Thank you Demi for this clearly thought out, well articulated essay on the brink of the precipice that humanity is poised at. As right-thinking people, we need to react in a strong fashion or risk being swept away in the flood. The solutions that you propose may seem Utopian to those of us who have given up, but fight we must. Jaron Lanier, the wise pioneer of the internet, predicted the hijacking of the web, way back in 2006. Writing in Edge, Lanier talks about the "tragedy of the commons" and "Digital Maoism"and goes on to say, "What we are witnessing today is the alarming rise of the fallacy of the infallible collective. ... Why isn't everyone screaming about the recent epidemic of inappropriate uses of the collective? It seems to me the reason is that bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology." Again, this was in 2006.
The internet still remains the primary weapon for carrying the fight back into the camps of these dark forces. Social media got hijacked by commercial organisations with massive resources at their command. The recent rise of federated platforms like Mastodon permits small voices to hold out but as yet has not come out with a strong, user-friendly set of tools. With great hope, I signed up with one "instance" and was really enjoying it when it folded up for lack of money to keep it going. This looks like a problem that is likely to be recurrent and needs solutions.
As you point out, we need to reform and grow physical communities like in days of yore. I think it was Richard Dawkins who said that despite being a confirmed atheist, he goes to church because of the one-on-one social networking and community-fostering that places of religious worship have always provided. The internet, for all its benefits, has created isolation and loneliness of a historically unprecedented dimension.
Absolute dogma here. Which I realize is exactly what we need to dismantle and you preach against. Like the titular character in "Life of Brian" exhorting the individuals in the crowds to all think for themselves, and then all those individuals parroting back what Brian said, in unison.
I agree with every word you wrote. Indeed, these have been my sentiments for decades; you just express it much more eloquently.
But the question is: how? Dear Lord in Heaven, How? One ray of hope is that since society-at-large has revealed itself to be oh, so easily manipulated in these past three years, it stands to reason that they can stand to reason and be persuaded to groupthink in the other direction.
This was a splendid read. Just what I needed this evening. Continue all of your good work in ushering in the Blessed Society where divisions melt away.
This is very well written. It reads like a manifesto on how to fix society.
I go back and forth on whether or not “designing technology that brings out the best in us” is even possible. To address the social ills we’ve created through tech and isolation, it seems the only answer we ever hear from those forces that created this mess is more of the same (we’ll make an app for that). We can’t role back the clock, but the diminished Luddite inside me is doubtful. I realize I’m swimming against the tide there. Of course there are plenty of other community-based non-tech ideas listed here too. Great article, Demi.
"No one sane benefits when societies split into hostile tribes. The path beyond polarization lies in restoring cooperative communities, systems, and relationships that recognize our interdependence. With compassion and will, we can..."
I've read history. One can find few instances where societies were NOT hostile tribes. We have been split since we emerged from the Cradle in S.Africa. Sure, with compassion and will we could do anything within reason, but this? I am not convinced, and have not been for most of the 69 long years I've spent here. Sure, there were some years where there seemed to be community, and community involvement in settling tribal differences, and some of that even seemed to work. But those years have long past. Can those times return? And how?
Hola , Sobre Las Redes Sociales , Sólo Puedo Decir Los Riesgos Que Conllevan Para La Gente Joven: Violencia Digital , Ciberacoso , Ver Contenido Violento , Suicidio , Reclutamiento Por Parte De Grupos Extremistas Y Terrorismo , Desinformación , Teorías Conspiradoras , Explotación Y Abuso Sexual En Línea Racismo , Etcétera ..... Se Debería Desarrollar Normativas Dirigidas A Mejorar La Fiabilidad De Las Plataformas Digitales Por Parte De Los Gobiernos. Un Saludo.
