Having been born in the 90’s, I’ve seen the internet’s rise and evolution, but being able to see some of the direct developments that have made the internet what it is today was interesting. Like I said, my childhood was during the period when online capabilities were just beginning to become widespread, so funnily enough I do remember a time without internet.
Seeing the first “world wide web” page was like reading about the shot heard from around the world, who back then could have guessed what the internet would become? Who could have possibly imagined how engrained it would become in our daily lives?
Learning about the progressive integration of art and computers was interesting as well which began with the uniting of artists and mathematic engineers to make immersive experiences through larger than life creations. In Through the Looking Glass, they explain that these actions had inspired countless artists by showing them the power of the electronic medium in immersive arts.
While it was exciting to learn the evolution of computers, the internet, and ultimately my medium of choice, when I read the articles that criticized the internet and what its becoming, I couldn’t help but agree. As useful the internet is, it is monstrously plagued with useless information, false claims, and contradictions. In the article “The Internet is Shit,” they discussed the misinformation pandemic as miserable, yet almost everyone uses google for “research,” while seemingly convenient, it is arguably still more practical to go to a library and read up on textbooks and newspapers, which come complete with reliable, siteable sources.
I don’t think that the internet is going to do any severe or irreversible damage to humankind, though I can’t say that hasn’t done any damage at all (ie undivided attention, migraines, laziness). I do believe that the benefits outweigh the problems, in the end its up to an individual how they go about attaining goals and how they decide to spend their time.