With just about everyone online these days the amount of access we have to media sources is next to infinite, from watching war documentaries to pornographic movies the media we are watching is starting to make a huge impact on how we view the world. I'm not sure if going to benefit us or be a detriment on our future.
One example of how it could benefit us is help videos, if you have a problem with your vehicle, you can simply research up the problem and watch a video on how to fix it if you had to. If you were struggling on what to make for supper there are multiple recipes and how to forums to give you ideas on anything you could dream of and more. Even health and medicine could possibly help you understand if you have a common cold or a much larger problem that involves you visiting the hospital.
On the detrimental side of things, where it is not a benefit to us, is something where you would watch a particularly horrific event, like someone getting shot or having their head blown off, stabbings, mutilations, or even just common accidents that happen to everyone that is caught on camera. I have seen a tremendous amount of fail videos, where people are falling off bikes and skateboards, they do stupid things that harm themselves and it's caught on camera.
After a few hundred of these videos over the years I am bored while watching them now, I have seen too much of it and it no longer affects me like it once did, I have desensitized myself from feeling empathy for anyone that hurts themselves. I imagine the same thing could be said about anyone that watches too much blood and gore type videos, after a while it would no longer shock and awe you and it would be as common as watching a bird fly overhead.
I am concerned where this is leading humanity, we have full access to any type of media if we know where to look, there are no filters, age limits, or control measures to inhibit our view of the world. This could lead to someone shooting someone else and not feeling any remorse because they have been desensitized, but it could also lead to some of the most incredible breakthroughs in science and technology, simply by giving someone an idea to expand upon.
We fear that which we do not know or understand, but by having access to infinite amounts of information shared by people all over the world, gives us insights we might not have had otherwise. By watching blood and guts in your youth might make you a much better surgeon in the future, or a better murderer. The fine line is there, and we don't know when we have had too much Desensitization.
Scott Goerz
