4 ms·

For most people, Snapchat, Tiktok, Discord, WhatsApp and other toxic environments is the de facto internet because it makes up 99% of their usage time. It gets

For most people, Snapchat, Tiktok, Discord, WhatsApp and other toxic environments is the de facto internet because it makes up 99% of their usage time. It gets worse in poorer countries, where ISPs made deals with Facebook (ever wondered why some Indians are not able to google? Because google costs money, facebook groups doesn't). Additionally, whole infrastructures run on WhatsApp. In those regions you'll see WhatsApp numbers on container ships, trains, harbor buildings, factories etc because it's easier than maintaining a website for that. (Edit: see my comment about internet.org) The younger generation only uses smartphones because parents cannot afford to pay for both a laptop and a smartphone. Ask any teacher about that, they'll easily confirm this. The problem we're facing is the overproprietarization of the internet. What we see as an internet where we can find information and learn about things, they see misinformation, propaganda, toxic shitstorms, and distraction. Even youtube has gone to shit, what started out as a new way to access knowledge in an entertaining way its early days. And it's not only that, you can't even point kids to a safe website that will give them only links to learn/study about topics they're interested in, because google meanwhile has fully embraced its evil side of corporate greed that even the founders knew about was morally a conflict of interest in the beginning. A lot of countries are thinking about banning smartphones from schools for this very reason. We (as a society) built apps so morally and uncontrollably bad that we created a whole generation of kids with self-induced ADHD, and now we're wondering why we have an education and therapy crisis. Duh.

tecoholic 1y ago
> ever wondered why Indians are not able to google? Because google costs money, facebook groups doesn't This is absolutely wrong. FB did that in SE Asia. But in India, this led to the creation of IIRC Internet Freedom Foundation which fights for Internet freedom to this day and established a strong foundation for net neutrality . FB tried to destroy net neutrality in India and failed. But the broader point stands. Whatsapp, Youtube, Sharechat …etc., is internet for a huge percentage of the population.
- aitchnyu 1y ago
  GP must be surrounded by Iphone users too. Most smartphones in India are Android and they all have Gmail and use other Google apps.
- cookiengineer 1y ago
  > FB tried to destroy net neutrality in India and failed. FB to this date still owns the internet.org domain, which was literally their marketing at the time. Free plans from mobile carriers had/have access to a few selected websites and not the rest of the real internet. While I agree that the courts decided against this at some point, it was around 13+ years too late, because a generation of mobile users got hooked already. Meta even went as far as deleting their internet.org website from the web archive, all years result in a 404 now. Interesting.
  - crvdgc 1y ago
    > Free plans from mobile carriers had/have access to a few selected websites and not the rest of the real internet. Interesting to learn. In China, mobile carriers also have similar deals with huge content providers. You can buy data plans with a discounted rate specifically for several YouTube, Netflix, and TikTok like apps.
  - dartharva 1y ago
    That internet.org "generation of mobile users" was before smartphones became ubiquitous and Jio (cheap connectivity) came into picture, and so is negligible. It wasn't even successful in its own time - the ISPs that partnered with FB for internet.org at that time got submerged soon after. Absolutely nothing of that legacy remains. You will find it difficult to catch netizens in India who even remember FB's Free Basics.
Llamamoe 1y ago
> that we created a whole generation of kids with self-induced ADHD There is no evidence that social media/internet/whatever use causes ADHD, it's a neurological disorder, not a psychological one. The modern internet is harmful for the attention span and mental health, but that's not the same as ADHD.
- deleted 1y ago
  [deleted]

tecoholic 1y ago

> ever wondered why Indians are not able to google? Because google costs money, facebook groups doesn't This is absolutely wrong. FB did that in SE Asia. But in India, this led to the creation of IIRC Internet Freedom Foundation which fights for Internet freedom to this day and established a strong foundation for net neutrality . FB tried to destroy net neutrality in India and failed. But the broader point stands. Whatsapp, Youtube, Sharechat …etc., is internet for a huge percentage of the population.

aitchnyu 1y ago
GP must be surrounded by Iphone users too. Most smartphones in India are Android and they all have Gmail and use other Google apps.
cookiengineer 1y ago
> FB tried to destroy net neutrality in India and failed. FB to this date still owns the internet.org domain, which was literally their marketing at the time. Free plans from mobile carriers had/have access to a few selected websites and not the rest of the real internet. While I agree that the courts decided against this at some point, it was around 13+ years too late, because a generation of mobile users got hooked already. Meta even went as far as deleting their internet.org website from the web archive, all years result in a 404 now. Interesting.
- crvdgc 1y ago
  > Free plans from mobile carriers had/have access to a few selected websites and not the rest of the real internet. Interesting to learn. In China, mobile carriers also have similar deals with huge content providers. You can buy data plans with a discounted rate specifically for several YouTube, Netflix, and TikTok like apps.
- dartharva 1y ago
  That internet.org "generation of mobile users" was before smartphones became ubiquitous and Jio (cheap connectivity) came into picture, and so is negligible. It wasn't even successful in its own time - the ISPs that partnered with FB for internet.org at that time got submerged soon after. Absolutely nothing of that legacy remains. You will find it difficult to catch netizens in India who even remember FB's Free Basics.

Llamamoe 1y ago

> that we created a whole generation of kids with self-induced ADHD There is no evidence that social media/internet/whatever use causes ADHD, it's a neurological disorder, not a psychological one. The modern internet is harmful for the attention span and mental health, but that's not the same as ADHD.

deleted 1y ago
[deleted]