Thank you Demi for this clearly thought out, well articulated essay on the brink of the precipice that humanity is poised at. As right-thinking people, we need to react in a strong fashion or risk being swept away in the flood. The solutions that you propose may seem Utopian to those of us who have given up, but fight we must. Jaron Lanier, the wise pioneer of the internet, predicted the hijacking of the web, way back in 2006. Writing in Edge, Lanier talks about the "tragedy of the commons" and "Digital Maoism"and goes on to say, "What we are witnessing today is the alarming rise of the fallacy of the infallible collective. ... Why isn't everyone screaming about the recent epidemic of inappropriate uses of the collective? It seems to me the reason is that bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology." Again, this was in 2006.
The internet still remains the primary weapon for carrying the fight back into the camps of these dark forces. Social media got hijacked by commercial organisations with massive resources at their command. The recent rise of federated platforms like Mastodon permits small voices to hold out but as yet has not come out with a strong, user-friendly set of tools. With great hope, I signed up with one "instance" and was really enjoying it when it folded up for lack of money to keep it going. This looks like a problem that is likely to be recurrent and needs solutions.
As you point out, we need to reform and grow physical communities like in days of yore. I think it was Richard Dawkins who said that despite being a confirmed atheist, he goes to church because of the one-on-one social networking and community-fostering that places of religious worship have always provided. The internet, for all its benefits, has created isolation and loneliness of a historically unprecedented dimension.
This is an absolutely necessary read for everyone.
Absolute dogma here. Which I realize is exactly what we need to dismantle and you preach against. Like the titular character in "Life of Brian" exhorting the individuals in the crowds to all think for themselves, and then all those individuals parroting back what Brian said, in unison.
I agree with every word you wrote. Indeed, these have been my sentiments for decades; you just express it much more eloquently.
But the question is: how? Dear Lord in Heaven, How? One ray of hope is that since society-at-large has revealed itself to be oh, so easily manipulated in these past three years, it stands to reason that they can stand to reason and be persuaded to groupthink in the other direction.
But that's still manipulation, isn't it?
I'm afraid we've got a bit of a quandary here.
This was a splendid read. Just what I needed this evening. Continue all of your good work in ushering in the Blessed Society where divisions melt away.
This is very well written. It reads like a manifesto on how to fix society.
I go back and forth on whether or not “designing technology that brings out the best in us” is even possible. To address the social ills we’ve created through tech and isolation, it seems the only answer we ever hear from those forces that created this mess is more of the same (we’ll make an app for that). We can’t role back the clock, but the diminished Luddite inside me is doubtful. I realize I’m swimming against the tide there. Of course there are plenty of other community-based non-tech ideas listed here too. Great article, Demi.
This is a beautifully comprehensive approach to strengthening communities. We should all read & study — & practice. Great write-up.
There are particular questions here for older generations - most young uns are still having a great time
I found this piece at Winkfield’s suggestion. I agree with everything he said!
Thank you for bringing needed insight and wisdom into the world!
Love this.
Love this.
I like all of this very much, and is aligned with the project i have going here: https://herojig.medium.com/my-project-plan-for-techbros-must-die-caa778b1c499, yet the last para is troubling.
"No one sane benefits when societies split into hostile tribes. The path beyond polarization lies in restoring cooperative communities, systems, and relationships that recognize our interdependence. With compassion and will, we can..."
I've read history. One can find few instances where societies were NOT hostile tribes. We have been split since we emerged from the Cradle in S.Africa. Sure, with compassion and will we could do anything within reason, but this? I am not convinced, and have not been for most of the 69 long years I've spent here. Sure, there were some years where there seemed to be community, and community involvement in settling tribal differences, and some of that even seemed to work. But those years have long past. Can those times return? And how?
Hola , Sobre Las Redes Sociales , Sólo Puedo Decir Los Riesgos Que Conllevan Para La Gente Joven: Violencia Digital , Ciberacoso , Ver Contenido Violento , Suicidio , Reclutamiento Por Parte De Grupos Extremistas Y Terrorismo , Desinformación , Teorías Conspiradoras , Explotación Y Abuso Sexual En Línea Racismo , Etcétera ..... Se Debería Desarrollar Normativas Dirigidas A Mejorar La Fiabilidad De Las Plataformas Digitales Por Parte De Los Gobiernos. Un Saludo.