In his book about this very topic, "the cult of the amateur", Andrew Keen builds an awesome and well detailed case against our current internet culture, and the devastation it is causing, citing WP as an example, and the long term effects of human beings moving toward the "mean" and mediocre (i.e., where the vast majority of people on earth are simply not experts or masters at anything.) He describes a frightening rude awakening for all of us, albeit, I think, this subject matter is an essential element of many philisophical discussions I have with friends and family.
In the field of music, it is becoming more apparent than ever that the vast majority of young people are learning more about following, rather than leading, and it is much easier to simply steal music than pay for it. There are more people learning to play "guitar hero" video games than actual musical instruments. (IMG:
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