dreaming of a better internet
sari and
dreaming of a better internet
Here at CREEM, we’re not building the biggest audience of digital tourists. Creem.com doesn’t have ads; we don’t publish free content. If you want SEO-friendly music news like dozens of other sites do, don’t waste your time, CREEM isn’t for you.
John Martin
HELLO, I'M SETH WERKHEISER
"The core ideal of the Internet is that one trusts people, and that given an opportunity, people will find their way to be reasonably decent. I happily restate my loyalty to that ideal. It’s all we have." (Jaron Lanier, Who Owns the Future?)
“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.”
Quick Links for Wednesday, January 3
slapping the table, easy way to put it about the current state of the internet
Platforms like TikTok and Instagram are engines of distraction and cultural rot. They stand in front of the more difficult but more rewarding aspects of life: deep work, intimate connections with friends and loved ones, focused attention for hobbies with intrinsic rewards. By training users to crave constant novelty and the immediate approval of... See more
Adam Singer • TikTok and Instagram are intellectual poison
"Irony is the song of a bird that has come to love its cage." - David Foster Wallace
So, despite Sullivan’s claims to the contrary, the Internet has sucked for me in the last 10 years. Not only because I was forced to create content in a way that pleases their many rules, but because I have to compete with SEO-optimized garbage fuelled by people with deep pockets and desires for deep pockets.
However, this year, I regained more joy... See more
However, this year, I regained more joy... See more
Elizabeth TaiIn Essays • Is the Internet really broken?
SEO-optimized anything needs to go away. Ads are dead. What is the new model?
The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World a book by Max Fisher
Max Fisher • 3 highlights
bookshop.org
Twitter forces nuanced thoughts down to bumper-sticker bluntness. The chaotic, always moving newsfeed leaves little time for reflection on whatever has just been read. The algorithm’s obsession with likes and retweets means users mainly see (and produce) speech that flatters their community or demonizes those they already loathe. The quote tweet
... See moreNew York Times • Opinion | the Great Delusion Behind Twitter - The New York Times
Being online more than that just feels like a threat to my creativity. A therapist I interviewed recently told me that digital overconsumption interrupts one’s capacity to dream and create; not to mention, studies of phone addiction suggest that spending too much time hunting for new online trends dulls our ability to appreciate novelty in the real... See more