Who should really be apologizing for the societal damage caused by the internet? The designers who took advantage of online freedom or the consumers who submitted themselves to internet enslavement? It's just another game of Us versus Them.
In the article "The Internet Apologizes" by New York Magazine's Noah Kulwin, the pioneers of the digital world express their remorse over the abandonment of their responsibilities as the sculptors of today's modern minds. As the creators acknowledge the flaws of their original business model, they bring attention to the immense profit that results from the exploitation of consumer outrage.
Resentful social media users are found at every corner of the internet, whether it is through crass 140-character tweets or mindless trolling on Facebook feeds. The internet is constantly berated as a tool overrun by the thoughtless, and yet people continue to log in every day without fail. Do we have a case of addiction in our hands? Is it possible to stop it or have we become incapable of utilizing self-control?
Good intentions executed with bad approaches will end with negative outcomes. Former Reddit CEO Ellen Pao supports the statement by establishing that the earliest goal of the internet was to encourage the sharing of information with fellow like-minded people through the guaranteed exercise of free speech. What could go wrong with promoting global human connections? With the assistance of attention merchants, apparently everything could go wrong!
Advertising is a disease and we do not have the cure. The increasing pressure of capitalism led to the commonly-shared belief that growth must be pursued no matter the costs. User integrity and engagement authenticity is thrown out the window to make room for rising revenue in an effort to compete with internet development.
While the average American spends 24 hours online each week, it is not uncommon for people to be found on their screens for a much longer time period. Who are we to refuse the temptations of the internet when new software is always being deliberately designed to cause addiction? Blink once and suddenly you find yourself trapped in social obligations strengthened by irresistible incentives at the expense of a few dollars. It wouldn't hurt that badly to skip a cup of coffee in exchange for a few more Candy Crush lives right?
Manipulation cannot succeed without the existence of ignorance and the people who understand this best now stand dumbstruck as they finally realize the dangerous environment that their online creations had fostered. What was once a shelter for knowledge-seekers has now grown into a wasteland of toxic behavior.
Those who are blind to our destruction are unable to do anything, yet those who see the chaos and stand idly by are choosing to do nothing. If awareness is not spread among the populations and immediate actions are not taken to save ourselves then we, as a society, willingly walk hand-in-hand past the point of no return.
After too many years of passivity, the architects of the internet have apologized, and they have held themselves accountable for the downward spiral of our people's social well-being. Now it is our turn. However, are we too late?
- Laika Alefante
After reading your blog, I agree with all the points you have made. Moreover, I do see myself within the examples in your post, such as sacrificing tasks that I need to complete for extra time on my electronic device. Personally, though I do see that there could be change to reverse the damage we have made from our devices and the web, I personally do not care enough to do anything about it. I know of the negative effects it can cause, but in my case, I believe that the positives of our devices and media greatly outweigh the cons, especially to the point where I don’t necessarily do anything to prevent the hazards, such as internet addiction or corruption within the media. Although I am fully aware of the outcomes, I still don’t do anything about it, and I know for a fact that I am not the only one who feels this way.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I do believe that we are already passed the point of no return; our society has become (and has been for a while now) dependent on our electronic devices not only for entertainment but for all of our daily tasks. It is impossible to live without our phones or laptops as it is incorporated into every aspect of life. For instance, schools are incorporating these new items into their curriculum, such as administering homework online or providing the usage of Chromebooks by the students. This makes the use of technology and the internet essential to our lives.
As for the people who caused this negative turn, it is neither us nor the creators. Rather, both sides had equally contributed to the damage. Though the digital world would not have been started without its creators, we are the ones who contributed to keeping it alive, causing the industry to grow. Without us, the creators would not damage anyone; however, we were the ones who chose to use the internet to the extent of internet addiction. Therefore, the responsibility lies in both sides, not just one.
It's not too late to try and apologize for our own actions. Yes, the creators of the Internet aided in the destruction as they were the ones that installed such annoying concepts of the Internet (such as cookies, advertisements, infinite scrolling) that is now frequently embedded into the common websites; however, we were the ones that led to our dwindled social well-beings. It's been at least 27 years with Internet availability, so it's not too late to apologize as well.
ReplyDeleteIt's our problem if we skip on buying foods just to purchase in-app goodies. It's our problem if we have trouble paying rent just to pay for Spotify Premium or Netflix. It is our decision to ignore our basic needs just for mobile gifts and free streaming, meaning we continuously feed into the capitalistic virtual world. And this decision has led to corruption and loss within this cyberspace in the span of 27 years. We're at the height of an imperfect, distressing era with the norm of all American children expecting to have any Internet connection and a functional computer at home to do homework.
The first step in improving this era is accepting the errors we've done to the Internet as it's become more capitalistic with ads all over websites, advertisements fighting to gain viewers' attention for an increase in sales, more Internet cookies that's letting companies know which ads to splatter on the websites you visit. Apologizing will catch unaware folks offguard, and we need a good majority of the people to know that the Internet creators are not the ones to blame.
Both the designers of this destructive invention as well as its users are who to blame for the downfall of the Internet. While pioneers of the digital world had no intention of the Internet's manipulation on its users, establishments of pop-up ads and the rise of cyber-bullying prove that no one is improving the Internet to become a more acceptable platform, not a dangerous one. However, the consumers' being manipulated by the Internet is almost inevitable. While we do not intend to create a dangerous community on the Internet, we can’t control ourselves when it comes to the addiction of social media apps or the Internet in general. Overall, I truly believe that both sides (inventors and users of the Internet) play a major role in the damage of its use.
ReplyDeleteThe first sentence of your second-to-last paragraph created this feeling of being hit in the face with reality. It can be applied in our views of global problems. We see on the news about financial crisis, governmental corruption, and racial problems yet we do nothing about. Perhaps we do tweet "#blacklivesmatter" or "F***Trump" but what does that do? Absolutely nothing. Society has gotten used to just letting someone else find a way to solve the problems. We have come to just watch on the sidelines, letting what is happening to continue without interference.
ReplyDeleteIs this a habit of spending too much time watching television that all we do now is observe and not action? We don't stand up for anyone nor ourselves. This includes with the article "Apologizes for the internet- From the People that created it" that the users aren't the one noticing or complaining about problems that involved with the internet. The creators are the ones admitting, and informing us about issues with technology we didn't know or care enough to notice. With our digital screens, we are happy,satisfied, and we forget about everything else going on. Ignoring the issues about sex trafficking, racial prejudice, crimes, additions, and animal abuse/endangerment. Our choice to ignore all the ugly and negativity in our world to be in our safe bubble .
I think you make a good point if we can turn back after what we have done. With how society is now today we cant be expected to just turn our lives around. Are lives are so greatly impacted by technology that without it we would be lost. It is very hard to see a future without the presence of technology.
ReplyDeleteEverybody fights for a change but how could we do that.It would be extremely difficult in order to so. In are lives we always try to make things easier. It would be unforeseeable for us to expect us to make our lives harder just to eradicate the internet.