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thesunismyBFF · 41-45, M
I used to think the Internet was such a powerful force for good... of course there were downsides, but the sheer limitless possibilities... But the last couple of years I'm starting to see the flip side all too clearly. The internet is a place that tends to bring out the worst in people, and like you said, promotes the shallow over the profound. I share your longing for the past in a way, but more for a future that could have been.
AnnaKarenina · 31-35, F
I'm glad you understand me so thoroughly. The longing definitely stems from the unmet potential of what we could have evolved into as a society. More and more I think we are falling short. There are too many holding us back with their ignorance, too many holding us back deliberately with their political powers and manipulation, and too few who strive for a better future, but either don't know how to begin or can't rally enough people to wake up and join.
thesunismyBFF · 41-45, M
I couldn't agree more, beautifully said. I still think every day about what I can do to help, to change something... but it's not easy. They are many and I am one. 😥
I remember the little internet forums I used to go on, where people would exchange ideas and opinions and knowledge freely without serious concern for what the idiosyncratic taboos and mores of the site happened to be (the PostSecret forums, for instance, were flooded with people rabidly opposed to ever taking any sexually explicit photos or videos of oneself, whereas Fetlife essentially encourages the practice). I so rarely see places like that anymore. You have to just deal with whatever the site's favorite prejudices are. You're always, to some extent, playing local politics. It's less close, and there is less camaraderie, less genuine friendship, as a result. It is depressing. So is the loneliness and disconnection from loved ones. I hope something brightens for you in the near future, and remember that there are still some of us who are willing to listen and talk if you ever need it.
AnnaKarenina · 31-35, F
So it seems it wasn't just my own experience, but a true shift that took place across the internet. Before Facebook and the whole 'trending' gossip I see no matter where I go online, people were less panicked and hateful. At least, that's my theory. No one sent sexual pictures to me prior to 2013ish. Seems that's when the shift really took off. Now it's grown to the point where no one knows what's fact versus what's fiction. Just as the governments of the world want. People can't protest if they don't know what to protest. I feel like Big Brother watches everyone, through the group effort of all the sheeple who believe one source of information over another, and we can't say anything without those people participating in 'two minutes of hate' against us.
It's deeply disturbing, and I've pretty much given up trying to form meaningful connections online. Kind of like all the unique, nerdy people I used to always find online have been run off, and the old websites removed, only for new websites, with all the trend-seekers looking for validation, to take over. I often wonder where we all went.
It's deeply disturbing, and I've pretty much given up trying to form meaningful connections online. Kind of like all the unique, nerdy people I used to always find online have been run off, and the old websites removed, only for new websites, with all the trend-seekers looking for validation, to take over. I often wonder where we all went.
I tend to view the problems in more of a Huxley-esque than an Orwellian manner, but it amounts to largely the same thing.
I do still try to form meaningful friendships online, but I agree it's becoming more and more difficult to do that. I think part of it has to do with the simple growth of internet access. There are just far more people online now than ten or fifteen years ago, and while previously the internet was sort of a cult thing for tech nerds and so on, now every asshole with a cable hookup is wandering around, spewing their bullshit.
I hope things will change in ways that are positive for people like us, but I don't know when that will be. I just have some hope, because the internet has turned out to be a marvelous thing in spite of the best efforts of much of its user base to degrade it the way they have everyday society.
I do still try to form meaningful friendships online, but I agree it's becoming more and more difficult to do that. I think part of it has to do with the simple growth of internet access. There are just far more people online now than ten or fifteen years ago, and while previously the internet was sort of a cult thing for tech nerds and so on, now every asshole with a cable hookup is wandering around, spewing their bullshit.
I hope things will change in ways that are positive for people like us, but I don't know when that will be. I just have some hope, because the internet has turned out to be a marvelous thing in spite of the best efforts of much of its user base to degrade it the way they have everyday society.
AnnaKarenina · 31-35, F
NotYetTooOld · 61-69, M
AnnaKarenina · 31-35, F
Thank you. As sad as it is.
