internet junkies?

How has the internet effected the average gearhead? I can spend money much easier, I don't even have to leave my house. I can browse tons of speed parts from my easy chair and type in my credit card number to buy whatever pops into my head. I can go on an automotive forum and ask a hundred other gearheads if they have had good or bad experiences with a certain part or company or modification. I might be addicted to forums. For some reason I really want to know what others will say in response to my posts on forums. The forums are brutally hard to get good advice from. I wish they had some way of weeding out posers (see earlier post for poser identification) . When you look at someone face to face it is easy to decide if you can believe what they are saying. The internet has taken that away, I can only read their words and hope the info I'm getting is true. Another guff I have is TV. TV is ruining the economy. Instead of getting out there and doing stuff, we sit at home and watch others do it. After watching the sport or gearhead show for a couple hours we are left with the feeling that we have actually participated in it. That is a LIE. When I was 19, on any given evening one of my buddies would phone me up and we would get together to talk about, race or wrench on our hotrods. Now they're stuck at home glued to their TV's and computers (like I am now!). Young people especially find it easier to text back and forth than to actually talk to each other. If you put an ad on kijiji you will get 10 emails that mean nothing and if someone actually phones you feel that there is a chance of actually selling the item. Also the internet has caused people to lose their manners. You can be rude and angry at someone because you don't know them or can't see them. WHY? Because he might be trying to rip you off? A scammer? Do you get angry with a telephone scammer? Probably not, you politely tell them your not interested and try to say goodbye without being rude. But anything is permissable on the internet right? Have you noticed what makes news on the internet? Check MSN regularily and it will look something like this with pictures:  How to get a bikini body,   Which celebrities are sleeping around,   Fun sex for couples,   hot women with fast cars,   how often should you have sex?,    bombing in middle east..... Do you notice any trends in that list? Its sad how little attention we give to important events and how much we give to selfish lusts. Guys if we want to eventually have some stories to tell our grandchildren we need to get our butts in gear. Get off the TV, get off the computer and get out and make your hobby happen. Do you want to sit on your death bed and tell your grandchildren about the show you saw where a guy did this or that? Or do you want to live it? Be an example to your children. If you are stuck to the screen then you can't expect them to do anything better. I get bugged every time I think about this stuff. If we didn't have TV we would be out in our shops working on our cars learning, fixing, or modifying. We might be earning better incomes because we would have more skills and a better work ethic. We could be spending real quality time with our wife or children. TV is instant gratification. Pay attention next time you set little kids down for a couple hours of TV. When they are done they are rude, selfish, little brats. Its because TV entertains with no input required. As soon as the kids are asked to lift a finger they start whineing because they are programmed to receive and not give. Another big dig for guys is all the sexuality online and on TV. Companies know that if they get lusty babes to push their product it will sell. Consequently the internet and TV is overflowing with this junk. Do you want your daughter to grow up and be like the women she sees on TV? Definitly not. Would you want to marry some cheating TV tramp? Definitly not. The more of this we put into ourselves through our eyes, the more like it we become. So guys, let me be direct, PROTECT YOURSELVES AND YOUR FAMILY. Live your life, get off the couch, don't let life pass you by, you only get one chance at it.