dreaming of a better 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 an... See more

To reach an internet that cultivates mutual love, we have to move through the hate, pain, and existing preconceptions of what it is for and can be. We have to be able to first imagine, and then, create different possibilities for how technology can bring people together and help us create a better world.

Instead of discussing whether the internet is good or bad, I suggest we start by asking: do you want to show me your internet?

My new social media will be a giant shared Google doc to which I will add all the cool people as "editors," and there will be no ads, and no algorithm, and you can type into the doc at the same time with whatever dang font you want, and the party in that doc will NEVER END.

instead of seeking to maximize status — which some of us still do — more of us find ourselves seeking safety and context online instead.