As a 52 yr old, who's "terminally online" from 21, I would wholeheartedly agree, that the internet is fantastic, and our accessibility to it should be limited. I am also an undiagnosed autistic, whos very comfortable being alone. If it wasn't for the internet, I would be 100% isolated from any "community". We live in abundance, yet feel deprived and oppressed....there is something to be said, how our behavior is so easily manipulate. Thanks for this; the algorithm done good ;-)
Am I the only one who owns dvds and bluerays anymore? I hate the idea of being dependent on several streaming services, feeling the pressure to use the services I'm paying for, and having to fear losing the access on my favorite shows. I hate watching adds and I love to own the physical things. Another thing worth mentioning is the ability to react or comment on everything online. You lose focus on what you were doing when there's the constant possibility to comment whatever minor thing comes to our mind. I believe that increases stress and self-centered worldview.
12:44 I feel the same way about music and actually buy vinyl albums, BUT the idea of "ownership" is really different for this generation, especially when it comes to media. Everything is a prescription service now from printing to car seat warmers. Corporations really took that Netflix subscription model to heart.
@@sobruhkey you're right. I hate that development with the subscriptions to everything 😅 I also own music on CDs, even if I most often listen to it on TH-cam. The CDs bust have their own feeling, with the pamphlet and everything.
@@CrucialFlowResearch the same, books are great! I also have a nice collection of my favorite manga serieses, some even classics hard to find anymore 👌
Fellow grumpy millenial here. I mostly agree except for one thing: Smartphones can be incredibly useful for bringing the internet to lower-income populations. I forget the exact statistic and source, but something like 30%+ with an income less than $30k a year in the U.S. rely on mobile internet to access the internet in general. In the pre-smartphone times, or even the pre-cheap-smartphone times, these people would have either had to pay up for a computer or just be left out while their richer counterparts take full advantage of the positive aspects of the internet. Edit: Firstly, thank you all for the likes, wasn't expecting it at all. Secondly, I also remembered after posting that the mobile internet thing also applies to people of developing countries, including Brazil. In these cases, mobile internet infrastructure is also cheaper and more convenient to set up rather than wired internet for most people. The fact that Cheyenne set up her whole video around the net negative effect of smartphones without bringing this up was surprising to me.
@@JoJoJoker it's a doubled edged sword. On one hand yes it steals your time and attention, on the other hand it gives you access to a lot of information and educational resources. At this point I've probably learnt more from the internet than I ever did at school, in most cases for free.
OK, but that is only a problem, because our society is so internet dependent now. I am slightly older than her, and think that mobile phones are good. We would be better off without the internet. Especially social media, and it's DEMONIC AI algorithms.
Libraries are a thing. Every developed nation has them. We ought to bring them to the less developed places. Besides, laptops are a thing, too, and going to Starbucks or any place that has Internet connection is feasible for the poor, and they use them. The addiction of smartphones is dangerous. Collisions, clumsiness, and heavy traffic are worsened by too many people having mobiles, and being unable to take their eyes and hands off of them.
Technology is not the problem. The problem is how it is used. Once corporations with their profit motive get ahold of the technology - the ethics are out the window.
I’m gen z (23) and remember life before smartphones. Even when they first came out, they were not accessible to most people around me. Things were definitely better. I vividly remember writing my friends’ numbers down on my hand so I could call them on my house phone and fighting my sister for some computer time😅😂 I never thought about it until you mentioned it in the video- the internet really was just in one place. I could either get on the computer at home or (sometimes) at school. That was it.
18 y/o. I didn't get on the internet foreal until I was 8. I still remember my first internet argument. My dad never should've made me a gmail account at that age 😭
@@laurensa.1803 I don't think they were saying it wasn't around, but that things were different when people didn't have constant access to the internet available to them in such a small, portable form.
Like all technology, it's neither good nor bad is how it's also applied. Obviously, it is a lot easier to go down the rabbit hole now. But because of the internet, I have been able to reconnect to a number of people I served in a military with.
I'll admit, as someone who grew up along side the internet (I vividly remember dial-up when I was a kid) I do feel the complaining about smartphones and quick internet is a bit "old person shaking fist at clouds." I find having an information multitool in my pocket really convenient and not particularly distracting and don't get fomo just from having a bunch of options(though maybe that's just me.) I do feel it should have stopped with smartphones though; we don't need computers in our cars or fridges or whatever, that's what smartphones are for. I also agree that capitalism has tainted(enshittified, if you will) the functionality and effect of the modern internet.
Yeah, see, the thing about us (I'm _right_ on the edge of that divide) is that we didn't _develop_ with the modern Internet as a binky. We grew up without a stream of five-second TikTok videos and terrifying CoCoMelon stuff that operates the same way. I spent car rides looking out the window and imagining. I had a childhood where I actually went outside and just did whatever with friends. As soon as everyone got an XBox things started changing. Even a lot of people our age say they feel their attention span slipping away (typically people who're on social media constantly), I can't imagine what it does to a brain that grows with that stuff as it's main feedback. Having the Internet in your pocket is an astounding tool and I wouldn't give it up for anything, but we need to start treating it as potentially addictive like... caffine and gambling.
@@colbyboucher6391 fair points, though the addictiveness and attention span issues probably stem more from capitalist enshittification rather than an innate feature of the technology and I'd argue that raising your child "with the modern internet as a binky" is generally a bad parenting strategy. I would also point out that kids spending less time outside is probably moreso influenced by economic factors. most places kids can go to hang out and socialize these days(aside from maybe their school after hours) either cost money to be at, or are far enough away that you'd probably have to get your parents to drive you and your friends there(yay car-centric city planning). It ends up being cheaper and easier to connect over a chat app and play games online unless you physically live close together and know a fun spot within walking distance.
this resonates so much, thank you. I'm 29 and I truly miss that 'organicness' you mentioned I reject the binary in 'was it better then or now?', it's too complex to choose. It's, different. There are some things I miss with all my heart, there are things I'm glad now that I have. My concern is that nowadays these younger generations view everything through the internet eyes and forget they have their own input too, also the way smartphones and social media affect personal relationships worries me. sorry for my English mistakes
I think the internet can be good or bad but the bigger problem that arose imo was smartphones. Having 24/7 access to the internet instead of a desktop plugged into the wall or bulky laptop compared to the compact design of a smartphone and addicting feel of scrolling. Add to this a camera! And the ability to record yourself and anyone else, even without permission, whereever, whenever you wanted. Of course cameras on phone have their own benefits and conveniences (like citizen journalism for one) but honestly I think we should've left the internet at home and not in our pockets. Edit: I wrote this comment while still at the beginning of the video, and the video was about this exact sentiment. 😂 Great video.
As a 52 year old Gen X, I would NEVER want to go back to life pre-technology. Sure I can adjust because I was born in the time where we had to do things manually and I have not lost those skills, but I absolutely LOVE technology. It has been instrumental in helping me simplify and declutter my life. Young people, imagine if you will having to stay home to wait for an important call, or having to walk several miles to find a phone if your car breaks down, or having to wait years to see extended family because they live far away and can't afford to travel that often, having to lug around heavy books that hurt your back, having to rummage through piles of records or tapes to find the song you want, having to wait weeks for a paper check or important document to come in the mail, having to use a public phone that requires a quarter and has all kinds of germs on it, having to wait until your favorite episode of a tv show was shown again (if ever). I could go on, but you get my drift. I so much appreciate the instant gratification and ease with which technology gets things done and brings information to us. Also, as a Gen X, I can tell you younger folks that the world was NOT better or more simple back then. We had gangs, we had drugs, we had high crime, we had bullies, we had kidnappings, we had serial k*llers, we had s3x trafficking, domestic violence, and all manner of atrocities going on. We just didn't have social media showing us everything back then. That is why people lie and say the world was better when it wasn't. I lived it. Therein lies the difference.
