Chapter 5: Exceptions to Internet Evil and its oponents
Not all digital technologies equally compromise human autonomy and dignity. While much of the modern internet has evolved toward surveillance and manipulation, certain aspects retain the original promise of a global knowledge commons that serves humanity rather than exploiting it.
Static HTML and many PHP websites that present information without tracking scripts (usually powered by JavaScript) exemplify the internet as it was meant to be, a library of human knowledge freely accessible to all. These simple pages focus on conveying information rather than extracting data, demonstrating that the core utility of the web doesn't require surrendering privacy. Their simplicity allows them to load quickly, work reliably across devices, and consume minimal resources while respecting user attention.
Forums and specialized discussion boards represent another positive internet use case. Centered around specific interests rather than algorithmic feeds, they facilitate genuine community and knowledge exchange. Unlike social media platforms optimized for 'engagement', forums typically organize information chronologically or by topic relevance, allowing users to engage intentionally rather than being manipulated by invisible algorithms designed to maximize time on site and interaction metrics.
Open source software and its development communities often demonstrate how internet collaboration can produce tools that genuinely serve users. Without surveillance based business models, open source projects succeed by addressing actual user needs rather than extracting value. The transparency of their code creates accountability impossible in proprietary systems, ensuring alignment between stated purposes and actual functionality.
In stark contrast, social media platforms represent the internet at its most exploitative environments, explicitly designed to manipulate psychology for profit. Their business models demand not just collecting data but actively modifying behavior to maximize advertising exposure. Through intermittent reinforcement, endless scrolling, notification systems, and algorithmic content selection optimized for emotional response and dopamine overload, they create addictive experiences that fragment attention and erode genuine human connection.
The consequences of this digital addiction include rising anxiety and depression, increased political polarization, replacement of deep relationships with shallow interactions, and the fragmentation of shared reality through algorithmic filter bubbles. These aren't side effects but direct results of systems designed to harvest maximum attention regardless of human cost.
The internet can serve humanity when it functions as a library rather than a casino, when it organizes and presents information without attempting to manipulate behavior. This distinction helps us recognize which digital technologies enhance human capability and which exploit human vulnerability, allowing more conscious choices about the tools we incorporate into our lives.