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The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now

stephendiehl.com

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Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now

#31

Post by stillpointlab »

One thing people go through as they age is an elevation of cynicism and general misanthropy. After decades of being disappointed when naive idealism and speculative optimism fail, one can just get down on it all.

It is really hard not to succumb to this. It requires active effort and sometimes even a willful ignorance. "turn a blind eye" is the idiom here. Monty Python's "Always look on the bright side of life" kind of thing.

Mr Rogers said it: look for the helpers. They may be few, but they are there. Find them and focus on them.

Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now

#32

Post by nswizzle31 »

operatingthetan wrote: post #9

My feeling is that the current state of the internet is just exposing how humans behave normally, the guardrails have just fallen away. Everyone is immune to shame, the threat of consequences etc. You see this in real life on the streets too.

I came to comment the exact opposite. People are good, caring, kind, helpful, thoughtful, funny, interesting. It’s visible every day in real life beyond the streets… in both small and big interactions.

When you choose to see beyond the surface, it becomes clear this is the cause of a system. A system that is nearly impossible to escape, and which will last for the rest of our lives. But still a system, and not the people participating.

Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now

#34

Post by lifeisstillgood »

teekert wrote: post #29
operatingthetan wrote: post #9

My feeling is that the current state of the internet is just exposing how humans behave normally, the guardrails have just fallen away. Everyone is immune to shame, the threat of consequences etc. You see this in real life on the streets too.

I think the opposite. The vast majority of kind and gently people are suddenly observing a small but ultra loud obnoxious minority take the stage and burn resources like nothing else to get maximum attention. Attention wins and you don’t get it by being gentle, balanced, kind and most importantly, don’t care about maximum attention.

Thank you

Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now

#35

Post by bombela »

speedgoose wrote: post #4
carabiner wrote: post #2

Everything on the Internet is designed to enrage or sexually arouse you as quickly as possible, including this article.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random you may get lucky.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint%27s_triad

I have no words.

Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now

#36

Post by Razengan »

haunter wrote: post #33
carabiner wrote: post #2

Everything on the Internet is designed to enrage or sexually arouse you as quickly as possible, including this article.

You can have both very quickly at the same time if you start playing League of Legends

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP-KvpO804M

Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now

#38

Post by operatingthetan »

teekert wrote: post #29
operatingthetan wrote: post #9

My feeling is that the current state of the internet is just exposing how humans behave normally, the guardrails have just fallen away. Everyone is immune to shame, the threat of consequences etc. You see this in real life on the streets too.

I think the opposite. The vast majority of kind and gently people are suddenly observing a small but ultra loud obnoxious minority take the stage and burn resources like nothing else to get maximum attention. Attention wins and you don’t get it by being gentle, balanced, kind and most importantly, don’t care about maximum attention.

I hope you are right

Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now

#39

Post by analog8374 »

maybe the physical world is the moderator of the dream world (internet). In the absence of the physical world the dream world runs rampant.

with no empirical reference, truth becomes a matter of popularity or the loudest argument.

with no space, everybody lives next door to a thousand assholes.

Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now

#40

Post by abixb »

teekert wrote: post #29
operatingthetan wrote: post #9

My feeling is that the current state of the internet is just exposing how humans behave normally, the guardrails have just fallen away. Everyone is immune to shame, the threat of consequences etc. You see this in real life on the streets too.

I think the opposite. The vast majority of kind and gently people are suddenly observing a small but ultra loud obnoxious minority take the stage and burn resources like nothing else to get maximum attention. Attention wins and you don’t get it by being gentle, balanced, kind and most importantly, don’t care about maximum attention.

Yes. I remember reading a piece on /r/SlateStarCodex subreddit many years that said something like, "Most of what you read on the internet is written by insane people," and that had an impact on me. In fact, many articles by Scott Alexander had an impact on me, though I don't know what he's up to these days.

Okay, found it -- https://www.reddit.com/r/slatestarcodex/comments/9rvroo/most...

Edit: It was written in October 2018 -- 8 years ago. Feels centuries ago, to be frank. We're moving at absolute breakneck speed in tech.

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