I remember when Myspace was the only social media around how much of a communal event it was. It was interesting to see my older siblings and older cousins pages. We would edit them together, and then we would browse everybody's page together. So we could see what their page looked like from someone else's point of view, choose music and all sorts of things. And it was really fun. And because I was a little too young to have so from media. I was so excited to have my own personal page to do that. But by the time I grew up, Myspace was out of fashion, and it was Facebook was the hot thing, but it actually took me a while to join Facebook. I wasn't initially interested cause what I really wanted to do was make a more personalized page with a wallpaper and music
I was born in 2003, so I don’t really remember a life before the internet. I know that being an internet native/addict has negatively affected me. but just because there’s technically no escaping the internet it doesn’t mean we don’t have a choice in how to interact with it, therefore how it affects us. I make the choice to be very intentional with how I use the internet. I don’t really engage in comment sections unless I actually have something to say. I don’t argue with people who purposefully misunderstand me. If I’m arguing, I comment once and immediately ignore any further interaction I get because I know the ongoing fighting will make me more upset. I don’t get emotionally involved in any kind of internet drama further than the surface level, only following along by the sidelines. I choose what news sources I trust and block everything else as soon as I see it. I don’t need to know about all the terrible things happening in the world that are out of my control. I know what places I can be myself and choose to highly moderate my safe spaces when possible. I use the “not interested” or “block” button frequently and without discretion. anything that will ruin my day needs to get out of my sight. my whole philosophy is a “be of the internet but not with the internet” kind of thing. I truly think there’s a lot of good to be found on the internet for everyone; you just have to be intentional with what you see. only use the internet to better your life, not to make you more miserable. if you can sense being enslaved by something is making you miserable, drop it asap and replace it with something that makes you feel better. it takes a lot of self control because of everything being purposefully set up to addict us, but I have faith you can do it. it really is worth it for your mental health, I swear.
11:07 (TV pre-algorithms ) I think I"m mixed on this. I know there were a bunch of shows that I didn't even know existed or was interested in, but I could never watch due to being on cable. Or the house just having terrible reception to never see a particular channel. Also there was the whole issue where if you missed a show airing, you wouldn't be able to see it again unless it was in re-runs months later or something. And I think you might've needed the tv section of the newspaper for the weekly schedules and stuff to know what was airing. Also I think TV-Guide was another tool for these kinds of situations. Also I like that people were able to upload older TV shows that never got a DVD release or were really hard to find due to being from a different country.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, I used to call my friends and catch up with them once or twice a week. Or invite them over to my house and make a fire pit with music and chai or spiced wine. I had the internet at home. I’ve even made a career from the web. But I prefer the days when making a phone call or catching up with a group of friends was social time. Social media to me has also become a form of surveillance and people are arrested for posting content. It’s become quite authoritarian and I think we have traded a little bit of convenience for systematic control in our lives.
I was born with mental illness and grew up bullied and feeling very isolated. I then developed chronic illness and had to stay at home. The internet was a way of developing my social skills and finally connecting with people. I’ve made friends online that I’ve had for many years. The internet also helped me discover a lot of great music I’d have never discovered otherwise. For all the internet’s faults I’m very glad it exists.
I wish the internet stayed on computers. I’ll be bringing a child into this world next year and I worry about them being ostracized or feeling left out because I won’t be giving them a smart phone as long as I can.
The 90s will always be a decade people reflect back on. The beginning and last of an era of so many technologies and trends from the MTV generation and the establishment of youth culture to the start of the digital and internet era. I would refer to Zen as a philosophy and note how antithetical the modern era has become toward it. The democratisation of opinion and ease of access to social media platforms has become a wild ride all on its own.
I agree with all you said, but I'd like to ad that my own experience is that the older I get the less I'm interested in being chronically online. I just kinda feel fed up with the social media a lot of the time, as I see it as useless in a practical sense. There's very little practical benefit in social media, just an overabundance of subpar "content". I mean at one time I was into photography and was eagerly posting my photos online, but then I realized that it made me feel bad, as I felt I needed to get likes etc, more exposure and recognition. It made me feel bad, and suddenly I didn't like photographing anymore, as it became a source for feeling inadequate. it wasn't about expression or having fun with a hobby anymore, it was about something else, trying to climb up an imaginary hierarchy. So I pulled everything from the sites I was in and decided that I wasn't going to measure my worth in likes anymore, or in recognition from strangers and I think it worked. I could do it because it was a hobby, not a profession, so I'm not saying you can be a pro photographer and not be present in internet, that's not an option anymore, unfortunately.
Yes I remember a time before the internet I even remember a time before ATM machines and I'm Gen X. The generation that is forgotten because we fall between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials.
im gen z and its not just boomers and millennials who think like this! i think the downfall of the internet is how it became inescapable. some schools send homework on whatsapp? or need kids to use apps. why? slack is awful and feels like you can’t escape your job. you can do everything from your phone which is powerful but also addicting. my generation I believe go out the least out of all of them which is disappointing. it can be because of Covid which I’m sure is a factor but I wouldn’t doubt it’s also because of our phones and smart tvs. youtube is my favorite “social media” if you can call it that because it’s educational and entertaining but doesn’t feel like I’m compromising my attention span. I feel like there isn’t even a use of getting rid of social media unless we ALL get rid of social media. L
I agree with this video wholeheartedly. Also, what I like about being bored is that I start having more deeper thoughts and conversations with myself than I would if I was distracted all the time.
Things like job hunting in the age of the internet is so exhauting,first you have to go on a job site and scroll for hours to find a job posting, making sure the job isn't fake, then you have to fill in forms and so tests and screening, then your application goes through an algorithim, and maybe might get to a human, then it is telephone interviews and maybe an actual interview. Or you might get a non descript job rejection. Even when you try to apply in person you are directed to an online system. You are also expected to follow a company on social media to know about job openings that is not posted on job boards. You are just an ID number with a CV attached. It is forgotten you are a human being
I won't deny that some of this is kind of true that the internet kind of made us more miserable, but sadly we're at a point where we just sunk way deep to the bottom of this metaphorical rabbit hole, that we can't escape it. We've gotten too accustomed to it to the point where it's like if you were on drug withdrawal.
That's true at a societal level for sure but... If you've never tried it before, you'd be surprised how quickly your brain adjusts to not having the Internet or a smartphone available after like a week or two. Sometimes less. You miss at at first but then you don't. It's really surreal. But maybe that means there's hope.
I was the last person i knew to own a cell phone, then the last one to own a smart phone. I hated the idea of people always being able to contact me, still do tbh, but emergency use cases eventually sold me on it. Now i would have a very hard time without YT, Spotify, Wikipedia, and Maps access at all times. Social media was never for me, i imagine I'd have an even worse time in primary school today.
I sooo identify with this. I have always been slow with gadgets and apps especially with thise that make me persistently contactable/reachable. Not only all my peers, but even my mum got cell phone before me. Social anxiety plays a role for me too, which helps keep me off most of the digitalization of daily life - my anxiety is more triggered by phones than face-to-face interactions - but the downside is as you mention the occasional needs arising from emergencies and similar situations, and also so many things nowadays take for granted that a customer/client has a smartphone, for payment, tickets, ID, verification etc.
As and old millennial who read 1984 as a teenager and thought the idea of carrying a telescreen around with you was insane; I have noticed smart phones have made people dumber and dumber. I relented and got one last Christmas but just use it as a desk phone. I think it comes down to whether you think about stuff or just look it up, if you stop thinking you lose the ability to think.
I wish we could go back to life before the internet. Sure, information is easier to access now, but damn things were much simpler. I miss it very much.
I really enjoy it. I use fb pretty much to see when car meets and social gatherings are. Being home every other weekend I need to cram my socializing in. The more technology has grown the farther out and stronger my friend groups have been. All how you use it.
