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The Stanly News & Press, Albemarle, N.C., Jason O. Boyd column [The Stanly News & Press, Albemarle, N.C.](Stanly News & Press, The (Albemarle, NC) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sept. 30--I've stated here before how much I love the Internet. There have been four inventions I believe out-trump all others over these many years on this planet. The Internet is right up there with them. First is cooking food. Where would we be had not some guy (or girl) way back when decided food was better prepared over an open fire rather than fresh off the carcass? Sushi may be good raw, but I like fried fish, shrimp and other edibles a lot better when they've been prepared over a hot fire for a few minutes. Second is the automobile. Back in the Wild West days, I'm sure you could get some mighty tough saddle sores on ya rump after hauling it from one destination to another. Now, the only horses we have to worry about are the ones under the hood. And the cop that could pull us over because we rev those horses up too much or work them too hard. Third is, without a doubt ... indoor plumbing. Have you seen those movies or television period pieces? Those people caught all kinds of diseases, had rats as big as German Shepherds and generally were dirty all the time. If you celebrated your 44th birthday (which I will in December), you would have been considered ancient. "44 ... while that's like 88 to you and me," I can hear Lorne Greene say right now. So fourth in my list of greatest inventions ever is the Internet. Founded by Al Gore in 19 ... (pffftttt ... sorry I just had to throw that in). Robert E. Kahn and Vint Cerf are two of several individuals who had a hand in making the Internet what it is today. I wonder if they knew what kind of monster they were creating? You can go on the World Wide Web and find just about anything. Want to know the weather? Go to Weather.com. Want to know the score of last night's game, go to SportingNews.com (You see, I work there when I'm not working here. So help a brotha out, won't ya?) I'd like to see a list of the things you can't find on the Internet. I'll bet that would be a fascinating read. Of course, the only way I'm gonna find out is ... to look on the Internet. The Web is a wonderful place full of information and entertainment of all ranges. But it does have its drawbacks. You hear all the time of terrible things that have resulted from the Internet. We've seen beheadings of innocent people by individuals who can only be described as the scum of the Earth. We also recently saw the horror of domestic violence with Ray Rice basically cold-cocking his wife. One of the hot topics lately has been the scandal of sorts involving celebrities and their private photos being put on the web. These aren't just photos of them with embarrassing looks on their faces. In some cases, these are photos of them with embarrassing looks on their faces ... while naked. While I don't condone such invasions of privacy, it makes you wonder why in the wide, wide world of sports these talented people would even have stuff like that out there to be hacked. But I'm not one to judge. I'll leave that to others. Which is, in a lot of ways, what the Internet has become. People want your opinion so they can call you an idiot for having that opinion. You'll see things on social media all the time where one person is criticizing another. You'll read about celebrities (there go those folks again) dissing each other, political sides going back and forth and other tirades, exchanges of barbes. I'll admit, some of that stuff can be entertaining, if only to see what stupid stuff comes out of people's minds and onto the keyboards they are typing from. But, in many ways, the Internet has also become a place where more bad things happen than good. Where are all the cute and fuzzy things I love about the Internet, like goats riding around in wagons, dogs that can speak the alphabet and people who fall asleep on the couch and then wake up with lipstick on their faces? We've all likely heard about the website that shames people that go to Wal-Mart. We've all seen those particular people before. But why must we come out and shame them for the way they look or dress? Why has the Internet become a place where we constantly look for the bad in things instead of the good. Within the past couple of weeks, a new website has come out that basically shames people for their actions on airplanes. I'll admit, I've seen some real characters on a plane. I can't say I've seen a person asleep in his seat with his shirt off or a child in the middle of the aisle taking a poop. But this website has it. You know what might be better? How about telling the stewardess about the guy with his shirt off instead of taking his photo. Or, instead of taking a picture of the kid using the bathroom in the aisle, why not find their mother and see that they are taken care of instead. People say newspapers, television and radio only report the bad news. And they're right. Same is true for the Internet. But you know why? Because that's what today's people seem to want. We've become desensitized to certain things around us that, not too long ago, would shock and surprise us. Like the woman in Florida who claims to have had surgery for a third breast. Is it true? Is it fake? Is the photo of her on the Internet funny or disturbing? I guess that's for each of us to figure out. I, for one, am not that big a boob to fall for something like that. But I guess it's what the people want. Trying to reverse course now may be next to impossible. To submit story ideas, contact Jason O. Boyd at (704) 982-2121 ext. 21 or email at [email protected]. ___ (c)2014 The Stanly News & Press (Albemarle, N.C.) 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