The internet helps us connect with one another, but is it also conforming us into a single consciousness?

2. Hive Mind - Dictionary.com
noun
A entity consisting of a large number of organisms who share their
knowledge or opinions with one another, regarded as producing either
uncritical conformity or collective intelligence.

3. Hive Mind - Science Fiction
noun
A unified consciousness or intelligence formed by a number of alien
individuals, the resulting consciousness typically exerting control over
its constituent members.

4. The idea of the internet was formulated by DARPA (military) in 1960s as
a communication tool between platoons during warfare.
The scientists knew they were on
something big, but they would never
predict anything like what’s about to
come…

5. The very first message sent went something like this:
“Do you see the L?”
“Yes, we see the L,” came the response
“Do you see the O?”
“Yes we see the O”
Then as we typed the G, and the system crashed….

6. The internet officially went online in 1989 and the virtual web
literally began to explode with information.
Cars
Clothes
Cute Animals
Watches
Sports
Movies
Food
Dating
Ebooks
Videos
Shopping
Blogs
Careers
Forums
Enthusiasts

7. All this information on the virtual web
accumulated over the years waiting to
burst.
Finally, the megaphone known as Myspace, Facebook, Twitter
came

8. Companies such as Facebook
and Twitter allow information
and current events to spread
like wildfire.
Soon, everyone began talking
about the latest news and trend

9. Chat rooms Forums Image Boards
The User

10. Learning who knows something or where we can find information,
rather than remembering the information itself – The web is the
greatest resource in human history.

11. A research was conducted by asking people a series of hard questions,
the first idea that came to mind for many was the internet.
When we’re faced with hard questions, we don’t search our minds – We first think of the web

12. As we absorb more information and trends on the internet set by the
few, are we losing our unique personality and conforming to the
collective behavior of the internet?

13. In other words, are we unconsciously mimicking the hive?

14. Example 1: The Twitch Community plays where the entire
streaming community played Hearthstone by submitting actions
on the Twitch Chat and a decision is made based on majority
vote, essentially mimicking a collective intelligence.
“It was a battle between the serious and the trolls” - Anonymous

15. Example 2: The Mumbai attacks showcased the use of Twitter as a
real-time, peer to peer information service. Throughout the event,
people twittered the movement of attackers.
This is reflective of the internet consciousness, it
coordinates (and sometimes directs) physical
activity in the world

16. Example 3: As millions of users search for health information, Google
uses the aggregate of these searches to estimate flu activity even in
very localized areas

17. The Hive Mind sounds scary, but is it beneficial for society?
The general answer is yes...

18. The consciousness of the internet makes us more aware of a broader
context of relationship with humanity. Your immediate relationships
with your family, city, state begins to span the globe.

19. Using a the consciousness of the internet, it acts as a social nervous
system that allows us to find solutions to big problems such as
controlling disease or responding to emergencies.

20. More importantly, we are creating a feedback mechanism that exposes
the actions of a powerful few to the many – and the trivial day to day
life of many to the whole of humanity.

21. The negative consequences of an internet conscious makes us shift
away from individual privacy.
In a social nervous system there will be more pressure to
be connected 24/7 to the hive mind that is Facebook,
Twitter, etc.

22. So the big question is:
While reaching out and touching your neighbors is a good thing but it will come at the price
Of reshaping our identities as part of a larger, interconnected whole.
Which path do YOU choose?