Life Before the Internet

Do you remember life before the internet?

I do remember life before the internet. I spent many happy years there. And while I don’t think we should go back, there are some developments I do wish had never happened.

When I first heard about it, the internet seemed to be full of promise. I thought, well, all this interconnectivity among people will naturally lead to our next stage of evolution! We’ll become like the humans in Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End who finally transcend physical form and leave the Earth as a unified god-like being of energy.

As it turned out, I underestimated the baser instincts of humans who often strive (as Goethe put it) to become “more bestial than any beast.” Pornography, as always, led the way, followed by the easy dissemination of misinformation, disinformation, and conspiracy theories. Social media, which began as an equalizer for media access, is now being viewed as harmful by the Surgeon General. And AI, a most promising technology, can easily be perverted to sway those who can’t or who refuse to think critically about their media intake.

I wouldn’t want to go back, though I find it interesting that so many who pervert the internet to spread their lies and cultural attacks use it as the main tool to attempt to return to an earlier time that had less equality and acceptance of marginalized people. They want to put the genie back in the closet—but I hope we can find a way to keep that door open and the light on, and prevent us from devolving into the Gilead of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.

Thoughts and reactions? Please like and follow if so inclined.