50 Casualties of the Internet

Posted on Sep 9, 2009

Flickr / WB-CMH

The Internet has introduced a whole host of new marvels to the world, but as this list compiled by the U.K.’s Telegraph demonstrates, the Web giveth and the Web taketh away. And it has taken away a few things from users’ lives that we might miss (see: “The art of polite disagreement”)—others, not so much (cf. “Sarah Palin”).  —KA

The Telegraph:

9) The myth of cat intelligence
The proudest household pets are now the illiterate butts of caption-based jokes. Icanhasreputashunback?

10) Watches
Scrabbling around in your pocket to dig out a phone may not be as elegant as glancing at a watch, but it saves splashing out on two gadgets.

11) Music stores
In a world where people don’t want to pay anything for music, charging them £16.99 for 12 songs in a flimsy plastic case is no business model.

12) Letter writing/pen pals
Email is quicker, cheaper and more convenient; receiving a handwritten letter from a friend has become a rare, even nostalgic, pleasure. As a result, formal valedictions like “Yours faithfully” are being replaced by “Best” and “Thanks”.

13) Memory
When almost any fact, no matter how obscure, can be dug up within seconds through Google and Wikipedia, there is less value attached to the “mere” storage and retrieval of knowledge. What becomes important is how you use it – the internet age rewards creativity.

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