The Internet

[Siúil a Rúin]

In discussions about MBTI types it has been suggested that the internet attracts more iNtuitives because it is abstract by nature. How is it abstract? How is it different from reading a book or writing a letter? Isn't it simply a medium for transferring text, but also has the capabilities for images and sound? Text is abstract in a way common to humanity, not in a way that delineates cognitive functions, right? I would suggest that the internet is rather concrete. Every aspect of it can be explained in definable terms. It is a communication medium that has missing information. Real world communication contains more sensory data, but internet communication seems to be a subset of a concrete exchange rather than a particularly iNtuitive replacement. What do you think?

 

[Wandering]

The internet engages almost only my mind, so I'd say it's definitely intuitive, as far as I'm concerned anyway. Pretty much no stimulation/use of the 5 senses at all. Well, except for vision of course, but even then, reading text is not what I'd call "stimulating" :rolli:

 

[ptgatsby]

How many books does an N read a year? How many do Ss read?

 

[Totenkindly]

The Internet comes across as impersonal. You are not seeing someone face to face. It's a disconnected method of communication. Anything beyond that has to be imagined. Any resonance has to be created and amplified within the end user, it doesn't convey otherwise.

I think Intuitives find it easier to create the virtual reality inside their head of a particular communication, viewing it as they would a tangible real-life connection. They make the Internet more than what it actually is because of the perceptions they bring to the table. Sensors are more apt to view the Internet in terms of its practical application in the world around them and not use it as a simulacrum of reality through which people can connect to the same extent or even more deeply than in real life.

It's the same with any technology. Sensors tend to see something for what it is and how it can be used in line with that perception. Intuitives tend to "add things" to the perception, so it is no longer just "what it is" but is "larger than life." The Internet is a tool that they can easily use to create a simulacrum of some other reality in their own heads.

How many books does an N read a year? How many do Ss read?

What sort of books? *suspicious*

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

It's the same with any technology. Sensors tend to see something for what it is and how it can be used in line with that perception. Intuitives tend to "add things" to the perception, so it is no longer just "what it is" but is "larger than life." The Internet is a tool that they can easily use to create a simulacrum of some other reality in their own heads.

So the internet is a catalyst for iNtuition. I would still suggest that it is comparable to books, letters, and other text mediums. As a medium it is useful for all, the difference is in how it is used - like the "what type of books" question.

I guess when I think of iNtuition, I think of conceptual challenges found in philosophy, the inner workings of the mind, and other theoretical endeavors. The internet doesn't inherently contain these perceptual challenges. It's all easily explained. It is true the iNtuitive can bring their imagination to the table. I guess when I'm online I try to reign in the imagination to minimize assumptions, so that the truth of the person has a chance to come through. I think some people can project past experience onto new scenarios when pieces are missing in the same way another person can project an imagined scenario.

 

[ptgatsby]

What sort of books? *suspicious*

I'm just pointing out the reasoning flaw - the presumption is that Ss and Ns read the same amount (as in, Ss should spend the same amount of time online as Ns, based upon the acts of reading and writing). There is a rather large gap between Ns and Ss - not in what they read, but in how much. Interestingly enough, the Ss that break that mold followed the same pattern I did - to escape. It fits in with a couple of S friends that also read gigantic amounts.

And both of us use the net a hell of a lot. There is likely a connection between information processing and the amount of time used on books and interenet usage.

Since I've evolved into dealing with "real life", I no longer spend as much time on either - I can't say the same for the average "N" I know.

 

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

Abstract by nature?

*snaps and moves neck side to side*

No. Teeny-boppers who surf the web for Britney Spears gossip are not enjoying the it for its abstract nature, whatever the fuck that actually means.

 

[sassafrassquatch]

There's nothing abstract about the internet as a whole. There are regions of the net that appeal to different types, social networking for Es, star trek trivia boards for nerds, etc. The old internet may have been more NT back when you actually had to know a bit about computers in order to get online or even know that the net existed. Now, as far as people who live on the internet rather than use it I don't think you can really put a type on them, probably more IXTXs than anything else. I don't want to be where I am so I spend my time dicking around on the internet. I imagine it's the same for other net dwelling troglodytes.

 

[proteanmix]

I think internet usage skews along demographics. You simply don't use the internet that much if you still have dial-up or limited access to a computer. Also older people (regardless of S or N preference) probably don't use it as much as younger people who are more familiar with it. Even the nature of your work (cube dweller vs. emergency medical technician vs. unemployed) and amount of leisure time (kids, marital status, etc.) may dictate how much time you spend on the internet.

In fact today I got a request at work from someone I estimate to be in their 50s asking for hard copies of information that is readily available online simply because they don't like the internet (that's what they said in their letter!)

