dreaming of a better internet

I know this is going to make me sound old – but I miss the internet.

The real internet. The one we used to have. Before it all got so much less – and somehow so much more – complicated.

As with Trump’s shock jock politics, it’s up to us not to take the bait. We do not have to publicly denounce every incendiary ad, particularly when it comes from an anonymous poster or tiny seed startup. Instead of quote-tweeting, you can mute and ignore. Often, dis- engagement is the best way to waste the master-baiters’ time and money.

“The internet, as we have known it, has evolved from a quaint, quirky place to a social utopia, and then to an algorithmic reality. In this reality, the primary task of these platforms is not about idealism or even entertainment — it is about extracting as much revenue as possible from human vanity, avarice, and narcissism.”

Maybe the real problem isn’t overabundance of access to information, but the invasive nature of it. In both political and spiritual realms, I’ve always self-identified as “seeker.” I like going out , into the woods or churches or protests or city alleys, and drawing my conclusions from there. I’m a reader, observer, and interviewer—always seeking... See more