As a film buff, I like that every film ever made can now be easily accessed and seen online, but I miss the time when you had to go to an arthouse cinema and see the classics on the large screen, say, Citizen Kane or the Red Shoes, in the same kinds of theaters where they were seen decades before with the communal layer of the audience reacting. Watching movies home alone, or worse, on a tiny phone, just doesn't cut it as a proper movie viewing experience. Having an opinion on a movie when it's seen this way is a worthless opinion as far as I'm concerned.
Planned Obsolescence didn't start with smartphones. It was happening with cars in the 1950s. The problem is people who are not technologically astute. I asked a PhD economist to explain how an automobile engine worked. He couldn't even start. He drove a white SUV.
:) *Blackberry* was the _onset_ of the "24 hr workday" in 2002 (just after Y2K). Blackberry also made "long distance fees" obsolete by offering *email* in a mobile device that also did *maps,* so it was a business text device, not necessarily a hypnotic video device. I was working as a computer tech at a large Internet hosting company when it first came out. We all got called into the I.T. Director's office one day, and he was looking at his mobile phone as we walked in. "Hey, is that one of those new Blackberries? I want to get one of those!", said one of the other techs. "No you don't." Then he looked back down. And started 'scrolling'.
They are a huge distraction, but I’m glad to have a smartphone for many practical reasons too related to safety. I take public transpo, and the GPS feature of the bus system lets you know exactly when the bus will come. So if it’s 20 minutes late, you can wait somewhere warm instead of waiting outside in the freezing cold, not knowing if or when it’s coming like in the pre-smartphone times. It also helps you plan your route home. And of course it helps to be able to call 911 if you have an emergency. On the non-urgent side, podcasts and audiobooks keep me entertained on long commutes.
For me, smartphones are great. There's definitely a balance I need to find to not be overwhelmed by constant connection (such as disabling notifications for certain apps). But some apps help me to function in daily life. And mobile internet means that when I get lost (which happens often), I can find my way back.
I went a bit old-school a few weeks ago. I bought a standard dvd, i’ve picked up reading as of late, I watch only standard tv with commercials and i only use messenger, no Tiktok.
I think there’s just a lot of junk content out there and that fucks us up more than the enriching parts of it. Also, I feel like when people say “the internet is a plague” they’re mostly talking about TikTok.
I can't comprehend why everyone downloaded TikTok in the first place. I'm 27 and it seemed like one day it was just... there. And everyone already knew about it and was using it. I looked at it for ten seconds stopped caring.
i remember being so sad when technology changed with music. CD's out - ipod in. it felt so sad that my physical album that i cherished, would no longer be the norm. it was the most drastic shift i remember being against. by the time blockbuster finally closed i was so numb to it. the world had changed me. But i will always miss that time. i miss that you couldn't go on the internet, because your mom was talking on the landline 😄 for hours. i miss NOT knowing what my friends are doing all the time. i miss times before the iphone. before streaming.
Seems like our hobbies and lives have evolved to be Performed not just done. Enjoyed for the doing, and just remembered not looked at or seen. Maybe that’s more stressful. Instead of just baking a loaf of bread from scratch, it’s a pressure to post it. This means paying attention to the appearance of the bowl and the flour bag/container. The cloth cover has to be attractive. The loaf cannot get too brown or criticism is going to fall upon us. 😢
I agree with mostly all of this video thought I don't personally feel the need to post stuff for validation (well I do like to post art and I love to hear feed back on it) I personally like posting about my life and whats going on only with close friends, I prefer letting them know I saw something cool or out and about with them and rarely do I ever like post what I saw in real love on my socials, I feel like my issues with the internet comes from how YOUNG people get you hooked on it and how there are no spaces for kids anymore ever since they took away adobe flash, so like no more fun little websites for kids to play games, now everything is on apps, kind of do wish things could go back to kids having "computer time" and having a family PC, I mean hell even when kids that did have PCs in there room it was mostly for school and video games, I feel like kids these says are growing up much to fast with how the internet is now a days and they don't have there own space where they can just be kids on the internet. that's the thing I miss the most.
Thank you for making this video--this is an important topic, but many people don't talk about it because they think our current invasive tech monopolies are a natural and inevitable of technological progress. That's not true, and we could go back to an internet without algorithmic gatekeeping & manipulation if we have the political will to rein in the tech companies. For those who want to learn more, I recommend the "Tech won't save us" and "The are no girls on the internet" podcasts
I do wonder if it's possible for us to fix things culturally. So many of us recognize what's happening, even some kids who weren't really around pre-smart phone. We need to recognize the modern Internet as a potentially addictive thing like gambling. We need to strive for way more human connection. I think the real double-whammy is that we're at a point where I'm pretty much _afraid to talk to people_ because they might stumble on some random "political" opinion I feel strongly about. Talking to anyone older than 40 is frustrating because before long they just throw themselves into a "see, it's all the transes, is the problem" tirade or at least _insinuate" that by saying "well I can't say _what_ thd problem is because I guess that's _bad_ now." The people who aren't terminally online are just unpleasant to be around. And anyways what am I gonna talk to anyone about? It's probably _because_ I had unsupervised internet access (aside from the autism) that my interests are fucking weird. It's hard for people to not just talk past each other about totally different things.
Gen X here. I will focus on the social and friendship aspects. The technology is good. It is the culture, the promotion of selfishness and cruelty to others, that is bad. And this is much easier to spread with the internet. We can also spread examples of good character and deep soul connections using the same technologies. I will say that the internet has been the best way to find like-minded people. If you are intelligent, with a deep soul, it is difficult to find similar people in any region. The internet has allowed me to find good people from many regions.
I think we tend not to appreciate the role resistance plays in our behavior. When something becomes too quick and easy, it allows low quality intentions to push through. And when something is very hard, there's no sense in ever doing it unless you have an exceptional reason to. A great example of this is anime and animation from the 80s and early 90s. Every frame had to be painstakingly drawn by hand and so the only way to justify that suffering was if the story was that special to deserve it. And look what we have today in entertainment: endless visual spectacle telling uninspired stories that you wouldn't bore a coworker with on a coffee break.
Loved this video and i share many of the same sentiments as a gen z-er with a love/hate relationship (and admittedly addiction) to my phone and technology in general.
One of the upsides to smartphones are the accessibility features and apps that make the world more open to people with disabilities, though there are probably ways to implement those without turning the devices into addictive slot machines
12:40 ok, this part with the stuff leaving platforms, this I kind of get and know why they did it. I think. I might be missing some details. This is just the rough idea for what I thought it might be. I think this was a result of the 2008 Writer's Strike. I think becasue the internet was becoming a way stronger force around that time along with other stuff coming into prommience, I think there was something to do with streaming revenue or something. I think with the rise of streaming services one of the ways they'd save money on having certain movies and shows on different platforms was maybe rotating them off for certain periods of time. And then returning them later. I saw this I think crica 2014 or 2015 with a few movies on Prime. Some movies would be included on Prime that you could watch for free. And after a certain ammount of time, like for a few months or something, it'd be removed from the Prime banner. You could still watch it, but you'd have to rent it instead.
A lot of the frustrations come from humanity heading rapidly into the technological singularity and not being able to adjust effectively. Our ability to evolve and adapt cannot keep up with the pace of our collective technological developments and its going to get exponentially more difficult to adapt over the coming years . Technology has always changed society in drastic ways and our timelines were defined by our technological prowess. Stone age, bronze age , industrial age , electronics age etc , those technological time spans went from 1000s of years to 100s to 10s and now in singles digits probably . As creatures of habit and stability this concept doesn't sit well and creates obvious stress for the entirety of human society . Not being able to plan ones life 1 year into the future let alone 5 or 10 years is a daunting thought. The optimist in me hopes that when we are in the technological singularity , we will have eradicated poverty and the need to work for money (which is the biggest stress for 99% of the population) , like the semi utopian civilization portrayed Star Trek. So we will essentially have everything provided for us to live happy lives and we work only to better ourselves and society. However , we have many obstacles to reach that and the pessimist in me doesn't have much faith in humanity to do the right thing, specially as it needs a collective effort and over the recent years we're becoming more and more fractionalized and selfish. Not to mention the ownership of all the technology is in a few very powerful hands and they are essentially trusted to do the right thing for humanity and not just become dictators .
