These articles always sound just like the intelligentsia’s attitudes about TV in the fifties.
Fairly early on in the internet age, and cumulatively thereafter, I have adopted several practices that serve reasonably well:
Use Firefox with all do not track options, and Duck Duck Go
NEVER sign up for Facebook or, if you have, leave it asap.
Avoid Google/Microsoft/and any other mega-purveyor of access to the internet
Avoid Amazon to the max extent possible. It can be done, if you commit to it.
1
Now that I’m Hunkering Down, I’m even more thankful for Facebook. Just because some people don’t know how or have never tried to use it productively doesn't mean others can’t bend it to their collective wills.
I deplore its influence on elections and all that other bad stuff but cherish the various communities I’m in touch with. I’ve got it set up to never see ads and have always followed other rules to keep it from connecting the dots in my online and financial life. My profile, based only on what I post and not on what I’ve told FB about me, is probably being sold all over the place but I’m not seeing much evidence of targeted marketing.
"Opting out" isn't that hard. I've never thought Facebook was a good idea, never used it, never, ever. Same with Instagram and the rest of it. Twitter, too, which seems inane in the extreme, especially when it gets angry. (I read Twitter stuff only when it's reprinted in the media.) What Mark Z. offers people is fake connection, not real connection. Try opting out, logging off, whatever you want to call it. Reclaim your life. You'll feel better in the morning.
I always thought the term "User" was condescending at best.
2
Back in 1997, I happened to discover that a local radio station, which played great music (and, sadly, no longer exists), had a message board associated with it. Because most of the discussions were about music (many of the radio station DJs participated), I happily jumped in. It tuned out that a number of the regulars got together for parties, picnics and concerts. Because I liked the way they came across in their writing, and we all had a passion for music in common, I met them in person and was welcomed into the group.
After three years, a new woman showed up on the board. I immediately fell in love with her writing and then, when I finally met her in person at a picnic about four months later, I was smitten and we ended up being together for a couple years.
Unfortunately, the radio station axed the message board a few years later and, while many of us migrated to another message board, it was never the same and most of the people ended up moving to Facebook (which I have refused to sign up for.) But I’ve remained friends with one guy because we have very similar tastes in music and both play guitar.
So I had a great internet experience meeting real people with that board but it was one of those moment-in time things that, for me, will never happen again.
8
@Jim
Same for me. I used to frequent, of all things, a political blog. Learned a lot, met a lot of good friends. It's turned into a weird pay-to-play, lurker's paradise. I haven't visited in years, haven't logged in in nearly a decade.
Does it strike anyone else as ironic to see so many people bemoaning technology while consuming and contributing through it?
6
@mkrugman
No.
I bemoan polluted air while breathing and driving in it.
I think that's the point. That we have to participate, but we need to act as one to protect and police, without killing something. Like CAFE standards.
But I'm sure that was very clever and deep.
1
There are those who move through life, using tools available to assist, rejecting sources that expose, and never seem to be the worse for it.
Then, there are those with, apparently, little self control who find it necessary to -- "Unfriend the Internet." And write tomes upon tomes advising others to do the same.
I built my first website in the later part of the 90s. AOL had an archaic process that let you upload through their "grabber" items that would create pages. Then Adobe bought a web building program and developed tools that allowed people to create great sites with very productive results. I built sites that were online versions of catalogs for factories I represented that cared not to create their own. A service for those who used it.
I visited twitter once. A software owner posted an update and the link was on their twitter post. Last time I have visited and have never set foot in facebook or any other "social" site. Don't need it. Never have.
The internet is not evil. It is not intrusive. "Facebook is an ant farm of humanity.” seems to be a plea for help by someone with very little self control, very easily led by others.
If you can't stay away from what you don't like, then just turn it off. Called will power.
