An App To Filter Stupid
Source: Rob Kardashian Blac Chyna: Couple Grills Together After Engagement Reveal : People.com
Since the invention of the IPhone, an entirely new industry has sprung up dedicated to supplying the public with applications (apps) that enhance the experience of phone users. While some have been quite useful, including navigational apps, or ones that point out the location of a restaurant, gas station or massage parlor, there have been many more apps invented for all kinds of conveniences that we never knew we needed. For amusement, take a look here, useless apps, to take in some training wheel samples of human ingenuity. For those too lazy to click on the link, they include such cutting edge human experiences as a tickle app; an app that measures how long you can hold your finger on a spot and an app that simulates the draining of a beer glass as you tilt the screen are among the gems.
Notwithstanding the improvements to the human condition that these apps represent, the reality is that for most people past the age of giggling when someone mentions boobies, apps that convey newsworthy information may be among the most useful of computer and phone apps. The whole point of having a portable communication device is to be plugged in to the social world. Here’s an idea for some smart app developer out there: create a filter that automatically deletes or blocks any reference to the inane revelations of most pop culture from a news feed. Let’s assume that you don’t think that the gripping adventures of the Kardashians are newsworthy, or don’t find stories of Miley, or Justin, or Ben, or Jennifer, or Snoop Dog worthy of using up your bandwidth as you read about the latest Global Warming tragedy: you should be able to filter out these cultural gems and only read about things that aren’t intellectual pablum and which threatens to cap your IQ.
It’s not that the lovable antics of the Hollywood prodigies aren’t interesting to some; heck they are the millennials’ version of the pet rock from another time. But the embedding of their breathless exploits into real news feeds requires that you sift through them as if you were filtering junk flyers from your regular mail delivery. Anyone who can develop such a filter app will not only be doing a service to the news business, they will also be helping to increase the general IQ level for all.