The computer was a revolution then the internet was a revolution then the smart phone was a revolution that put the prior revolutions on steroids, 13 years later covid happens which forces the integration of the internet even more than it already was. I remember a time before the smart phone, the internet and computers were fun especially videogames but i always liked going outside and hanging with friends in real life. I don't think that'll ever go away because of a bunch of reasons. Im fascinated by the digital revolution and the new lifestyles it facilitates. Theres obviously things id perceive as cons as well but ive gotta say im so glad to be alive in such an interesting time for humanity. For the beauty and despite the horror.
I think we all just need to try to make an effort to delete unnecessary social medias. It helps immensely. Delete it and only download the app when you wanna use it or use it on safari with a limit timer. I’m doing my best to stop using it unnecessarily. Especially when I find my dumbass self wanting to scroll when I’m sitting at home and could be spending time with my child. I refuse to be that parent.
I’m 59. First cellphone in around 1995? No way the host remembers pre cell phone. First tech I was 14 so 1978. A massively expensive red led calculator. I couldn’t afford one. By 16 we all had digital watches and calculators. I was the last year to learn log tables lol
Yes, I first used a cellphone in 1990, and first used the internet in 1981. I know people who were on the internet in the 1970s - after all, it was launched just over 54 years ago.
@@topologyrob the problem is that only super wealthy people could access those technologies up until the early 2000's. PCB's and their components used to be hard to produce and required tons of components to do the most simple of tasks. its like bragging that you used the first super computer, even tho it was the size of a school cafeteria and could only do basic addition problems.
The issue with smartphones and internet is not that they exist, it’s that they’re wielded as weapons in conjunction with corporations and government. Nuclear power, if properly developed, could’ve been amazing for humanity the globe over. But no, we’d rather use the technology for weaponry.
I agree with your arguments about streming and physical media, but i disagree with you about social media because of 1 huge issue in your argument, and that is that you don't HAVE to use social media. It's not a requirement. I have facebook to talk to family and that's it. No snapchat, Twitter, tiktok, whatsapp, kik, whatever all the other ones are. I feel like you are coming across as someone who is helplessly stuck in a virtual world that you can choose not to be apart of. It just bothers me when people come on the internet to complain about the Internet. That's just my (hopefully) respectful opinion.
watching an entire generation get molded into unquestioning consumer brained zealots has been a very strange and disheartening experience.. its so much worse than you speak of here. because there were methods developed to allow kids to pretty much cheat their way through all of their schooling with those phones, most of the recent generations have the same literacy levels as a 4 year old after watching 30 sesame street episodes. they have almost zero information retention capacity because their phones remember everything for them and their coordination/spatial awareness is pretty much the same as a normal 4 - 5 year old too. so they expect to be treated like they are highly functioning successful adults, while having the minds, personalities and lifestyles of literal toddlers lol. its absolute hell because of those handheld brainwashing machines
i mean i’m still using an iphone 11 you certainly don’t need to upgrade every time a new model is available you do need to upgrade but not as often as overconsumerism tells you to
Ita cute to see a young person with all the info and history of the world at their hands say that they are the first generation to question how messed up the world is. Seriously, read a book you get generations. Preferably a history book.
There are def pros and cons, but things were not that different. Social media is toxic, and it exposed the dark underbelly to humanity we all cynically believed, but convinced ourselves was just our own cynical fantasy. Capitalism really did make things increasingly toxic and learning to pull back is the addiction/drug pandemic we need to address. I admit I fall for it, too, obviously.
I'm baby GenX they said we were useless utopians too. Ha! found the 2nd channel despite TH-cam hiding it from me! There's a new book about Luddites from a progressive & pro-tech author. He was just interviewed on Majority Report. He had some interesting perspectives I hadn't considered bc I always heard of them as reactionaries. So if you're interested in what Chey2.0 says here, you'll prob. find the interviews or book interesting.
There's too much useless information and so much things have lost their value, if I can create specific days in which I don't use my phone that would be great
I don't have a cellphone. The number of people used just on their phones, walking into people or traffic, it's absolutely stupid. You miss so much of what's going on around you, and ignore people that are actually oresent. And the people that phone or message you, they just want you there at their fingertips. No thanks.
yup, without awareness of your surroundings most of the time you are awake, your brain starts to devolve back to a child like state because its not doing the things it was built to do as an adult.
I’m definitely subbing because I like your presentation and I’d like to see more. But I think your analysis ended up pretty shallow. And some of your points were actually really bad. You expressed sorrow that we no longer are all getting out information from the same place and considering the way many wars have been televised. Not to mention the incredibly effective red scare pro-capitalist propaganda. You should really read/include so Marshall McLuhan in your analysis. One of the ideas he made was that with easier dissemination of information we are seeing more history produced on the ground reporting, meaning more first-hand accounts, rather than just hearing the accounts of singular grand figures. This is incredibly important and should not be dismissed in a single sentence. Tbh I don’t even know that you disagree with this because the video was only focusing on the negatives but imo it ended up being rather uncritical and shallow. Respectfully.
Oh, do you really think you're the first generation to realize how effed up the world is, and the first generation to decide you shouldn't have to accept it the way it is. Omg. Are you listening to yourself?
it WAS better. i was a huge original adapter of social media yet now i find next to no pleasure from it from my iphone. there is much less mystery to the world.
"we didn't appreciate the organicness of life". That made me a bit sad. I actually think millennials are unique in being the only ones who'll ever know what both worlds feel like. Unless we change the path we're on of course. Anyway I agree with pretty much everything. But don't buy into this thing that you're a 'grumpy millennial' for pointing out truth. Just look at the suicide rate in teenagers which correlates to when FB perfected their algo in 2011. You probably already kbow that and feel the need to qualify your critiques. I sometimes do that. Why? There is a decline in the dignity of humanity that is not conducive to mere disapproval of new ways of doing things and generational egotism. Anyways nice essay very sharp. I think honing in on the ownership of technology is interesting too.
As a 52 yr old, who's "terminally online" from 21, I would wholeheartedly agree, that the internet is fantastic, and our accessibility to it should be limited. I am also an undiagnosed autistic, whos very comfortable being alone. If it wasn't for the internet, I would be 100% isolated from any "community". We live in abundance, yet feel deprived and oppressed....there is something to be said, how our behavior is so easily manipulate. Thanks for this; the algorithm done good ;-)
concur with all your points from internet’s power, you and i sharing autism, and youtube recommend
Am I the only one who owns dvds and bluerays anymore? I hate the idea of being dependent on several streaming services, feeling the pressure to use the services I'm paying for, and having to fear losing the access on my favorite shows. I hate watching adds and I love to own the physical things.
Another thing worth mentioning is the ability to react or comment on everything online. You lose focus on what you were doing when there's the constant possibility to comment whatever minor thing comes to our mind. I believe that increases stress and self-centered worldview.
12:44 I feel the same way about music and actually buy vinyl albums, BUT the idea of "ownership" is really different for this generation, especially when it comes to media. Everything is a prescription service now from printing to car seat warmers. Corporations really took that Netflix subscription model to heart.
@@sobruhkey you're right. I hate that development with the subscriptions to everything 😅 I also own music on CDs, even if I most often listen to it on TH-cam. The CDs bust have their own feeling, with the pamphlet and everything.
