Did Al Gore think it would come to this when he invented it?
Original article lamented the politicization of the internet and the fragmentation of civil discourse
From the original article, there was loud lamentations the the Internet was weaponized to elect Trump.
Lots of wailing over warped utopian ideals
Probably not.
I enjoyed a few email pals. No longer have the energy for it and keep my emails short and absolutely necessary.
iphone texting limited the volume (and Twitter) of how well people can communicate. I never got a cell phone for a few reasons. I saw what it was doing to my kids and grandkids. Need my landline still for internet connection which frees me from the big companies. Couldn't justify the monthly charges for too many services.
Because of the iphone I have more precious memories, messages and photos from my son who wouldn't have sent so much had it been snail mail. But he was tethered and dependent o it too much. They keep them on all night in case somebody calls. I think it affects getting enough rest.
Because of tracking, peoples' lives have been saved but sometimes it works the other way, the kid who made two 911 calls and was trapped under a seat that had flipped in his Honda minivan. Operators and rescue screwed it up, not passing enough info and police didn't look hard enough when they finally located the van. His parents found him dead 6 hours later.
But my view is it is up to us for better or for worse. We can keep to the high side and not get dragged into things that aren't too good for us if we have the wisdom and self-discipline. And it's a boon to look up things from the past and finding bible verses.
Even FR, try to ignore hurtful people and move on. Fortunately not too many. It does affect how candid I am about a few things though. And we don't have to participate in bash fests and can express our dislikes differently. But sometimes a picture or graphic does get a message across in a more powerful way.
Even the news, whether you determine as best you can what is true and what is propaganda. But it can also do a lot of damage too in spite of laws protecting non-public figures from slander, etc.
He certainly didn’t intend it to be used by Republicans.