Like Sassa said, the internet is so vast that any type can find a niche and have frequent use. My piddly research on internet usage and personality type seems to point to introverts being more common that extroverts, men more common than women (although that's changing), and some connections between internet usage and depression. If most of your sites of interest (like psychology forums) tend to attract other intuitive types then it may seem like more intuitives inhabit the virtual universe but it may not be the case across the board.

 

[proteanmix]

I guess porn must be Atlantis or the map wasn't big enough.

 

[Athenian200]

In discussions about MBTI types it has been suggested that the internet attracts more iNtuitives because it is abstract by nature. How is it abstract? How is it different from reading a book or writing a letter? Isn't it simply a medium for transferring text, but also has the capabilities for images and sound? Text is abstract in a way common to humanity, not in a way that delineates cognitive functions, right? I would suggest that the internet is rather concrete. Every aspect of it can be explained in definable terms. It is a communication medium that has missing information. Real world communication contains more sensory data, but internet communication seems to be a subset of a concrete exchange rather than a particularly iNtuitive replacement. What do you think?

Books have typically been more on the abstract side in ways... because you have to mentally translate words on a page into ideas and pictures. The Internet tends towards more abstraction because you have to think of links leading from one page to another, the back button leading back, etc. To do much more than look things up, you have to have a certain amount of knowledge of technical terms (or at least you used to).

Of course, I've used the Internet for a long time, and there's a still part of me that thinks that anyone who doesn't know how to configure and troubleshoot a computer has no business using one. So it's been hard for me to adjust to people who expect ease of use and to have things explained in more concrete/common terminology. So I apologize in advance if I occasionally come across as condescending towards people who struggle with technology. Bad habit I picked up from the earlier days and technical forums.

 

[sassafrassquatch]

I guess porn must be Atlantis or the map wasn't big enough.

It's a map of internet communities, pr0n wouldn't be on there.

 

[disregard]

Without the internet, I would probably be a neurotic INFP (that is to say my Fi would be out of control and my Te would be comatose), because the internet has not only allowed for me to express myself.. but to be corrected, and understood, and shown the way of rational thought. In real life, there just aren't opportunities for that. Given that, I can clearly understand how the internet attracts iNtuitives, who are naturals at detecting relationships between concepts and meanings. They appreciate the opportunity for meaningful interaction, which thrives on the internet.

 

[Athenian200]

Without the internet, I would probably be a neurotic INFP (that is to say my Fi would be out of control and my Te would be comatose), because the internet has not only allowed for me to express myself.. but to be corrected, and understood, and shown the way of rational thought. In real life, there just aren't opportunities for that. Given that, I can clearly understand how the internet attracts iNtuitives, who are naturals at detecting relationships between concepts and meanings. They appreciate the opportunity for meaningful interaction, which thrives on the internet.

Oh, definitely. I agree. I shudder to imagine what some of my first posts (before I started communicating on the internet regularly) looked like on other boards. So full of paranoia, xenophobia, veiled criticism, and partisan views. *shivers*

 

[proteanmix]

Without the internet, I would probably be a neurotic INFP (that is to say my Fi would be out of control and my Te would be comatose), because the internet has not only allowed for me to express myself.. but to be corrected, and understood, and shown the way of rational thought. In real life, there just aren't opportunities for that. Given that, I can clearly understand how the internet attracts iNtuitives, who are naturals at detecting relationships between concepts and meanings. They appreciate the opportunity for meaningful interaction, which thrives on the internet.

Oh, definitely. I agree. I shudder to imagine what some of my first posts (before I started communicating on the internet regularly) looked like on other boards. So full of paranoia, xenophobia, veiled criticism, and partisan views.

You guys sound like meaningful communication is rare outside of the internet.

 

[Athenian200]

You guys sound like meaningful communication is rare outside of the internet.

Not for Extraverts. Sometimes I envy that... For shy introverts who don't put forth as much of an effort or have the same energy, it's easy to get into a pattern of avoiding (or minimally interacting with) people aside from bank tellers, bosses, teachers, etc. to such an extent in the real world that we become shut-in and slightly neurotic. That's why "Introvert" used to have such negative connotations. It used to be a much bigger advantage to be an Extravert before more distant kinds of communications became common, because Introverts would often be so isolated that they'd be slightly insane. Modern society has made it easier for Introverts to stay healthy psychologically.

We'd probably find meaningful conversation if we weren't so cautious and low-energy, and didn't want to spend most of our time alone.

 

[disregard]

You guys sound like meaningful communication is rare outside of the internet.

It is very rare either way.

 

[proteanmix]

It is very rare either way.

I definitely agree with that.

 

[Athenian200]

I definitely agree with that.

Even for you? I guess I was wrong about meaningful conversation being more plentiful if you had more energy to seek it. I guess that's something we all have in common.