I have hundreds of physical books, if an EMP ever destroys electronics, I will have a backup of knowledge i consider important in the form of books
@@CrucialFlowResearch the same, books are great! I also have a nice collection of my favorite manga serieses, some even classics hard to find anymore 👌
I grew up with dvds and I still buy them because if I wanna watch a movie or show I with no internet I can
Fellow grumpy millenial here. I mostly agree except for one thing: Smartphones can be incredibly useful for bringing the internet to lower-income populations.
I forget the exact statistic and source, but something like 30%+ with an income less than $30k a year in the U.S. rely on mobile internet to access the internet in general.
In the pre-smartphone times, or even the pre-cheap-smartphone times, these people would have either had to pay up for a computer or just be left out while their richer counterparts take full advantage of the positive aspects of the internet.
Edit: Firstly, thank you all for the likes, wasn't expecting it at all.
Secondly, I also remembered after posting that the mobile internet thing also applies to people of developing countries, including Brazil. In these cases, mobile internet infrastructure is also cheaper and more convenient to set up rather than wired internet for most people. The fact that Cheyenne set up her whole video around the net negative effect of smartphones without bringing this up was surprising to me.
good point well made 😊
What happens when the internet steals time from poor people, time which is a valuable asset that can be used to bcome not-poor?
@@JoJoJoker it's a doubled edged sword. On one hand yes it steals your time and attention, on the other hand it gives you access to a lot of information and educational resources. At this point I've probably learnt more from the internet than I ever did at school, in most cases for free.
OK, but that is only a problem, because our society is so internet dependent now. I am slightly older than her, and think that mobile phones are good. We would be better off without the internet. Especially social media, and it's DEMONIC AI algorithms.
Libraries are a thing. Every developed nation has them. We ought to bring them to the less developed places. Besides, laptops are a thing, too, and going to Starbucks or any place that has Internet connection is feasible for the poor, and they use them.
The addiction of smartphones is dangerous. Collisions, clumsiness, and heavy traffic are worsened by too many people having mobiles, and being unable to take their eyes and hands off of them.
Technology is not the problem. The problem is how it is used. Once corporations with their profit motive get ahold of the technology - the ethics are out the window.
I’m gen z (23) and remember life before smartphones. Even when they first came out, they were not accessible to most people around me. Things were definitely better. I vividly remember writing my friends’ numbers down on my hand so I could call them on my house phone and fighting my sister for some computer time😅😂 I never thought about it until you mentioned it in the video- the internet really was just in one place. I could either get on the computer at home or (sometimes) at school. That was it.
18 y/o. I didn't get on the internet foreal until I was 8. I still remember my first internet argument. My dad never should've made me a gmail account at that age 😭
How? When I was your age, the internet was around. And that is like 20 years ago...
@@laurensa.1803 I don't think they were saying it wasn't around, but that things were different when people didn't have constant access to the internet available to them in such a small, portable form.
Like all technology, it's neither good nor bad is how it's also applied. Obviously, it is a lot easier to go down the rabbit hole now. But because of the internet, I have been able to reconnect to a number of people I served in a military with.
I'll admit, as someone who grew up along side the internet (I vividly remember dial-up when I was a kid) I do feel the complaining about smartphones and quick internet is a bit "old person shaking fist at clouds." I find having an information multitool in my pocket really convenient and not particularly distracting and don't get fomo just from having a bunch of options(though maybe that's just me.)
I do feel it should have stopped with smartphones though; we don't need computers in our cars or fridges or whatever, that's what smartphones are for. I also agree that capitalism has tainted(enshittified, if you will) the functionality and effect of the modern internet.
Yeah, see, the thing about us (I'm _right_ on the edge of that divide) is that we didn't _develop_ with the modern Internet as a binky. We grew up without a stream of five-second TikTok videos and terrifying CoCoMelon stuff that operates the same way. I spent car rides looking out the window and imagining. I had a childhood where I actually went outside and just did whatever with friends. As soon as everyone got an XBox things started changing. Even a lot of people our age say they feel their attention span slipping away (typically people who're on social media constantly), I can't imagine what it does to a brain that grows with that stuff as it's main feedback.
Having the Internet in your pocket is an astounding tool and I wouldn't give it up for anything, but we need to start treating it as potentially addictive like... caffine and gambling.
@@colbyboucher6391 fair points, though the addictiveness and attention span issues probably stem more from capitalist enshittification rather than an innate feature of the technology and I'd argue that raising your child "with the modern internet as a binky" is generally a bad parenting strategy.
I would also point out that kids spending less time outside is probably moreso influenced by economic factors. most places kids can go to hang out and socialize these days(aside from maybe their school after hours) either cost money to be at, or are far enough away that you'd probably have to get your parents to drive you and your friends there(yay car-centric city planning). It ends up being cheaper and easier to connect over a chat app and play games online unless you physically live close together and know a fun spot within walking distance.
this resonates so much, thank you. I'm 29 and I truly miss that 'organicness' you mentioned
I reject the binary in 'was it better then or now?', it's too complex to choose. It's, different. There are some things I miss with all my heart, there are things I'm glad now that I have. My concern is that nowadays these younger generations view everything through the internet eyes and forget they have their own input too, also the way smartphones and social media affect personal relationships worries me.
sorry for my English mistakes
sa
your english is great!
- mico, a man part of gen z ( : age 18 : )
I think the internet can be good or bad but the bigger problem that arose imo was smartphones. Having 24/7 access to the internet instead of a desktop plugged into the wall or bulky laptop compared to the compact design of a smartphone and addicting feel of scrolling. Add to this a camera! And the ability to record yourself and anyone else, even without permission, whereever, whenever you wanted. Of course cameras on phone have their own benefits and conveniences (like citizen journalism for one) but honestly I think we should've left the internet at home and not in our pockets.
Edit: I wrote this comment while still at the beginning of the video, and the video was about this exact sentiment. 😂 Great video.
As a 52 year old Gen X, I would NEVER want to go back to life pre-technology. Sure I can adjust because I was born in the time where we had to do things manually and I have not lost those skills, but I absolutely LOVE technology. It has been instrumental in helping me simplify and declutter my life.
Young people, imagine if you will having to stay home to wait for an important call, or having to walk several miles to find a phone if your car breaks down, or having to wait years to see extended family because they live far away and can't afford to travel that often, having to lug around heavy books that hurt your back, having to rummage through piles of records or tapes to find the song you want, having to wait weeks for a paper check or important document to come in the mail, having to use a public phone that requires a quarter and has all kinds of germs on it, having to wait until your favorite episode of a tv show was shown again (if ever). I could go on, but you get my drift. I so much appreciate the instant gratification and ease with which technology gets things done and brings information to us.
Also, as a Gen X, I can tell you younger folks that the world was NOT better or more simple back then. We had gangs, we had drugs, we had high crime, we had bullies, we had kidnappings, we had serial k*llers, we had s3x trafficking, domestic violence, and all manner of atrocities going on. We just didn't have social media showing us everything back then. That is why people lie and say the world was better when it wasn't. I lived it. Therein lies the difference.
I remember when Myspace was the only social media around how much of a communal event it was. It was interesting to see my older siblings and older cousins pages. We would edit them together, and then we would browse everybody's page together. So we could see what their page looked like from someone else's point of view, choose music and all sorts of things. And it was really fun. And because I was a little too young to have so from media. I was so excited to have my own personal page to do that. But by the time I grew up, Myspace was out of fashion, and it was Facebook was the hot thing, but it actually took me a while to join Facebook. I wasn't initially interested cause what I really wanted to do was make a more personalized page with a wallpaper and music
"Were things really better back then?" Short answer: Yes, they were.
I was born in 2003, so I don’t really remember a life before the internet. I know that being an internet native/addict has negatively affected me. but just because there’s technically no escaping the internet it doesn’t mean we don’t have a choice in how to interact with it, therefore how it affects us.
