[deleted]
The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
241–250 of 332 posts
Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
#242One 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…
> 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's even sadder when one realizes the world was always that way. The author more-or-less says as much, though they seem to suggest it is amplified. I'm not entirely sure the part about it being more amplified today true. Most of the ills mentioned existed when I was a youth, it simply took different forms and (of course) was spread by means other than the Internet. There never was a chance to get ahead because the cards were always stacked against us.
Apologies for the cynicism.
Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
#243One 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…
I'm not sure why we're talking about cynicism all of a sudden. I hope it's not because we're framing this blogger's recognition of existing cynicism, as constituting cynicism in and of itself. Because if so, I would have to disagree, just as I would disagree that talking about racism makes one racist for example.
Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
#244Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe I'm being slow, but I still dont get the difference. Isn't the 2nd the same as the first? Isn't the first a product of generator of cognative dissonance? Doubling down on beliefs that pay rent, even when it doesn't fit?
Yeah tbh my sea lion warning light turned on on the first reply. Right now it is flashing, so I will pull over and call AAA
Too bad, I was genuinely curious about how you viewed cynicism, and thought I was being clear and polite in my questions. Self-deprecating even.
I think your reaction is rather ironic given the context. An example of how people can't even talk to each other anymore.
Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
#245Earlier quoted context omitted.
Internet addiction in the early millennium wasn't so destructive, because so much internet content was somehow related to quality interaction with other people. You could meet cool new people (even occasionally IRL friends) from forums and blogs, and they were a hub for discussion for real-life communities like music-band fandom or travel subcultures. Besides the deleterious nature of engagement-maximizing social med…
> so much internet content was somehow related to quality interaction with other people That still exists. Except now it's not in IRC or BBSes but in Discord "servers" instead.
Discord servers skew towards a very young demographic. One of the striking things about the early-millennium blog scene was how much quality long-form-text interaction it facilitated among relatively older people: the average age around a lot of blogs on topics like the arts or literature was like 40 or 50.
I think for people that age now, the internet is a much lonelier place.
Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
#246Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah tbh my sea lion warning light turned on on the first reply. Right now it is flashing, so I will pull over and call AAA
Too bad, I was genuinely curious about how you viewed cynicism, and thought I was being clear and polite in my questions. Self-deprecating even. I think your reaction is rather ironic given the context. An example of how people can't even talk to each other anymore.
Yes, yes. Truly a shame.
Any other interesting thoughts worth sharing from your side?
Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
#247Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yep... back then, the internet was a way people would discuss and organize their real world interests and activities, like clubs and usergroups would organize their next meeting... and then meet, off the internet. Now, it's all just online drivel that never turns into anything else.
I use the Internet about how I used to 30 years ago. I chat with friends. Sometimes, I make a new friend or lose track of one. On rare occasion we get together to do whatever it is that we have a common interest in. That used to be IRC. I learn new shit by interacting with people I don't know at all. Sometimes, that means hanging out in much more anonymous places (like HN) and sharing ideas. That used to be Usenet. I…
How do you make new IRL friends now in 2026? Where are you hanging out online where there is a culture of people not only revealing their location and age (which platforms and individual internet users have become more guarded about), but even meeting up with other users?
Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
#248Now? I’m sorry but I’m sick to death of all this rose tinted glasses crap about the history of the Internet I got on the Internet in 1993 and it is always been a cesspit of bullshit. You could easily find child pornography online in the 90s and there were all kinds of scams constantly being tried
Both those things are still true today
So it’s the same then like my point is
Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
#249Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think that's why historical education is so important (or just liking history as in my case), looked through the lens of history all of the current shit as bad as it is, is really nothing all that new either, the only constant is change after all. As the aphorism goes: History may not repeat but it sure does rhyme.
You're absolutely correct that history helps you see that none of this is new. However, is it better to be the person who sees the waterfall their boat is inevitably going to go over, or the person completely ignorant of it until it happens?
It's more like, is it better to be the person who:
- sees a waterfall in every river, even when one is not there?
- sees the waterfall, and is resigned about their fate?
- sees the waterfall, then struggles for survival no matter how hopeless the situation seems to be?
- is completely ignorant of the waterfall?
Re: The internet is kind of a predatory cesspit now
#250This is a little premature - I'm about a month away from a really good launch date, but the sentiment here is too good a match to miss... A long time ago, when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, I set up my first webserver. In those halcyon days you had to email CERN to get your website added to the list of websites in the world; a list people downloaded as the sum total of what the web was and where they could visit. Thing…
You call it a "Reddit alternative" but that's not really how the world works. People don't go out looking for Reddit-like sites, stumble across Reddit and sign up. People are just going about their business, find Reddit, and eventually feel pressured to sign up so they can post, comment or vote. The funnel starts with people stumbling across engagement-worthy content on your site, which only exists and is findable if…
Hey, everyone starts somewhere :)
The “prime directive” of the site is “do not track”. Historically that’s been irrelevant to the internet at large, but I think there is a growing feeling of disquiet over just how spied-on, measured, packaged, and sold we all are. If that undercurrent grows, the world might be a different place in a year or two.
Cheers