The Internet

[old-timer]

Everybody enjoys the internet as a part of their everyday life - but is the internet really doing us more harm than good? - I just heard on BBC world news that journalism is in crises with 12,000 job loses in the past 2 years and many newspapers going out of business, the blame for this is the internet. As we all know you can buy just about anything via the internet, you can go to the bank, the doctors, the casino, the library, do your tax returns, the list goes on and on - you can do a lot via the internet. With the worlds population rising and the job market shrinking directly due to the internet, is the internet overtaking us. The internet also serves as a platform for a lot of negative things such as child porn and a means for terrorists to put out their propaganda as well as the infinite amount of scams out there.
Of course there is a lot of good internet content out there, but - will we end up shooting ourselves in the foot by developing this internet system into something where a high percentage of humans become redundant?

[beer monkey]

I couldn't work without it...wouldn't of said that 3 years ago though, its something that you can't stop now Old T...a bit like time.(unless you die of course then everything stops)

[aznyron]

O/T it also offers more jobs then it causes to lose IMO now the TV and CNN and Fox news along with few others have caused the newspaper to decline also bar reporting did not help. it a world of information
since I started to use a PC I have learned many things and improved my mental capacity in many ways

[old-timer]

O/T it also offers more jobs then it causes to lose IMO now the TV and CNN and Fox news along with few others have caused the newspaper to decline also bar reporting did not help. it a world of information
since I started to use a PC I have learned many things and improved my mental capacity in many ways

Here's what i'm saying - example - if you order your shopping on line and it's delivered to your home, ok, on the job plus side you have the guy who built the website, the picker who sticks all your shopping in boxes and the driver who delivers it, but think how many people do not have a job to do because of shopping that way? - there is little or no need for the shop assistants, cashiers, security, cleaners, car park attendants, trolly recovery men, greeters (yep there is such a job in the real world - you just bow your head and say hello to everyone that walks in - still roughly a job though), store maintenance man, shopfitter, signmaker, in store IT management, dustman, etc etc etc....... the internet technology that we all enjoy may well end up making a large percentage of the population redundant. imo only.

[aznyron]

O/T you make a very strong point which makes a lot of sense & I know what a greeter is Wal/mart has them

[douglas]

Hi,
If everyone thought this we would have no development in the world. ie. Scrap the car and use horses keep the stable hands etc. in jobs, do not use planes keep the shipping lines in work. Scrap the telephones keep the postman in work. Do not allow TV, keep the cinema people in jobs etc. etc. etc.
It is what is called progress and a lot of people that are living in LOS as there second home would not be here. Hold on scrap progress
Cheers Doug.
PS Just think if this was the case we would not be having this debate.

[jackspratt]

o-t and Ronnie, I assume you are happy to pay the extra for your goods and services if there are a number of extra people (all being paid wages) in the supply chain?

[aznyron]

Jack sorry but I do not follow your post don't forget I am old man

[old-timer]

Hi,
If everyone thought this we would have no development in the world. ie. Scrap the car and use horses keep the stable hands etc. in jobs, do not use planes keep the shipping lines in work. Scrap the telephones keep the postman in work. Do not allow TV, keep the cinema people in jobs etc. etc. etc.
It is what is called progress and a lot of people that are living in LOS as there second home would not be here. Hold on scrap progress
Cheers Doug.
PS Just think if this was the case we would not be having this debate.

You are quite right, progress is important in all parts of life and i'm not saying that it should be hampered in any way,
douglas - in your all your examples one industry went on to produce another industry which in turn produced a lot more jobs - The point i'm trying to make is that a lot of busineses are closing or reducing their high street capacity and turning to the internet to sell their products as well as a vast number of other service providers are turning to the internet to do their business. On balance the internet seems to be taking away jobs. imo.

[jackspratt]

Jack sorry but I do not follow your post don't forget I am old man

The point I was making Ron is that technology (eg the internet) has led to efficiencies in the supply chain - ie from where a good or service originates, to the point where it gets to you - the end user.

Those efficiencies reduce costs, of which one way is to cut people (ie a cost) out of the chain.

If you reintroduce people back into the process, you have to pay them, and therefore the cost of the good/service rises.

And never forget Ron - you are only as old as the woman you feel (anon).

[douglas]

Hi,
O.T. Tesco's in my home town, which is only small, when they started Internet shopping, took on two drivers to deliver orders, none of the other staff got laid off. This produced work for two people at Tesco's, fuel and servicing for vans, giving extra revenue for garages. It is just another avenue for the buyer and a good one for some. Me i like to check my goods when i buy them for freshness etc. and also they put on a extra charge for deliveries which will pay for this service. They can not be losing money on this as they are just about to open a newer bigger store creating more jobs.
I do not know how this is losing jobs. I say it is creating jobs. Also every ind. is produced on another ind. ie Sedan chairs, stage coaches, bikes, buses, cars, planes etc. to quote one of many examples. Even space flight is produced from the aircraft ind. and the aircraft ind. from the balloon ind.
Cheers Doug.

[The man from Ketchup]

O/T

You are obviously very aware of all the jobs need to supply people needed at a shopping center. But you are lacking in the IT requires to host a on-line sales web site.

It takes a little more than 3/4 people to provide you with an on-line shop.

Let me just quote a few.

You are correct you need a Webmaster. maybe two or three if the site is big enough.
Then you need a Network administrator to manager your servers again if it is a big site you may need a couple. This will cover running repairs to making sure they are up 24/7 and also back-up in-case you have a total crash.
Then a Network Security Guy to handle your firewall and prevent threats both internal and external.
There is the internet provider at both ends. The big you the more connection you may require for redundency and this can get quite complicated. Your not so hard but also very necessary.
You also need support staff for the sales problems and for internet problems.
Accounts need to be paid so they have to have connections to places like Paypal and credit site.
Then more people have to have computers so more computers are sold. or you may have more internet cafe's.

I could think of more. But i think you get the picture.

[The man from Ketchup]

The reason people are not buying so many news papers is they are full of adds and generally full of ---- reports.

IMO journalists should report the facts. Most now-a-days put too much of there own opinion on it or they are quote sooo much from one company it ends up being a advertisement for them. Most of the experts are wrong, I can remember the last to I read a financial report full of economist predictions that came true. I get better advise from the forum members.

The other reason is they are un-environmentally friendly. All the ink and paper that is used for a day then thrown away sucks. Oh and the cost!

And finally people just don't read them much anymore. There are faster and easy methods to find out whats happening in the world. Not just internet. TV, radio and SMS are also killers of the newspaper.

The old song Video killed the radio star!!!! Never really happened. Radio is still as popular today as it was 50 years ago.

Books are still popular, but news papers. well!!!!

Oh and we don't even wrap up chips from the chippie in them anymore.

[old-timer]

If all the thousands and thousands of people who are looking for a job on the internet right now, got off there lard arzes and caught a bus to the job centre to see someone - that would create a few more jobs