I make the choice to be very intentional with how I use the internet. I don’t really engage in comment sections unless I actually have something to say. I don’t argue with people who purposefully misunderstand me. If I’m arguing, I comment once and immediately ignore any further interaction I get because I know the ongoing fighting will make me more upset. I don’t get emotionally involved in any kind of internet drama further than the surface level, only following along by the sidelines. I choose what news sources I trust and block everything else as soon as I see it. I don’t need to know about all the terrible things happening in the world that are out of my control. I know what places I can be myself and choose to highly moderate my safe spaces when possible. I use the “not interested” or “block” button frequently and without discretion. anything that will ruin my day needs to get out of my sight. my whole philosophy is a “be of the internet but not with the internet” kind of thing.
I truly think there’s a lot of good to be found on the internet for everyone; you just have to be intentional with what you see. only use the internet to better your life, not to make you more miserable. if you can sense being enslaved by something is making you miserable, drop it asap and replace it with something that makes you feel better. it takes a lot of self control because of everything being purposefully set up to addict us, but I have faith you can do it. it really is worth it for your mental health, I swear.
With the internet now being 54 years old, the people who can remember life before internet are getting pretty long in the tooth
11:07 (TV pre-algorithms )
I think I"m mixed on this.
I know there were a bunch of shows that I didn't even know existed or was interested in, but I could never watch due to being on cable. Or the house just having terrible reception to never see a particular channel. Also there was the whole issue where if you missed a show airing, you wouldn't be able to see it again unless it was in re-runs months later or something. And I think you might've needed the tv section of the newspaper for the weekly schedules and stuff to know what was airing. Also I think TV-Guide was another tool for these kinds of situations.
Also I like that people were able to upload older TV shows that never got a DVD release or were really hard to find due to being from a different country.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, I used to call my friends and catch up with them once or twice a week. Or invite them over to my house and make a fire pit with music and chai or spiced wine. I had the internet at home. I’ve even made a career from the web. But I prefer the days when making a phone call or catching up with a group of friends was social time. Social media to me has also become a form of surveillance and people are arrested for posting content. It’s become quite authoritarian and I think we have traded a little bit of convenience for systematic control in our lives.
Paraphrasing a comment I read earlier this year: I used to go online to escape real life, now I spend more time in real life escaping the internet.
I was born with mental illness and grew up bullied and feeling very isolated. I then developed chronic illness and had to stay at home. The internet was a way of developing my social skills and finally connecting with people. I’ve made friends online that I’ve had for many years. The internet also helped me discover a lot of great music I’d have never discovered otherwise. For all the internet’s faults I’m very glad it exists.
I wish the internet stayed on computers. I’ll be bringing a child into this world next year and I worry about them being ostracized or feeling left out because I won’t be giving them a smart phone as long as I can.
The 90s will always be a decade people reflect back on. The beginning and last of an era of so many technologies and trends from the MTV generation and the establishment of youth culture to the start of the digital and internet era.
I would refer to Zen as a philosophy and note how antithetical the modern era has become toward it. The democratisation of opinion and ease of access to social media platforms has become a wild ride all on its own.
Thank you for the well thought out vid. A well balanced argument with a lot of nuances
I agree with all you said, but I'd like to ad that my own experience is that the older I get the less I'm interested in being chronically online. I just kinda feel fed up with the social media a lot of the time, as I see it as useless in a practical sense. There's very little practical benefit in social media, just an overabundance of subpar "content". I mean at one time I was into photography and was eagerly posting my photos online, but then I realized that it made me feel bad, as I felt I needed to get likes etc, more exposure and recognition. It made me feel bad, and suddenly I didn't like photographing anymore, as it became a source for feeling inadequate. it wasn't about expression or having fun with a hobby anymore, it was about something else, trying to climb up an imaginary hierarchy. So I pulled everything from the sites I was in and decided that I wasn't going to measure my worth in likes anymore, or in recognition from strangers and I think it worked. I could do it because it was a hobby, not a profession, so I'm not saying you can be a pro photographer and not be present in internet, that's not an option anymore, unfortunately.
Yes I remember a time before the internet I even remember a time before ATM machines and I'm Gen X. The generation that is forgotten because we fall between the Baby Boomers and the Millennials.
im gen z and its not just boomers and millennials who think like this! i think the downfall of the internet is how it became inescapable. some schools send homework on whatsapp? or need kids to use apps. why? slack is awful and feels like you can’t escape your job. you can do everything from your phone which is powerful but also addicting. my generation I believe go out the least out of all of them which is disappointing. it can be because of Covid which I’m sure is a factor but I wouldn’t doubt it’s also because of our phones and smart tvs.
youtube is my favorite “social media” if you can call it that because it’s educational and entertaining but doesn’t feel like I’m compromising my attention span. I feel like there isn’t even a use of getting rid of social media unless we ALL get rid of social media. L
I feel like experiences used to feel more organic before social media. Idk how to explain it I guess
I agree with this video wholeheartedly. Also, what I like about being bored is that I start having more deeper thoughts and conversations with myself than I would if I was distracted all the time.
Things like job hunting in the age of the internet is so exhauting,first you have to go on a job site and scroll for hours to find a job posting, making sure the job isn't fake, then you have to fill in forms and so tests and screening, then your application goes through an algorithim, and maybe might get to a human, then it is telephone interviews and maybe an actual interview. Or you might get a non descript job rejection. Even when you try to apply in person you are directed to an online system.
You are also expected to follow a company on social media to know about job openings that is not posted on job boards. You are just an ID number with a CV attached. It is forgotten you are a human being
I won't deny that some of this is kind of true that the internet kind of made us more miserable, but sadly we're at a point where we just sunk way deep to the bottom of this metaphorical rabbit hole, that we can't escape it. We've gotten too accustomed to it to the point where it's like if you were on drug withdrawal.
That's true at a societal level for sure but... If you've never tried it before, you'd be surprised how quickly your brain adjusts to not having the Internet or a smartphone available after like a week or two. Sometimes less. You miss at at first but then you don't. It's really surreal. But maybe that means there's hope.
@@glocrowhurst I see what you're saying, but it's obviously no easy task.
@@rrioghnach Good for you at least.
I was the last person i knew to own a cell phone, then the last one to own a smart phone. I hated the idea of people always being able to contact me, still do tbh, but emergency use cases eventually sold me on it. Now i would have a very hard time without YT, Spotify, Wikipedia, and Maps access at all times. Social media was never for me, i imagine I'd have an even worse time in primary school today.
I sooo identify with this. I have always been slow with gadgets and apps especially with thise that make me persistently contactable/reachable. Not only all my peers, but even my mum got cell phone before me. Social anxiety plays a role for me too, which helps keep me off most of the digitalization of daily life - my anxiety is more triggered by phones than face-to-face interactions - but the downside is as you mention the occasional needs arising from emergencies and similar situations, and also so many things nowadays take for granted that a customer/client has a smartphone, for payment, tickets, ID, verification etc.
I miss the non-tech life, I felt free, lighter, ...it has now invaded every part of my life, despite my efforts to resist. 😢
As and old millennial who read 1984 as a teenager and thought the idea of carrying a telescreen around with you was insane; I have noticed smart phones have made people dumber and dumber. I relented and got one last Christmas but just use it as a desk phone. I think it comes down to whether you think about stuff or just look it up, if you stop thinking you lose the ability to think.
I wish we could go back to life before the internet. Sure, information is easier to access now, but damn things were much simpler. I miss it very much.
Like others said, I’m way more outgoing than I was pre smartphones as a result of having disposable income now. That’s the real key to this imo.
I really enjoy it. I use fb pretty much to see when car meets and social gatherings are. Being home every other weekend I need to cram my socializing in. The more technology has grown the farther out and stronger my friend groups have been.
All how you use it.
