A lot of people characterize the internet a great enabler for innovation and entrepreneurship. Obviously this is the case -- one merely has to look at the entirely new industries, creation of wealth, and changes in our everyday routines to validate that claim.
But what if the internet is also a great enabler for inactivity; an inhibitor of achievement? I'm not talking about the time and productivity lost to things like World of Warcraft. What I mean is, now that everybody with an internet connection has a megaphone with which to communicate his or her point of view, what happens when the talking outpaces the doing?
We all know that talking about our goals lessens the chance that we will actually accomplish them. When one guy writes about gaining 34 pounds of muscle in 28 days and over a thousand people comment on his article, many expressing a desire to match the feat, what's the net change in aggregate exercise among those readers? Do the newly-inspired gym rats outnumber those who satisfied their dopamine urges just by commenting on the article, or is the other way around?
Food for thought.
P.S. I wrote a pretty lengthy answer on Quora today about my undergraduate recruiting experience. Check it out.
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