4
As a technology professional since the early 80s, I've used online tools since the introduction of the internet so many years ago, now. There are clearly problems created by the monetization of the web and the use of data to identify "opportunity." But many of the distressing aspects of such platforms as social media are sadly the result of dysfunctional human behavior, and i'm not talking about the developers here. As a collaborative learning environment even Facebook can have real value for individuals and special interest groups. But people who feel no compunction about lying or stealing to achieve their goals then use social media to spread their lies to thousands or even millions to mold opinions about other people or ethnic groups, public policy, or serve some sinister political agenda are the real problem. The internet has just provided the means for these dysfunctional individuals to exponentially increase their audience. Ultimately, it is their behavior that needs to be addressed.
1
@mharrsch So basically the simplistic "guns don't kill people, people do" argument.
@Steve, people do kill people. If they don't have access to guns, they use knives. They use their fists and feet. They use blunt objects to bludgeon, and they strangle or otherwise asphyxiate people. Guns are easier and safer for the killer by allowing distance from the victim who might fight back.
The internet is metaphorically a gun that allows people to be arrogant and bullying with little to no possibility of facing physical or legal retribution.
4
"On the other hand, I think the internet is what people are like without filters, without the usual reasons to be polite in public"
I agree. And if the majority are sitting there with their heads buried in their tiny little screens, not communicating, won't that reinforce even more of the unpleasant behavior ?
Besides, can't for the life of me understand why any one would want to watch a movie on a tiny screen...
As for Facebook/Twitter & all the rest - forget it.
1
All 'Users' need to slow things down as they try and arm themselves after their rather casual, reckless, and oft-times poorly thought-through, willy-nilly initial sleigh ride using their e-devices.
All that instrant gratification that comes with a simple tap of a finger can be damning, putting one at risk. Using one's e-devices is a slippery slope, 24/7, and often puts one in situations ranging from initially being simply precarious to downright dangerous.
Slow things down to a manageable speed. Become curious. And start living with eyes in the back of your head watching out for how 'developers' wanting to come at you through the backdoor.
2
Rush Limbaugh summed-up the internet 25-30 years ago when a caller, who had never been online, asked Rush to describe the internet. Rush told him it was like when you sat in a stall on a commode with a sharpie in your hand. You could write anything you wanted and nobody would know who "you" were. He then said, "That is the internet." He was correct!
2
Internet is not a friend. It's a tool. And as any tool it's only useful if used properly.
Remember before the internet? Looking for documentation, courses, or merely help? I admit, I have some nostalgia for the hours spent at the university library, or trying to make sense of some documentation found on an obscure cdrom.
But it's so much simpler today. Free software everywhere. Free documentation, free courses, free library at home, even some antiquated books I never thought even existed, and would never have access to before. A question? Forums, mailing lists, Stack Exchange.
News from abroad? Hundreds of online newspapers.
Students have no idea of the opportunities they have today that didn't exist 20-30 years ago.
Please, the internet is not limited to social networks, hate speech and disinformation.
17
@Jean-Claude Arbaut Actually, I miss the library studies and the study groups where we had to actually put in effort to find data and information. And when we did, we trusted it.
"Or maybe the internet should be more like a library, 'a civic and independent body … guided by principles of justice, rights and human dignity,' where “everyone is welcome … just for being.”
And where the rule of "shhhh!" is imposed when needed, I would add.
But just as librarians are now loath to shush loudmouthed patrons these days for fear of making them feel unwelcome and chasing them away, owners of antisocial media platforms won't impose rules of discourse that are in the best interest of society for fear of losing a buck.
And this for sure is turning out to be our undoing.
5
"Facebook is an ant farm of humanity.”
Perfect.
4
@Alex C Not really... with an Ant Farm, at least you can see the ants. They cannot hide.
2
"She quotes the musician Kyunchi, who compares Myspace to Woodstock." Woodstock was a real event that brought real people together. Myspace was a virtual event that brought people virtually together. The problem inherent with this review is that a ridiculous statement is quoted approvingly.
5
@HKGuy
A metaphor is different from an analogy.
