I do often like to think the world would be on a better trajectory if we did the internet and social media differently to jow and actually have done it. Tech is so dystopian nowadays. (And hey, I suppose that’s why we’re all here)
There are other bad things that happened independently of the internet - certain wars and crises - but how people respond to these things and how they treat & see one another would be fundamentally different. It’s hard not to look back at the 90s and pre-2010 as utopian. (Maybe that’s just a zoomer thing.)
As a slightly tired example: I
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don’t think Donald Trump would’ve won his 2016 election if the state of internet and social media had remained frozen in a 90s or 2005 status. It was the braying of voices online that “managed” that crisis away for him. And, compared against the way many people talk to one another online, things like “grab her by the pussy” didn’t shock people that much. In a world where you find out about that moment from cable news it has a lot more weight I think. For all people.
I do often like to think the world would be on a better trajectory if we did the internet and social media differently to jow and actually have done it. Tech is so dystopian nowadays. (And hey, I suppose that’s why we’re all here)
There are other bad things that happened independently of the internet - certain wars and crises - but how people respond to these things and how they treat & see one another would be fundamentally different. It’s hard not to look back at the 90s and pre-2010 as utopian. (Maybe that’s just a zoomer thing.)
As a slightly tired example: I
spoiler
don’t think Donald Trump would’ve won his 2016 election if the state of internet and social media had remained frozen in a 90s or 2005 status. It was the braying of voices online that “managed” that crisis away for him. And, compared against the way many people talk to one another online, things like “grab her by the pussy” didn’t shock people that much. In a world where you find out about that moment from cable news it has a lot more weight I think. For all people.