There are threads you see in the sentiments of early internet pioneers, etc. these days. I remember reading some recent stuff by Jaron Lanier and then this article on The New York Times Magazine and there is a realization from those who were most excited about the prospects of the Internet that it has somehow become something else and it is bad. However, I’d like to think that we can grow past this, as many visionaries have expressed as well.
So sure, we can look at it fatalistically and from the micro/personal level and see ourselves and our addictions to the problematic sides of modern internet, but we can also look macro and see ways out that don’t just rely on going off the grid completely.
One thing, I started doing the RSS thing hard again. It still works, I can enjoy what I like, and I can silence Facebook and Twitter. That is a step.
I think we will see strategies moving forward. We have been collectively duped, sure. But there is something redeemable. We can’t throw all books and printing presses on the fire because it has been used to print propaganda, but we can learn, think critically, and adapt.
I think the early “cyberpunks” of the late 80s through the 90s had a kid in a candy store optimism of the whole thing, belying the presence of the dark warnings in the literature which they took their name from. We are now living in a cyberpunk dystopia. We can weather this and carve out or own paths.
Just my thoughts, and perhaps my optimism, but worth a try.
