At the same time, the ability to rapidly share information, to comment, and even to view advertisements for products that might otherwise have gone unnoticed is in many ways the inevitable step of the development of the human consciousness. We are social beings that have always worked towards building better connections in our cultures and civilizations. Some attempts have been decidedly counterproductive, perhaps most of all the attempts to silence individuals within a society and limit the free flow of information. Societies that don't produce a lot of noise don't produce a whole lot of anything else of lasting value, either.
If noise is a reflection of activity, then the noisiest civilization or society is also the busiest -- not necessarily the most productive in terms of moving humanity further along a trajectory towards "goodness," however that might be defined, but certainly the most productive in terms of attempts. The rush of cars on the highway, the camera cuts and sudden volume shifts of television programs and their commercials, and above all else the wonder and breadth of the Internet and its many diverse methods of...
It is perfectly valid to note that single sounds become harder to pick out the more noise there is surrounding them, but it is equally valid to point out that the perfect sound has a much better chance of coming into existence if more and more noises are being made. Our culture is one that celebrates individuality and personal fulfillment, and this means that everyone needs to be able to make their own noises. The Internet and the modern world provide platforms for doing this, and while a great many noises might sound abhorrent to one person's ears, they are sweet melodies to another.
When Seneca discussed the noise of his society, he noted that there is no real peace in stillness, for it is in the quite times that anxieties are able to bubble to the surface. While noise might have served as a distraction in his time, however, in today's world noise is seen as an opportunity for voicing anxieties and concerns, and for purposely bringing them to the service. The noise of the modern world is only a problem to those unwilling to have a hand in making it.