As a film buff, I like that every film ever made can now be easily accessed and seen online, but I miss the time when you had to go to an arthouse cinema and see the classics on the large screen, say, Citizen Kane or the Red Shoes, in the same kinds of theaters where they were seen decades before with the communal layer of the audience reacting. Watching movies home alone, or worse, on a tiny phone, just doesn't cut it as a proper movie viewing experience. Having an opinion on a movie when it's seen this way is a worthless opinion as far as I'm concerned.
Planned Obsolescence didn't start with smartphones. It was happening with cars in the 1950s. The problem is people who are not technologically astute.
I asked a PhD economist to explain how an automobile engine worked. He couldn't even start. He drove a white SUV.
:) *Blackberry* was the _onset_ of the "24 hr workday" in 2002 (just after Y2K). Blackberry also made "long distance fees" obsolete by offering *email* in a mobile device that also did *maps,* so it was a business text device, not necessarily a hypnotic video device. I was working as a computer tech at a large Internet hosting company when it first came out.
We all got called into the I.T. Director's office one day, and he was looking at his mobile phone as we walked in. "Hey, is that one of those new Blackberries? I want to get one of those!", said one of the other techs.
"No you don't." Then he looked back down. And started 'scrolling'.
They are a huge distraction, but I’m glad to have a smartphone for many practical reasons too related to safety. I take public transpo, and the GPS feature of the bus system lets you know exactly when the bus will come. So if it’s 20 minutes late, you can wait somewhere warm instead of waiting outside in the freezing cold, not knowing if or when it’s coming like in the pre-smartphone times. It also helps you plan your route home. And of course it helps to be able to call 911 if you have an emergency. On the non-urgent side, podcasts and audiobooks keep me entertained on long commutes.
For me, smartphones are great. There's definitely a balance I need to find to not be overwhelmed by constant connection (such as disabling notifications for certain apps). But some apps help me to function in daily life. And mobile internet means that when I get lost (which happens often), I can find my way back.
And like they say never trust anybody over the age of 30 and then I turned 30.
It made more sense when "over the age of 30" meant the sort of people who voted for Bill Clinton.
Great video - so much insightful commentary. Thanks.
I went a bit old-school a few weeks ago. I bought a standard dvd, i’ve picked up reading as of late, I watch only standard tv with commercials and i only use messenger, no Tiktok.
I think there’s just a lot of junk content out there and that fucks us up more than the enriching parts of it. Also, I feel like when people say “the internet is a plague” they’re mostly talking about TikTok.
I can't comprehend why everyone downloaded TikTok in the first place. I'm 27 and it seemed like one day it was just... there. And everyone already knew about it and was using it. I looked at it for ten seconds stopped caring.
i remember being so sad when technology changed with music. CD's out - ipod in. it felt so sad that my physical album that i cherished, would no longer be the norm. it was the most drastic shift i remember being against. by the time blockbuster finally closed i was so numb to it. the world had changed me. But i will always miss that time. i miss that you couldn't go on the internet, because your mom was talking on the landline 😄 for hours. i miss NOT knowing what my friends are doing all the time. i miss times before the iphone. before streaming.
Seems like our hobbies and lives have evolved to be Performed not just done. Enjoyed for the doing, and just remembered not looked at or seen. Maybe that’s more stressful. Instead of just baking a loaf of bread from scratch, it’s a pressure to post it. This means paying attention to the appearance of the bowl and the flour bag/container. The cloth cover has to be attractive. The loaf cannot get too brown or criticism is going to fall upon us. 😢
I agree with mostly all of this video thought I don't personally feel the need to post stuff for validation
(well I do like to post art and I love to hear feed back on it) I personally like posting about my life and whats going on only with close friends, I prefer letting them know I saw something cool or out and about with them and rarely do I ever like post what I saw in real love on my socials, I feel like my issues with the internet comes from how YOUNG people get you hooked on it and how there are no spaces for kids anymore ever since they took away adobe flash, so like no more fun little websites for kids to play games, now everything is on apps, kind of do wish things could go back to kids having "computer time" and having a family PC, I mean hell even when kids that did have PCs in there room it was mostly for school and video games, I feel like kids these says are growing up much to fast with how the internet is now a days and they don't have there own space where they can just be kids on the internet.
that's the thing I miss the most.
great video!!!!
being a gen x clearly remember life without the internet or smart phones
I even remember when video killed the radio star!!!!
We even remember videos AND radio
Thank you for making this video--this is an important topic, but many people don't talk about it because they think our current invasive tech monopolies are a natural and inevitable of technological progress. That's not true, and we could go back to an internet without algorithmic gatekeeping & manipulation if we have the political will to rein in the tech companies.
For those who want to learn more, I recommend the "Tech won't save us" and "The are no girls on the internet" podcasts
I do wonder if it's possible for us to fix things culturally. So many of us recognize what's happening, even some kids who weren't really around pre-smart phone. We need to recognize the modern Internet as a potentially addictive thing like gambling. We need to strive for way more human connection. I think the real double-whammy is that we're at a point where I'm pretty much _afraid to talk to people_ because they might stumble on some random "political" opinion I feel strongly about. Talking to anyone older than 40 is frustrating because before long they just throw themselves into a "see, it's all the transes, is the problem" tirade or at least _insinuate" that by saying "well I can't say _what_ thd problem is because I guess that's _bad_ now." The people who aren't terminally online are just unpleasant to be around. And anyways what am I gonna talk to anyone about? It's probably _because_ I had unsupervised internet access (aside from the autism) that my interests are fucking weird. It's hard for people to not just talk past each other about totally different things.
Social media sometimes doesn't feel that different from newsgroup interaction circa 1989
Gen X here. I will focus on the social and friendship aspects.
The technology is good. It is the culture, the promotion of selfishness and cruelty to others, that is bad. And this is much easier to spread with the internet. We can also spread examples of good character and deep soul connections using the same technologies.
I will say that the internet has been the best way to find like-minded people. If you are intelligent, with a deep soul, it is difficult to find similar people in any region. The internet has allowed me to find good people from many regions.
I think we tend not to appreciate the role resistance plays in our behavior. When something becomes too quick and easy, it allows low quality intentions to push through. And when something is very hard, there's no sense in ever doing it unless you have an exceptional reason to. A great example of this is anime and animation from the 80s and early 90s. Every frame had to be painstakingly drawn by hand and so the only way to justify that suffering was if the story was that special to deserve it. And look what we have today in entertainment: endless visual spectacle telling uninspired stories that you wouldn't bore a coworker with on a coffee break.
Loved this video and i share many of the same sentiments as a gen z-er with a love/hate relationship (and admittedly addiction) to my phone and technology in general.
I remember time before internet became part of everyday life. Now things are crazy
One of the upsides to smartphones are the accessibility features and apps that make the world more open to people with disabilities, though there are probably ways to implement those without turning the devices into addictive slot machines
Well said!
12:40
ok, this part with the stuff leaving platforms, this I kind of get and know why they did it. I think. I might be missing some details. This is just the rough idea for what I thought it might be.
I think this was a result of the 2008 Writer's Strike. I think becasue the internet was becoming a way stronger force around that time along with other stuff coming into prommience, I think there was something to do with streaming revenue or something. I think with the rise of streaming services one of the ways they'd save money on having certain movies and shows on different platforms was maybe rotating them off for certain periods of time. And then returning them later. I saw this I think crica 2014 or 2015 with a few movies on Prime. Some movies would be included on Prime that you could watch for free. And after a certain ammount of time, like for a few months or something, it'd be removed from the Prime banner. You could still watch it, but you'd have to rent it instead.
A lot of the frustrations come from humanity heading rapidly into the technological singularity and not being able to adjust effectively. Our ability to evolve and adapt cannot keep up with the pace of our collective technological developments and its going to get exponentially more difficult to adapt over the coming years .