3
Imagine President Trump without Twitter - though his presidency would still be a policy disaster it would have a completely different cultural impact. His behavior on it, which includes veiled and direct threats, so clearly violates Twitter’s user policies that he should be kicked off. I think people should boycott Twitter until they do so.
31
Trump without Twitter, there would be no Presidency for him...so yes, its very easy to imagine. Everyday in fact my thoughts run there...
17
@Andrew I agree.
1
But there are people who care for parks.
3
I don’t need the internet at all.
I’m retired,
I started service recently after six months without.
I was much more productive without.
For myself,the internet is a huge time waster and at my age,time is priceless.
I appreciate this young authors book and agree with her 100%.
Thank you
16
@George I don't use the internet either. I wrote this on a piece of paper.
14
Facebook is not the internet. When one stops using Facebook and similar ad-driven social media, one may discover or rediscover the real useful tools of the internet.
41
@Old Mate >> Das Ru
Google is the single greatest invention of the internet. It allows us to access knowledge.
I don't use Instagram, Facebook or any other social media, so it never bothers me.
1
The Internet is a quagmire: stop the presses! Yes, we need to question and examine all of this, but I have read all of these discussions elsewhere. So many times, so many places. There is nothing mentioned in this review that makes me want to read McNeil’s book. Nothing new.
However, I am impressed by that stunning book jacket design. I’ve been thinking about book cover art lately. With so many people relying on ebooks and audio books these days, rather than purchasing a physical book, what is the role of the book jacket? I miss the days of LP vinyl, when an album cover could be a thing of beauty. I hope that book covers don’t go the same way album covers did.
13
“However, I am impressed by that stunning book jacket design.”
Likewise. I love that cover.
“I miss the days of LP vinyl, when an album cover could be a thing of beauty.”
Same here. One of my favorite covers was Jackson Browne’s “Late For The Sky.” CD covers, although much smaller, were still nice. You don’t get that with digital downloads.
1
Thank you, Ms. McNeil, for writing this book which I shall certainly read.
Yes, here I am commenting online (although at one of the more user-directed platforms, the NYT) while nodding my head at sentences like this one: "Developers build and shape the online experiences that users run around in like rats in a maze." YES!
Social media giants like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more have acted with impunity as we've allowed the "developers" to dictate huge swaths of the lives of "users." The internet has become a social commons - and we all should have a voice in what that commons looks like, through regulation (or, a more apt word, "protections") if necessary.
6
Opting out is part of the solution. But we also need federal legislation to regulate the big offenders. Unlike citizens of many other countries (e.g. in the European Union), our government doesn't protect us from invasion of privacy by credit rating agencies, location data brokers, Google, and other corporate big brothers.
15
Here's the issue for many of us. I'm not a Person-online, Im a person who goes online to do stuff. I have no persona online. There is no Me online. I do not put any part of my life - outside of purchases, reading content and comments here - online. I have never uploaded a selfie, or family, meal or pet photo. I have no online Life. I do not seek to find people, or meet people online. There is nothing compelling me to seek a Life online. My Real Life, behind this screen is my ONLY Life. I do not sit here in this Real Life, and feel that its not as good as an Online Life. When I'm online, I dont feel more of anything that would be seen as "better" then my Real Life. I'm not a Person online, I'm a person who goes online...
23
Nothing wrong with the internet. Been on since the beginning and never had a Facebook, Instagram or Twitter account. Loved the old aol chat rooms of the early '90s. However, my life did go downhill fast with the advent of 'smart' phones. As a divorced person of a certain age it's nearly impossible to connect with human beings anymore. Everyone's head is bent down in fascination with their phones on the train. At the gym, you can't even get to the next piece of equipment because someone is sitting inert, fascinated with their phone. If not looking down, they've got earbud wires hanging from their ears or buds stuck into them. This precludes hellos and smiles, and human connection. I regret not making it my full time job to find a partner after my divorce. I could never have imagined a world like this, so disconnected and narcissistic. The old personal ads were downright charming compared to 'dating apps.' It's not the internet that's the problem. It's handheld devices and the belief that technology makes everything better.
