We have access to incredible forms of technology, including near instant access to computers across the planet from devices that fit in our pockets. We seem to have organized much of the internet in a way that doesn’t benefit us and often is straight up antithetical to our wants and needs.
How would you change the ways we use software, hardware, sensors, robotics, and all the other amazing tech that’s available today to make the world a better place instead of a place where people scream at each other and get spoon fed ads and information they never asked for?
What does your tech utopia look like?
IMO, peak internet experience was when you had to make an effort to log on. i.e. dialing-up and tying up the phone line. Yeah, the speeds sucked and sometimes you got the dreaded “all circuits are busy now” message during peak hours, but everything else about the experience was better.
When you logged into AIM/ICQ/MSN/Yahoo, etc, you did so with a purpose. You never worried about bothering someone by messaging them at a bad time because if it was a bad time to do so, they wouldn’t be online in the first place.
“Back in my day” (lol), the internet wasn’t always on, it wasn’t demanding your attention, it wasn’t pestering you with constant notifications, it wasn’t in your face all the time, it wasn’t constantly recommending or suggesting things at you (not “to” you, at you) etc, etc. It was there when you needed it but didn’t butt into your life every second when you weren’t.
You could disconnect.
I honestly don’t know what we can really do about it. Personally, I turn off pretty much anything that can send a notification except SMS/MMS and check manually when I want to. Some people hate that and get annoyed that I rarely respond instantly to IMs and such, but I hate being constantly “on” as well as the expectation to be.
I’m going to hop onto this comment to add the biggest problem is the internet is too fast. Go back 20 years and people were stressing about every 10kb of script size. Think about everything that’s ruined by speed:
Peak Internet was at DSL speeds. Fast enough to transfer text quickly but not effectively unlimited. Now we have 1Gbps and it’s fucking unhealthy.
Editing to add new bad shit as I think of it.
Being out of reach is a joy I don’t think the current generation understands.
Thinking about it now, some of my favorite hobbies, playing bass, snowboarding, skateboarding, riding motorcycles, all require that I be out of reach.
Agreed.
Not sure about current generation, but the Gen Z people in my life do seem to understand the concept but are absolutely terrified of it. Like, if they don’t have cell service when we go camping, they are just super agitated like they’ve lost their sense of smell or something. Could just be those specific people, but that’s the only sample I have to gauge on.
LMAO
Me mfw when I’m a millennial laughing and also sympathizing at the GenZers’ inability to exist in the world without electronic devices and high speed bips and boops
As a parent of Gen Z, I can offer no evidence to dispute this.
And here I am pining for that disconnection haha.