THE INTERNET AND PAIN

"I love the Internet because every piece of true pain I've experienced as an adult — with the exception of death in the family and breakups — has come from it." - - - actress Lena Dunham

When a public figure acknowledges that the world around her is a painful place, but then accepts the pain as being part of her public life, there is some profound truth that rises to the surface of our collective intelligence.

The Internet is a vast, open world. But it really is a tool, a utility, to help people communicate thoughts and ideas. However, it has turned into a dark space where trolls, haters, criminals and weak-minded prey on the lives of more fortunate people. High school bullying has gone from the playground to the global stage. 

Since the Internet is an all-consuming place, people can get lost in this world just as an intense gamer can get lost for days or weeks in a open world multi-player epic console game.

Then the lines of reality and virtual reality blur.

People need connections to other people. People need real connections to other people, and not virtual, cliche or fake connections. Friends are different than acquaintances, but on the web more and more people fall into the latter category because they don't do anything else together expect exchange messages or photo tags.

Since the daily interaction with the network and the people who you friend becomes more important, the ability to hurt one another grows exponentially.  People can be meaner because you don't have to be face-to-face to hurt someone. There is a growing segment of people out on the net with the sole purpose to hurt other people (most people they don't even know.)

There was a recent line from Dr. Who which is applicable here. "Hate is such a strong emotion that it should not be wasted on people you dislike." 

Think about that.

If someone or something causes you pain, why continue to interact with it? Because someone or something (like the internet) has woven itself into your core principles, it occupies the center of your mind and thoughts, it makes you a complete being and it defines who you are as a person.

Life is filled with ups and downs, pain and pleasure. The management of those emotional highs and lows is what separates the good from the bad, from those who can cope and those in despair, those who hide from the world from those who live life to the fullest despite the painful pitfalls that the future may hold.

HOW THINGS CONTINUE TO CHANGE

One aspect of LOST that has had a lasting effect is the digital component to viewing a show. The early internet fan communities that raged, raved, dissected and postulated about their favorite show has spawned the nexus between network broadcasting and digital consumption of entertainment.

When LOST first aired on ABC, it was still "appointment" television. You had to be in front of your television set to see that week's show. There was no on-demand or web streaming the telecast. You could time shift it with your DVR.

Today, unless it is a live event like a sports contest, people are consuming their television programs in various forms, including on demand, streaming or box binge viewing.

And many non-network players are getting into the serial show act.

For example, Amazon has a new digital show called BOSCH. Based on Michael Connelly's best-selling novels, Harry Bosch (LOST's Titus Welliver), an LAPD homicide detective, stands trial for the fatal shooting of a serial murder suspect. A cold case involving the remains of a missing boy forces Bosch to confront his past. As daring recruit Julia Brasher (Annie Wersching) catches his eye, and departmental politics heat up, Bosch will pursue justice at all costs. 

The Amazon series is a digital download. This one features a LOST alum, MIB. Whether his role on LOST will help snag a few of the fractured viewing public is probably unknown.

Keifer Sutherland made an interesting observation while on the British television show. He said when he started, there were 15 studios making 50 movies a year, including small budget ($5-10 million) dramas. But today, there are basically 3 studios making 15 movies a year, all in the big budget, action hero mode. As an actor, he knew the writing was on the wall. So he went into television (which was unusual for film actors to do) in order to play Jack Bauer on Fox's 24. Since then, many film actors have gravitated toward cable channels like HBO and Showtime which began producing their own award winning television series. It would seem with the rise of independent YouTube programs and streaming services looking for new content, event the current cable distribution model will probably be outdated in a decade.

With the fractured audience and more distribution channels, it is more unlikely that any series will last six seasons in production.