Technology has always changed society in drastic ways and our timelines were defined by our technological prowess. Stone age, bronze age , industrial age , electronics age etc , those technological time spans went from 1000s of years to 100s to 10s and now in singles digits probably . As creatures of habit and stability this concept doesn't sit well and creates obvious stress for the entirety of human society . Not being able to plan ones life 1 year into the future let alone 5 or 10 years is a daunting thought.
The optimist in me hopes that when we are in the technological singularity , we will have eradicated poverty and the need to work for money (which is the biggest stress for 99% of the population) , like the semi utopian civilization portrayed Star Trek. So we will essentially have everything provided for us to live happy lives and we work only to better ourselves and society. However , we have many obstacles to reach that and the pessimist in me doesn't have much faith in humanity to do the right thing, specially as it needs a collective effort and over the recent years we're becoming more and more fractionalized and selfish. Not to mention the ownership of all the technology is in a few very powerful hands and they are essentially trusted to do the right thing for humanity and not just become dictators .
The computer was a revolution then the internet was a revolution then the smart phone was a revolution that put the prior revolutions on steroids, 13 years later covid happens which forces the integration of the internet even more than it already was.
I remember a time before the smart phone, the internet and computers were fun especially videogames but i always liked going outside and hanging with friends in real life. I don't think that'll ever go away because of a bunch of reasons.
Im fascinated by the digital revolution and the new lifestyles it facilitates. Theres obviously things id perceive as cons as well but ive gotta say im so glad to be alive in such an interesting time for humanity.
For the beauty and despite the horror.
Bro what there's TWO Cheyennes???
I can honestly say the internet has made life much better, but it requires a lot of maintenance to weed out the stuff that tears you down
I just mute my phone. No distractions here.
We should have stopped at flip phones. Those were useful. The internet sucks.
This video needs more views.
I think we all just need to try to make an effort to delete unnecessary social medias. It helps immensely. Delete it and only download the app when you wanna use it or use it on safari with a limit timer. I’m doing my best to stop using it unnecessarily. Especially when I find my dumbass self wanting to scroll when I’m sitting at home and could be spending time with my child. I refuse to be that parent.
I’m 59. First cellphone in around 1995? No way the host remembers pre cell phone. First tech I was 14 so 1978. A massively expensive red led calculator. I couldn’t afford one. By 16 we all had digital watches and calculators. I was the last year to learn log tables lol
Yes, I first used a cellphone in 1990, and first used the internet in 1981. I know people who were on the internet in the 1970s - after all, it was launched just over 54 years ago.
@@topologyrob the problem is that only super wealthy people could access those technologies up until the early 2000's. PCB's and their components used to be hard to produce and required tons of components to do the most simple of tasks. its like bragging that you used the first super computer, even tho it was the size of a school cafeteria and could only do basic addition problems.
@@saturationstation1446 As for me on the internet, it wasn't that inaccessible if you had a relative working in a uni maths department (as I did)
The issue with smartphones and internet is not that they exist, it’s that they’re wielded as weapons in conjunction with corporations and government.
Nuclear power, if properly developed, could’ve been amazing for humanity the globe over. But no, we’d rather use the technology for weaponry.
I agree with your arguments about streming and physical media, but i disagree with you about social media because of 1 huge issue in your argument, and that is that you don't HAVE to use social media. It's not a requirement. I have facebook to talk to family and that's it. No snapchat, Twitter, tiktok, whatsapp, kik, whatever all the other ones are. I feel like you are coming across as someone who is helplessly stuck in a virtual world that you can choose not to be apart of. It just bothers me when people come on the internet to complain about the Internet. That's just my (hopefully) respectful opinion.
today's technology eliminates one crucial thing: Modulation.
One thing I prefer: being able to pause a "cool show" to listen to my kid instead of telling them to hush so I don't miss any prime time.
watching an entire generation get molded into unquestioning consumer brained zealots has been a very strange and disheartening experience.. its so much worse than you speak of here. because there were methods developed to allow kids to pretty much cheat their way through all of their schooling with those phones, most of the recent generations have the same literacy levels as a 4 year old after watching 30 sesame street episodes. they have almost zero information retention capacity because their phones remember everything for them and their coordination/spatial awareness is pretty much the same as a normal 4 - 5 year old too. so they expect to be treated like they are highly functioning successful adults, while having the minds, personalities and lifestyles of literal toddlers lol. its absolute hell because of those handheld brainwashing machines
i do miss the time when the only thing you could do on your phone was to play snake. lol
i mean i’m still using an iphone 11 you certainly don’t need to upgrade every time a new model is available you do need to upgrade but not as often as overconsumerism tells you to
Ita cute to see a young person with all the info and history of the world at their hands say that they are the first generation to question how messed up the world is.
Seriously, read a book you get generations. Preferably a history book.
Extensions of capitalism, damn right. Not straight, social media is media and just as bent
There are def pros and cons, but things were not that different.
Social media is toxic, and it exposed the dark underbelly to humanity we all cynically believed, but convinced ourselves was just our own cynical fantasy.
Capitalism really did make things increasingly toxic and learning to pull back is the addiction/drug pandemic we need to address.
I admit I fall for it, too, obviously.
I'm baby GenX they said we were useless utopians too. Ha! found the 2nd channel despite TH-cam hiding it from me!
There's a new book about Luddites from a progressive & pro-tech author. He was just interviewed on Majority Report. He had some interesting perspectives I hadn't considered bc I always heard of them as reactionaries. So if you're interested in what Chey2.0 says here, you'll prob. find the interviews or book interesting.
There's too much useless information and so much things have lost their value, if I can create specific days in which I don't use my phone that would be great
What he said is true.
Internet addiction was a mistake
I don't have a cellphone. The number of people used just on their phones, walking into people or traffic, it's absolutely stupid. You miss so much of what's going on around you, and ignore people that are actually oresent. And the people that phone or message you, they just want you there at their fingertips. No thanks.
yup, without awareness of your surroundings most of the time you are awake, your brain starts to devolve back to a child like state because its not doing the things it was built to do as an adult.
I’m definitely subbing because I like your presentation and I’d like to see more. But I think your analysis ended up pretty shallow. And some of your points were actually really bad. You expressed sorrow that we no longer are all getting out information from the same place and considering the way many wars have been televised. Not to mention the incredibly effective red scare pro-capitalist propaganda. You should really read/include so Marshall McLuhan in your analysis. One of the ideas he made was that with easier dissemination of information we are seeing more history produced on the ground reporting, meaning more first-hand accounts, rather than just hearing the accounts of singular grand figures. This is incredibly important and should not be dismissed in a single sentence.
Tbh I don’t even know that you disagree with this because the video was only focusing on the negatives but imo it ended up being rather uncritical and shallow. Respectfully.
You want intentionality? Get a Polaroid camera. :)
Oh, do you really think you're the first generation to realize how effed up the world is, and the first generation to decide you shouldn't have to accept it the way it is.
Omg.
Are you listening to yourself?
it WAS better. i was a huge original adapter of social media yet now i find next to no pleasure from it from my iphone. there is much less mystery to the world.
I was 24 in '99.
Everything was objectively better.
No. They weren’t
"we didn't appreciate the organicness of life". That made me a bit sad. I actually think millennials are unique in being the only ones who'll ever know what both worlds feel like. Unless we change the path we're on of course.
Anyway I agree with pretty much everything.
But don't buy into this thing that you're a 'grumpy millennial' for pointing out truth. Just look at the suicide rate in teenagers which correlates to when FB perfected their algo in 2011. You probably already kbow that and feel the need to qualify your critiques. I sometimes do that. Why? There is a decline in the dignity of humanity that is not conducive to mere disapproval of new ways of doing things and generational egotism.
Anyways nice essay very sharp. I think honing in on the ownership of technology is interesting too.
Maybe just stop living in the past and focus on the present and future. We only remember the good things of the past not the bad.