Thoughts on the Internet s Founding Myths
Below is a MRR and PLR article in category Internet Business -> subcategory Other.
Rethinking the Myths of the Internet's Origins
Summary
Today, vast amounts of information are available to everyone with just a few clicks.Article
When I present a controversial view or unconventional opinion on the Internet's various platforms?"be it newsgroups, forums, or websites?"the most common rebuttal begins with "everyone knows that...". Ironically, this supposedly rebellious medium often exemplifies herd mentality.
The Internet is built on the belief in the collective wisdom of its users. This strong form of egalitarianism assumes that truth and accuracy emerge naturally from user interactions. However, the online populace is not a representative sample of experts across fields. Instead, the Internet's low entry barriers often attract those less intellectually inclined?"charlatans, scammers, and the unqualified.
Publishing a blog is far easier than writing for a respected newspaper like the New York Times. Setting up a website with dubious claims is much simpler than undergoing the rigorous peer review process that credentials scientific papers. Anyone can "edit" an online encyclopedia like Wikipedia without any real knowledge of the subject matter. For instance, I recently discovered an error: Eichmann's name was incorrectly listed as Otto rather than his actual name, Karl Adolf.
Islands of genuine scholarship do exist online, offering intellectually stimulating content. However, these are merely small pockets within the overwhelming sea of misinformation and trivial content that constitutes most User Generated Content (UGC).
This leads to the second myth: access equals progress.
We can't deny the incredible wealth of information at our fingertips. The Internet is a vast repository of texts, images, audio, and databases. Yet, the real question is whether people utilize this abundance effectively. An uneducated individual in the Library of Congress would gain little benefit.
Unfortunately, many Internet users today appear as cultural novices, overwhelmed by the digital treasures around them. Instead of acknowledging their limitations and striving for improvement, they claim "equal status". This is a defense mechanism driven by rampant narcissism, protecting them from admitting their inadequacies.
The ethos of anti-elitism dominates the Internet. Expertise is dismissed in favor of opinions; hard data is supplanted by poll results. Everyone is seen as equally capable of contributing, regardless of expertise. Learning and scholarship are often sidelined, with taste reduced to mere popular sentiment. Traditional standards, classics, and science are frequently cast aside.
Research has shown a clear decline in functional literacy, despite an increase in basic literacy worldwide. More people can read, but few actually understand what they read. Nevertheless, even the least literate insist, empowered by the Internet's mob mentality, that their interpretations are as valid as anyone else’s.
Growing up in a slum in Israel, I believed education would liberate me from my circumstances into a world of joyful learning. Yet, as an adult, I find a society where "culture" means just sports and music, where science is demonized, and where irrationality thrives through superstition and conspiracies.
True scholars retreat to the ivory towers of the past, while self-declared "experts", bloggers, and self-interested activists take their place. As a result, movements like environmentalism and alternative medicine grow aggressively, sometimes silencing opposition with force. Media offerings revolve around soap operas and reality TV, while genuine reading is in decline. Reliable news sources struggle to be heard amid the noise of fake information.
This is a sad caricature of progress. As we create more online texts and research, education seems to diminish. People increasingly rely on visuals and sound rather than the written word, preferring escapism over intellectual challenge.
Even those who seek enlightenment are buried under an avalanche of mixed data, unable to distinguish fact from fiction. This "democracy of knowledge" gives undue merit to all claims, casting the 21st century into what could be a new "Dark Age"?"hopefully, a temporary setback between periods of true enlightenment.
You can find the original non-AI version of this article here: Thoughts on the Internet s Founding Myths.
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