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Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

theatlantic.com

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Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#161

Post by mbb70 »

pavon wrote: post #124

Recently I was thinking about how I am completely out of touch with the culture of younger generations, and was about to laugh it off cause that's how it is with every generation, but then I realized that I don't even know how I would know. In the past if you wanted to know what kids were listening to, you change the radio station to that new loud one you normally skip, or watch that new TV show that people are going…

The extreme personalization of the internet/modern life can lead to a feeling of isolation.

I recently was on a plane with broken inflight entertainment, so all you could watch was a single movie in lock step with everyone else. When the movie ended, there was a weird sense of camaraderie; "we are all stuck in this tube and we all just sat through that mediocre movie".

Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#162

Post by kelipso »

pavon wrote: post #124

Recently I was thinking about how I am completely out of touch with the culture of younger generations, and was about to laugh it off cause that's how it is with every generation, but then I realized that I don't even know how I would know. In the past if you wanted to know what kids were listening to, you change the radio station to that new loud one you normally skip, or watch that new TV show that people are going…

Feels like a move in the right direction. For a long while now, subcultures a have been getting publicized and subsequently commercialized so quickly that the subcultures die before they mature. Maybe something interesting will come out of this, who knows.

Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#163

Post by autoexec »

The article says we probably haven't heard of the most popular show on netflix (and I hadn't), but it's important to note that they're defining "popularity" as the show most often viewed, and not by how much people enjoyed the content.

Reviews for the show (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Night_Agent) suggest that it's mediocre and forgettable. You've very likely heard of, and watched, the most popular shows on netflix when defined as the shows most people consider to be the best on the platform.

As long as I'm able to find out about the good shows on netflix, it really doesn't matter to me if some random netflix original disappointed more people within a specific time span.

Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#164

Post by 3abiton »

im_down_w_otp wrote: post #146

For the last ~7 years or so for me, the Internet has been specialty, curated online communities like Hacker News, Pinkbike, 68kMLA, /r/DestinyTheGame, and AudioScienceReview. It’s been absolutely great. It’s the real intersection of my real life & interests with a broader group of people than my local environment would otherwise enable. I don’t participate in much social media. Facebook’s entire purpose to me is clas…

But I feel that's the central argument of the article. There is no dominent culture or obvious trends, only groups and groups of intersections of interests.

Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#165

Post by jvm »

pavon wrote: post #124

Recently I was thinking about how I am completely out of touch with the culture of younger generations, and was about to laugh it off cause that's how it is with every generation, but then I realized that I don't even know how I would know. In the past if you wanted to know what kids were listening to, you change the radio station to that new loud one you normally skip, or watch that new TV show that people are going…

Welcome to the atomized mode! https://meaningness.com/atomized-mode

Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#166

Post by Loughla »

kelipso wrote: post #162
pavon wrote: post #124

Recently I was thinking about how I am completely out of touch with the culture of younger generations, and was about to laugh it off cause that's how it is with every generation, but then I realized that I don't even know how I would know. In the past if you wanted to know what kids were listening to, you change the radio station to that new loud one you normally skip, or watch that new TV show that people are going…

Feels like a move in the right direction. For a long while now, subcultures a have been getting publicized and subsequently commercialized so quickly that the subcultures die before they mature. Maybe something interesting will come out of this, who knows.

Even faster monetization. Hyper-commercialization at a level never experienced.

Subcultures created first and foremost for likes and shares to sell clothes and feed the algorithm.

That's what will come out of this, in my opinion.

Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#167

Post by rumblerock »

im_down_w_otp wrote: post #146

For the last ~7 years or so for me, the Internet has been specialty, curated online communities like Hacker News, Pinkbike, 68kMLA, /r/DestinyTheGame, and AudioScienceReview. It’s been absolutely great. It’s the real intersection of my real life & interests with a broader group of people than my local environment would otherwise enable. I don’t participate in much social media. Facebook’s entire purpose to me is clas…

I made a similar change just this year. Dialed back my Reddit usage to a few select subs, quit Instagram, tuned my YouTube recommendations to focus more on my hobbies, and get my news / commentary from NYT + podcasts.

I'm not missing out on anything by being out of the loop on the outrage of the day or meme of the week. I still kill time online but it's less mindless and aligns more with my interests.

Looking back, the mind shift was gradual but quite profound. It feels like I've reclaimed control over what I deem important, and my opinions actually feel like my own rather than being swayed by algorithmic feeds and comments.

The more time I spend detached from the internet hive mind, the more it looks like a zeitgeist of compounded absurdity.

Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#168

Post by chiefalchemist »

mbb70 wrote: post #161
pavon wrote: post #124

Recently I was thinking about how I am completely out of touch with the culture of younger generations, and was about to laugh it off cause that's how it is with every generation, but then I realized that I don't even know how I would know. In the past if you wanted to know what kids were listening to, you change the radio station to that new loud one you normally skip, or watch that new TV show that people are going…

The extreme personalization of the internet/modern life can lead to a feeling of isolation. I recently was on a plane with broken inflight entertainment, so all you could watch was a single movie in lock step with everyone else. When the movie ended, there was a weird sense of camaraderie; "we are all stuck in this tube and we all just sat through that mediocre movie".

I'm not sure the official name for that is but I call it the "shared experience." Obviously something that pulls us together, but recently with less and less of it we're becoming islands in a sea of nothingness.

Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#169

Post by civilized »

dogcomplex wrote: post #111
terminous wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> that a social media site can have such enormous influence on one's perception of "reality" is staggering and it should die and die quickly. You say this as if humanity has not been fighting over the long-distance communication of information for literally the entire history of human civilization since the invention of language. Even before written language, storytellers decided what oral traditions they would or wo…

Yep and the solution then is the same as it is now - democratizing the means of production and communication, insulating it from the influences of capital and profit. Socialism is the boring age-old answer to every one of these.

What are the successes of this age-old solution?

Re: Nobody knows what's happening online anymore

#170

Post by svachalek »

jkubicek wrote: post #148
listenallyall wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How is throttling the New York Times on X anti-free speech? NYT is its own media platform, among the most powerful in the world, why should it expect a separate outlet to promote it? Further, as a powerful media outlet, the Times itself "throttles" all kinds of voices and opinions with which its editorial board and majority of its employees and readers don't agree.

Twitter can ban and throttle whoever it wants, they own the platform. What's __silly__ about the NYTimes being throttled on Twitter is how Musk champions his platform as a bastion of "free speech", while silencing those he disagrees with (NYTimes) or can't be bothered to defend (enemies of authoritarian governments). What __concerning__ is how many people claim to believe that Musk is actually a free-speech champion.…

Most people define "free" speech as speech they agree with. Simple as that.
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