this post was submitted on 16 May 2024
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With authoritarianism on the rise has the internet helped or hurt the cause for democracy and collective rule? (lemmy.world)
submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
16 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

As a follow-up, is there signs that the internet/technology may play a role in making a better society for all?

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[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I think it’s nuanced. The internet did democratize information and even societies. It allowed communication. Twitter was a key part of the Arab Spring but Facebook was used to spread misinformation during multiple genocides.

Really, when the web was young — “Web 1.0” — it was all decentralized and required some knowledge to use. Then, social media companies created closed networks and governments were able to fight back (or co-opt them). That was “Web 2.0” (which isn’t a technical term). I think it was a huge mistake. “Web 3.0” won’t ever involve the blockchain, which is useless except for naive people. But the concept of decentralized communication platforms is a good idea.

Basically, we need a better version of “Web 1.0” without the VCs, Monopoly money, and NFT horseshit. Give users control of who they follow, break up monopolies, and let censorious governments play whack-a-mole while still being able block harassers and bots.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 months ago

Yeah. Web 2.0 was the beginning of the death of the democratized internet. When corporations took over, it all became about getting people addicted to platforms to then try to make money from those users, usually with targeted ads.

Web 1.0 was really the golden age, although that definitely also had its fair share of issues, like the majority of the internet relying on proprietary software like Flash or ActiveX plugins, although that isn't much better nowadays with proprietary js running the web. Also pop-up ads weren't exactly fun, and nowadays, sharing video is a lot easier, although it's still mostly centralized to websites who have the capitol to host and distribute the video, like YouTube, TikTok, etc., which comes with the corporate issues.

I have hope in the fediverse, though.