schirrmachers Geist auf der Reise durch die Jahrhunderte

Ein wundervoller Artikel von Vaughan Bell bei Slate: "Don't Touch That Dial!". Hier nur ein paar Zitate. Lesen sollte man den Artikel im Original. Dann wird auch die wundervolle Logik klar, daß wir immer alles neue verteufeln, nach seiner Etablierung aber für die bessere Alternative als das dann Neue halten. Die Geschichte wiederholt sich immer wieder.

"Socrates famously warned against writing because it would "create forgetfulness in the learners' souls, because they will not use their memories." He also advised that children can't distinguish fantasy from reality, so parents should only allow them to hear wholesome allegories and not "improper" tales, lest their development go astray."

"A respected Swiss scientist, Conrad Gessner, might have been the first to raise the alarm about the effects of information overload. In a landmark book, he described how the modern world overwhelmed people with data and that this overabundance was both "confusing and harmful" to the mind. ...
... he died in 1565. His warnings referred to the seemingly unmanageable flood of information unleashed by the printing press.

"Similar concerns arose in the 18^th century, when newspapers became more common. The French statesman Malesherbes railed against the fashion for getting news from the printed page, arguing that it socially isolated readers and detracted from the spiritually uplifting group practice of getting news from the pulpit."

"When radio arrived, we discovered yet another scourge of the young: The wireless was accused of distracting children from reading and diminishing performance in school ..."

"The television caused widespread concern as well ..."

"By the end of the 20^th century, personal computers had entered our homes, the Internet was a global phenomenon, and almost identical worries were widely broadcast through chilling headlines ..."

"... the Daily Mail ran a piece on "How using Facebook could raise your risk of cancer."

"The writer Douglas Adams observed how technology that existed when we were born seems normal, anything that is developed before we turn 35 is exciting, and whatever comes after that is treated with suspicion."