LogFAQs > #959810019

Far-Queue posted...

As for the internet getting worse, I'd like to point out that social media has only amplified a long-standing problem with the internet.

There has always been cliquing of likeminded folk, including those who hold fringe beliefs and beliefs founded on misinformation and ignorance. All the way back in the days of usenet and IRC this shit was happening. AOL chat rooms dedicated to conspiracy theories... forums centered on crackpot bullshit that flies in the face of logic, science, and reason. It's always been this way.

But as the internet expanded and evolved, and social media began to take hold in popular usage, those fringe groups got bigger and louder as their soapboxes grew.

The internet isn't worse today than it was 30+ years ago. It's always had more than a fair share of assholes peppered throughout its user base. It's just these days it's easier for those assholes to seek out fellow assholes and circle jerk their way into ignorant oblivion

Disagree.

In the 90's (maybe early 2000's) you either had to own a computer (which most thought was a useless expense) or visit a computer lab in public. You also had to know how to access the internet and how to use it (which Joe Q Public did not).

Since the mid 00's, everyone generally has high speed internet (and devices to access it) and gaming companies / app companies started targeting the unwashed masses. Did conspiracy theories and misinformation exist on mIRC chat rooms back then? Sure. But to a much lesser extent.