The toxic cloud called ‘Internet’
“If we’re fortunate,” Crary dares to hope, “a short-lived digital age will have been overtaken by a hybrid material culture based on both old and new ways of living and subsisting cooperatively.”
the internet
‘Télescope’, A Café without Smartphones: “They’re Filling our Lives with Emptiness”
I recently put out a call looking for places, events or venues that are creating wifi-free spaces, places where people can intentionally get away from smartphones and the distraction they bring into our lives, some time to cultivate the attention.
A Conversation with my Daughter
My daughter, being sixteen, just got her driver’s license. I asked her a question a few days ago: ” If you had to choose one and give up the other, which would you choose: a personal vehicle or the internet (including social media, wifi, smart phones, etc.)?” She thought for a bit and said: “It’s a hard question but I would choose the internet. Nobody actually likes driving, it’s just something we have to do, but I really like having access to movies at home and all that other stuff.” She is just one young person, but the choice and the distinction that she made surprised me.
In Praise of Being Disconnected
Perhaps the saddest accolade of our modern faith is this: “Our world is more interconnected than ever before.” It’s a statement as bold on the first read as it is meaningless on the second, and one that is not only sad but also somewhat horrifying upon further examination. So, exactly what is “more” interconnected, and why are we celebrating?
No Substitute for Newspapers
Our modern culture tells us that we have more information today than anyone in history, because of the internet – but that assumes that data that could theoretically appear on a screen has the same value as words read from paper.
Why We Need a Speed Limit for the Internet
We need a speed limit for the internet.
Apple, Facebook, Google progress toward a green Internet, but coal-heavy utilities stand in the way
Greenpeace report urges improved transparency from Amazon, more engagement from all major internet companies to overcome resistance to renewable energy from monopoly utilities
When we talk about the Internet, we are talking about the bone marrow of contemporary monopoly capitalism
I believe the Internet should be available to everyone for free.
The destruction of the commons
These tools are too powerful for governments not to use.