44
“Everyone's head is bent down in fascination with their phones on the train.”
I understand the allure of phones, but I don’t get the obsession with them, like the people you see walking down the street staring at their phone. Really? You can’t tear yourself away from your precious phone for a few minutes while walking?
3
The peace and serenity that fell over my life after throwing away social media is something I wouldn't trade for the world. There was no "giving it up," I trashed it in the same way I throw out molded fruit. Same with 24 hour news channels. Utter garbage.
The internet, and specifically social media, are the new "boob tube." People assume they are smarter because they have access to google's algorithms for information, but at what cost? A 10 second attention span and carpal tunnel syndrome from scrolling.
27
@Kat right to the point!
Thank you
3
Internet control has the same emotional impact as gun control in the US. It ain't gonna happen because too many under- informed, under-educated, and selfish people see the internet as a weapon and as proof of their superiority.
15
Like another comment mentions, I view the internet as a tool. I do not use Facebook, twittime, or any of the other intrusive platforms. For other people I know, the internet is their environment. It swallows them whole.
11
@vcb good for you!
1
I'm relieved that finally many people are questioning the danger of social media and the internet. The whole Cambridge Analytica fiasco was very late to the fair -- some of us who worked in the field attempted to plant red flags a decade earlier.
I still doubt that most folks will act on this tech backlash -- the alleged "freedom" of the internet is too embedded in their sense of identity. And I also wish that the myriad of memoirs that are addressing the issue now weren't so (1) obvious and (2) mediocre when it comes to prose.
Two books by people who really understand the internet from the inside: *i hate the internet* by Jarett Kobek (2016), and *Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley* by Antonio García Martinez (2016). Harsh books for an ugly subject. To understand the swamp that is the internet, one needs to understand Silicon Valley -- investors and programmers. You know, the people who claim to be the smartest guys in the room.
7
One of the most distressing aspects of FB, Twitter, Instagram (etc., etc.) is the inner dialogue participation sets off. I had a job which required Twitter use. After a few months, I felt like an obnoxious PR firm had opened an office in my head.
While experiencing real life, the PR department was asking "Should I post this?" Or speculating how cyber "friends" (and foes) will react. Stupid ambiguous-to-unpleasant exchanges haunt you with what you should have "said" --or refrained from saying.
For me, the experience of inviting such cyber-narration into my mind was a source of cynicism and amorphous depression. Now, if I could just stay off comments sections...
14
@ThatJulieMiller
"a PR firm had opened an office in my head"
Great description!
2
I don't have a Twitter account. I only recently started to toy with Instagram, mostly to get pretty pictures related to a crafting hobby. I also dabble in some hobby-specific forums. I do go onto Facebook pretty regularly, but over time, my Facebook activity has changed. I do less with postings on my own wall or friends walls, and more in specific groups. My book group and hobby group organize through Facebook. I enjoy browsing and letting unneeded items go through a Buy Nothing Group. I find support in a local parents group. Social media is OK in small quantities for specific purposes. Just don't rely on it to be your life. Everything in moderation.
7
Watching my 9th grade students get frantic about who is sending instagram shots of them on a split screen, comparing their faces to animals. Racist, sexist, bullying. All supported by tik-tok, instagram, snapchat, facebook...and any other number of platforms designed to amuse others at someone else's expense. And now, in addition to all the hats teachers wear, we also get to be the cyber-device-police. I cannot tell you how often I have to tell students to put their phones away, how often I have to actually confiscate their phones, how often I have to call home about phones, how often I have to call a dean to take a phone because they are so enthralled by social media. We discuss boundaries, privacy, bullying, responsible use, and kids are amazed. What do you mean, schools will look at my social media?! They are outraged. How can colleges do that? Employers do it too? What?! That's not fair! That's not right! I laugh and tell them, oh, but they all do and you are allowing companies into your lives and are so intertwined with them and they will never let you go and will use your information against you, and they look at me, wide-eyed, unbelieving. Their precious connectivity is already an addiction. They can't spend 6-8 hours away or off their phones. They walk the halls like zombies, staring at their screens and trip or bump into others who do the same. Our current high school and middle school students are guinea pigs. It is Orwellian. It is terrifying.
