12 ms·

> iii) The fact that the present is shrill, exhaustively hyped, manipulated and in a sense damaged. Tech is no longer a force for good and we long for the time

> iii) The fact that the present is shrill, exhaustively hyped, manipulated and in a sense damaged. Tech is no longer a force for good and we long for the time when this illusion was available. I agree with this sentiment to some extent. Yet, I am struggling to identify if it's "just me getting old" or if there is more to it.

sundvor 3y ago
Speaking as someone who started working in the mid 90s, we're definitely well past The Internet's "Golden Hour". These days we can see first hand just how much societal degeneracy it has helped facilitate. All the latest Culture Wars, malice, scams, cancellations, filter bubbles, misinformation madness etc would not be possible without the Internet. This easily helps explain the point of looking backwards to when the tech was just just that, tech.
- TheSpiceIsLife 3y ago
  > All the latest Culture Wars, malice, scams, cancellations, filter bubbles, misinformation madness etc would not be possible without the Internet. The latest, sure, by definition. But nah, people were plenty good at getting worked up much earlier than the internet.
  - api 3y ago
    Search for “satanic panic” for a TV era example.
    - AnimalMuppet 3y ago
      Go back. Search for "yellow journalism".
      - JohnFen 3y ago
        "Remember the Maine!"
    - rchaud 3y ago
      Satanic panic happened in the US, UK and that's it. The ills of the modern internet are globally distributed.
  - cassianoleal 3y ago
    Yes but not at this speed and scale.
    - sundvor 3y ago
      Yep, didn't spell that out - but indeed, this.
    - chrisco255 3y ago
      Counter point to this, is that centralized mass media enabled early 20th century fascism and communism to thrive. Hitler's head of propaganda, Goebbels, supplied subsidized radios to the Germans and used it to funnel propaganda into German households at the speed of light. Goebbels had this to say about it: "It would not have been possible for us to take power or to use it in the ways we have without the radio....It is no exaggeration to say that the German revolution, at least in the form it took, would have been impossible without the airplane and the radio. ...[Radio] reached the entire nation, regardless of class, standing, or religion. That was primarily the result of the tight centralization, the strong reporting, and the up-to-date nature of the German radio....Above all it is necessary to clearly centralize all radio activities, to place spiritual tasks ahead of technical ones,...to provide a clear worldview" While a decentralized internet may host extreme views in certain pockets, it also enables a diversity of viewpoints to be expressed, which more often than not serve to regulate those in power as well as inform those without.
      - JohnFen 3y ago
        I used to think as you on this point, but the past couple of years have filled me with great doubt about how true this actually is.
        chrisco255 3y ago
        About how true what is? What has happened on the internet in the past few years that is comparable to Nazi radio control and propaganda? Maybe the censurious social media apps booting off people with opposing opinions to liberal mainstream in collusion with intelligence agencies actively embedded in their organizations? But that just underscores the dangers of centralization. I suspect, based on your posturing in the reply, however, that you've been convinced that more control is necessary to counter extreme x or y wing viewpoints. If that be the case, then you would find great solace in the writings of Goebbels. I for one hold freedom of speech to be sancrosanct, and being a student of history will never waver from its defense.
- arroz 3y ago
  I agree to an extent, especially about misinformation madness Scams however always existed
  - GoblinSlayer 3y ago
    Misinformation existed long before scams: monkeys lie.
- zabana 3y ago
  [flagged]
scrollaway 3y ago
I think it’s both, but ageing plays a significant role. As I have grown older, I am able to both notice and ignore more things. Knowing more about the state of the world means you just hear more, from less. An article that required 10min read and 3 min looking up definitions now requires 3min skim and I can move on to another one. This makes the present “more shrill”. Being able to more quickly identify content of value (or lack thereof) means you trawl more easily through large amounts. Of course, it’s important to remember that we are not infallible and trusting yourself too much with these techniques is an easy way to become disconnected from the real world. Being younger means more easily being able to narrow your focus, and less easily feel like the world is too loud.

sundvor 3y ago

Speaking as someone who started working in the mid 90s, we're definitely well past The Internet's "Golden Hour". These days we can see first hand just how much societal degeneracy it has helped facilitate. All the latest Culture Wars, malice, scams, cancellations, filter bubbles, misinformation madness etc would not be possible without the Internet. This easily helps explain the point of looking backwards to when the tech was just just that, tech.

TheSpiceIsLife 3y ago
> All the latest Culture Wars, malice, scams, cancellations, filter bubbles, misinformation madness etc would not be possible without the Internet. The latest, sure, by definition. But nah, people were plenty good at getting worked up much earlier than the internet.
- api 3y ago
  Search for “satanic panic” for a TV era example.
  - AnimalMuppet 3y ago
    Go back. Search for "yellow journalism".
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      "Remember the Maine!"
  - rchaud 3y ago
    Satanic panic happened in the US, UK and that's it. The ills of the modern internet are globally distributed.
- cassianoleal 3y ago
  Yes but not at this speed and scale.
  - sundvor 3y ago
    Yep, didn't spell that out - but indeed, this.
  - chrisco255 3y ago
    Counter point to this, is that centralized mass media enabled early 20th century fascism and communism to thrive. Hitler's head of propaganda, Goebbels, supplied subsidized radios to the Germans and used it to funnel propaganda into German households at the speed of light. Goebbels had this to say about it: "It would not have been possible for us to take power or to use it in the ways we have without the radio....It is no exaggeration to say that the German revolution, at least in the form it took, would have been impossible without the airplane and the radio. ...[Radio] reached the entire nation, regardless of class, standing, or religion. That was primarily the result of the tight centralization, the strong reporting, and the up-to-date nature of the German radio....Above all it is necessary to clearly centralize all radio activities, to place spiritual tasks ahead of technical ones,...to provide a clear worldview" While a decentralized internet may host extreme views in certain pockets, it also enables a diversity of viewpoints to be expressed, which more often than not serve to regulate those in power as well as inform those without.
    - JohnFen 3y ago
      I used to think as you on this point, but the past couple of years have filled me with great doubt about how true this actually is.
      - chrisco255 3y ago
        About how true what is? What has happened on the internet in the past few years that is comparable to Nazi radio control and propaganda? Maybe the censurious social media apps booting off people with opposing opinions to liberal mainstream in collusion with intelligence agencies actively embedded in their organizations? But that just underscores the dangers of centralization. I suspect, based on your posturing in the reply, however, that you've been convinced that more control is necessary to counter extreme x or y wing viewpoints. If that be the case, then you would find great solace in the writings of Goebbels. I for one hold freedom of speech to be sancrosanct, and being a student of history will never waver from its defense.
arroz 3y ago
I agree to an extent, especially about misinformation madness Scams however always existed
- GoblinSlayer 3y ago
  Misinformation existed long before scams: monkeys lie.
zabana 3y ago
[flagged]

scrollaway 3y ago

I think it’s both, but ageing plays a significant role. As I have grown older, I am able to both notice and ignore more things. Knowing more about the state of the world means you just hear more, from less. An article that required 10min read and 3 min looking up definitions now requires 3min skim and I can move on to another one. This makes the present “more shrill”. Being able to more quickly identify content of value (or lack thereof) means you trawl more easily through large amounts. Of course, it’s important to remember that we are not infallible and trusting yourself too much with these techniques is an easy way to become disconnected from the real world. Being younger means more easily being able to narrow your focus, and less easily feel like the world is too loud.