I tend to agree with you – the problem is that I feel like I need social media to build any kind of audience for my writing. But then I obviously don't use it just for that purpose. But definitely – as a "maxim" to fend off the awful aspects of the internet, that's a crucial distinction. The internet obviously isn't just one thing – it's like a penumbra (sorry that's a word I really wanted to get into the piece but didn't in the end, so I'm using it here haha). Thanks for reading! x
I was born in 1975, so I grew to maturity in the pre-internet era. Isn't that slightly marvellous to say? It's as if I remember fin de siècle Vienna.
I first heard of the internet years before I first experienced it. In the mid-90's The Independent ran a regular column about it; essentially explorer's despatches from the esoteric new frontier of the "world wide web". And there was Nightwaves on Radio 3 where more cerebral, rather porentous speculations about the "information superhighway" might be overheard.
The fact is I've never quite become fluent in the internet even though it has deeply impinged on my life. I love to read books, I love to read print. And I find the internet clashes horribly with this, however consistent they are in theory. Reading anything at all online feels relatively superficial. I'm caught by the inexorable, subliminal pressure to skim and move on. I struggle to concentrate. I muse less when reading online. I become discontent and hazy after about half an hour. I need a lot of breaks. And the worst of it is that I read less books now. It's dispiriting for this natural born reader. So yes, I sometimes wish the internet had never been invented.
I want to research the comparative neurology of reading print and reading online. Do they involve the same parts of the brain? Is there a physical basis for my idiosyncratic phenomenological troubles? Or am I just old? I think I've a project for 2024.
Thanks so much for reading! And sharing your own thoughts, too – I really appreciate it. It's so great reading about other people's perspectives on this topic x
Really interesting read wow. I think this is definitely something to think about. Especially important to consider how much the internet influenced us culturally.
I’m SUPER curious to know what the new generation growing up BORN into social media will look like.
What will the kids growing up on TikTok and Fortnite look like?
Thanks for reading! And yeah, for sure – the relationship between humans and technology (not just the internet) is only going to become more profound and interesting. But whether that's going to be a good thing or not is uncertain. I'm somewhat agnostic and alarmed at once frankly x
This might be oversimplified, but: the internet is great. Social media is not. It's a maxim that works well for me.
I tend to agree with you – the problem is that I feel like I need social media to build any kind of audience for my writing. But then I obviously don't use it just for that purpose. But definitely – as a "maxim" to fend off the awful aspects of the internet, that's a crucial distinction. The internet obviously isn't just one thing – it's like a penumbra (sorry that's a word I really wanted to get into the piece but didn't in the end, so I'm using it here haha). Thanks for reading! x
I was born in 1975, so I grew to maturity in the pre-internet era. Isn't that slightly marvellous to say? It's as if I remember fin de siècle Vienna.
I first heard of the internet years before I first experienced it. In the mid-90's The Independent ran a regular column about it; essentially explorer's despatches from the esoteric new frontier of the "world wide web". And there was Nightwaves on Radio 3 where more cerebral, rather porentous speculations about the "information superhighway" might be overheard.
The fact is I've never quite become fluent in the internet even though it has deeply impinged on my life. I love to read books, I love to read print. And I find the internet clashes horribly with this, however consistent they are in theory. Reading anything at all online feels relatively superficial. I'm caught by the inexorable, subliminal pressure to skim and move on. I struggle to concentrate. I muse less when reading online. I become discontent and hazy after about half an hour. I need a lot of breaks. And the worst of it is that I read less books now. It's dispiriting for this natural born reader. So yes, I sometimes wish the internet had never been invented.
I want to research the comparative neurology of reading print and reading online. Do they involve the same parts of the brain? Is there a physical basis for my idiosyncratic phenomenological troubles? Or am I just old? I think I've a project for 2024.
Thanks so much for reading! And sharing your own thoughts, too – I really appreciate it. It's so great reading about other people's perspectives on this topic x
Really interesting read wow. I think this is definitely something to think about. Especially important to consider how much the internet influenced us culturally.
I’m SUPER curious to know what the new generation growing up BORN into social media will look like.
What will the kids growing up on TikTok and Fortnite look like?
Thanks for reading! And yeah, for sure – the relationship between humans and technology (not just the internet) is only going to become more profound and interesting. But whether that's going to be a good thing or not is uncertain. I'm somewhat agnostic and alarmed at once frankly x