30
“They walk the halls like zombies, staring at their screens...”
I can understand people staring at their phone while on a bus or train but it drives me crazy when I see people walking and staring at their phone. As you noted, it’s like zombies.
Even worse yet, of course, are those self-absorbed idiots who stare at their phone (or text) while driving.
1
@Eva Lockhart Wow you are a hero. I simply would not be able to teach with all that happening.
1
We could more accurately call the "users" the "used."
26
On one hand, the internet is helpful, inspiring, convenient and informative. On the other, it’s a place where hate, opposing views, political jabs, mindless posts, TMI, inappropriate behavior and judgmental people reside - ready to pounce! Sadly, what we loved has come to be what we loathe. It’s that unnecessary-necessity that you can’t stop yourself from checking. But I’m trying — I deleted Instagram from my phone as a “test” in 2017 — I haven’t missed it yet!
3
If you’re commenting, are you taking a little sip of the poison the author is warning us about?
1
@NA Wilson yes,but it affirms that is also real for others.
Grape juice not poison.
1
The internet is a time suck, a distraction from real life and, is not a healthy pursuit of...anything, really. Just a bunch of wanna-be-famous/rich-for-nothing people and those who pin their very existence on whether or not their posts are "liked". So glad I haven't followed all the lemmings off that cliff.
5
Hell...is other people
Jean-Paul Sartre, No Exit
7
@Dasha Kasakova Hell is updated, "upgraded" tech that does not allow you to keep using older tech, thus forcing you to pile more tech trash into the environment. Hell is the endless pursuit of perfection which is always just about to be released in three months.
3
@Snip Good point Mr. Snip (or is it Ms.?)
I'm all too familiar with assisted tech suicide. God forbid we don't do our part to Grow The Economy, and new tech will unquestionably make us more PRODUCTIVE, we can't have unproductive malingerers hanging around doing useless stuff like art and music.
3
A must read for myself, who fought to convince my advertising cohorts to leave the internet alone back in the early 90's. Yeah right. Talk about a lead balloon.
Imagine if the predatory opportunists left the internet alone and we used it for productivity instead of being manipulated and provoked. As it turns out, the internet is now boring and stupid, just like the greedy intimidating people running it.
And yet, here I am, with my fake name and hidden account, running a temporary OS from a VPN in Cyprus, just so I can type this without incessant tracking, cataloging, prodding and poking, spitting in my face over and over again. Yuck.
5
@Siebert Well there used to be the feeling you could improve your knowledge by looking things up on a search engine but I feel they have gotten more commerce based.
Too often the top hits tend to be about what you can buy.
You know what’s bad about the internet? It’s so easy for people to choose their own information and then cultivate their own reality. Add in social media, the mentally-feeble bastard child of the internet, and this effect is multiplied by a factor of 10. Social media is mostly morons telling simpletons, “You are exactly right”. Facts cannot compete with opinions and feelings steadily reinforced by other people’s opinions and feelings. And now, we are even further along the path the internet had led us down – facts or outcomes that contradict what people believe SHOULD be true are addressed with fury, scorn and suspicion.
I want to be optimistic, but it is, oh-so-difficult. The absolute worst-case scenario for America that I imagined in my most dark, cynical moments has been exceeded by our current situation, and the internet (read: social media) is the major reason for that decline.
6
Honestly, I left Facebook and never missed it. Twitter, well, I'm still there, but I feel the tension rise everytime I wander away from tennis and pets. And even there, well, it's Federer vs. Nadal, and labs vs. poodles.
Oh, those stupid poodles, they make me so mad ...
1
Actually, it's an easy task to sever tethers to Facebook. Just
go to this site:
https://www.facebook.com/help/delete_account.
