> The Internet is obviously an attractive and addictive place, but cities have gotten so much worse as well. Where I live the playgrounds I used to go to as a child are now full of drug dealers...
Oh, c'mon. The world didn't get scarier, and force us to retreat to the comforts of online interaction. If anything, most of the world is a safer place since the 1990s[1], which curiously coincides with the rise of the internet.
This is a complex topic that researchers can answer better. But personally, I think that the pseudosocial interaction where we can shout our thoughts into the ether without any real risk of consequence compared to meatspace is appealing enough for many people that it covers most of their needs for social activity. It's also the ideal safe haven for the hypersensitive newer generations.
I think the pendulum will swing back at some point, and we'll start rejecting online activities. But then again, we'll also continue to merge with technology, so all of this could be the tipping point, and we have to accept it as the new normal.
In any case, what is certain is that Big Tech needs to be heavily regulated, just as other Big industries were before it. The psychological manipulation and social experiments need to stop, and we need to better understand the effects all this groundbreaking technology has on our wellbeing and society as a whole. It's not like the future of our civilization depends on it, or anything...
>Oh, c'mon. The world didn't get scarier, and force us to retreat to the comforts of online interaction. If anything, most of the world is a safer place since the 1990s[1], which curiously coincides with the rise of the internet.
The statistics of crime nationally or globally are totally irrelevant to my personal experience of my surroundings. Definitely places which I visited as a child I would avoid today.
I would also like to point out that an increase in crime can easily lead to a statistical decrease in reported crime. If you flat out ignore the perception of safety you easily fall prey to reporting bias.
I am also not saying it is the only thing, definitely the mere existence of digital places has changed in the last decades.
Oh, c'mon. The world didn't get scarier, and force us to retreat to the comforts of online interaction. If anything, most of the world is a safer place since the 1990s[1], which curiously coincides with the rise of the internet.
This is a complex topic that researchers can answer better. But personally, I think that the pseudosocial interaction where we can shout our thoughts into the ether without any real risk of consequence compared to meatspace is appealing enough for many people that it covers most of their needs for social activity. It's also the ideal safe haven for the hypersensitive newer generations.
I think the pendulum will swing back at some point, and we'll start rejecting online activities. But then again, we'll also continue to merge with technology, so all of this could be the tipping point, and we have to accept it as the new normal.
In any case, what is certain is that Big Tech needs to be heavily regulated, just as other Big industries were before it. The psychological manipulation and social experiments need to stop, and we need to better understand the effects all this groundbreaking technology has on our wellbeing and society as a whole. It's not like the future of our civilization depends on it, or anything...
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_drop