5
Never been on FB, Instagram or any of the rest of it. Never will. Who couldn't see this coming?? Anybody who knows five minutes of human history could see what this was going to become - the worst of human nature wedded to unprincipled, unbridled capitalism. But I'm always amused at the hand-wringing over how to manage the problems social media use inevitably creates. Here's an idea: DON'T USE THE STUPID SITES.
6
“Perhaps “Twitter’s bard” @Dril said it best, typo and all: “who the [expletive] is scraeming ‘LOG OFF’ at my house. show yourself, coward. i will never log off.”
To which I respond, “Get a life.”
8
When's the last time you sat in a room with people and talked? Does anybody else miss that?
8
Ellen, I like talking with people in person provided that they listen as well as talk. In my experience, it’s rare to find people who can listen. Most people seem to just want to talk.
2
To me the internet is has no more "humanity" than an old dial phone. It is a great communication & information TOOL but just like television was, it has been subverted by commercial interests.
Eg: My 95 year old aunt died on a Friday in San Pedro, Paraguay, buried on the Saturday. On Sunday I received by email pics of the funeral from her daughter in Hamburg Germany, to me on Vancouver Island. Developed said pictures at Costco & mailed them to my 91 year old mother in Vancouver. Dial phone. Don't even look the commercials just like didn't on TV
9
I’m of two minds on the subject.
On the one hand, I observed a couple of message boards become toxic with the introduction of “likes.” The worst, most divisive posts tended to garner the most likes, which in turn encouraged the worst people to write more, and play to the crowd more, writing ever nastier things. So I can see that there’s something systemic about it.
On the other hand, I think the internet is what people are like without filters, without the usual reasons to be polite in public. People are just kind of awful, they just usually hide it more.
28
@Gus you might want to consider reading some of the works of the philosopher John Gray, who considers the worth of man equal in every way to rabid animals.
The internet, being used as a predatory social platform, erodes humanism. Just look at the way the code is written. Win or die.
3
@Gus Keep looking for good people in the real world. I have awesome friends and family who are not awful, and do not engage in divisive, nasty behavior. I do think the internet draws out the worst in people. I use it for information and music, and that's about all.
3
I’ve been online since the days of bbs, so I learned decades ago the dangers and rewards of being online. I’ve never become a member of nearly every system mentioned, they don’t really offer anything useful or compelling (to me). The people you encounter online are building empires of influence, or something, I suppose they are trying to exert control on any kind of basis other than inherent merit.
It’s like, people like Alex Jones are acting like crazy nuts because it’s the only way people will pay attention to them. The danger is they start to “become” their conspiracy fantasies more and more, as they succeed at satisfying their core desire: to be listened to.
19
I got off Facebook a lot time ago. I had to get back on to write a story, but I have put nothing about myself on my profile. It was a relief to not have to read the cutesy slogans ("Life is Good!", etc.), but I really felt better after not seeing others' political rants. It was just a big waste of time. I don't have a Twitter or Instagram account. This oversharing just feels too egotistical and odd to me. I don't care what the celebrities are doing. I want my news from legitimate sources that fact check. Am I missing out?
That said, I use Google every day, several times a day. I can't imagine having to find information I need without Google. If anyone has a better idea, I would love to hear about it.
49
Firefox browser, duck duck go search
14
@M.K.Ward, do yourself a favor. Substitute DuckDuckGo with Google.
5
@M.K. Ward
with respect to "better ideas" . . . search engines generate massive revenues. Google sends those revenues to its shareholders. There's a growing set of search engines that have philanthropic missions. I use ecosia.org which uses some of its revenues to plant trees.
3
Financial transactions, music and subject reference searches comprise the bulk of my online time.
Abstaining from internet cesspools and digital ghettos isn’t hard.
You just have to be fed up. And I am.
News after 7am and none after 4pm. 5pm onward music, movies, books and subject reading. Email occasionally during the day.
41
@Little Old Me It reminds me of the fasting schedules.
Some only eat during an 8 hour window. 'Digital fasting'
is a good idea too
9