Cold Iron - 257
March 1, 2024
I sometimes wonder about the future of the internet. Not the technology, not the massive compilations of data – that stuff is with us and it's always going to be with us. I'm thinking more about the way we're using the internet, or abusing it.
We are, of course, here in the U.S., in an election year, and we're about to be buried in information, misinformation, disinformation, lies, posturing, and fatuous blather. There are the gullible among us who view the internet as somehow "official," and, thus, everything on it must be true. They will gobble up whatever stale piece of fish they're told is sushi. We know this.
I don't worry about them as much as I worry about the increasing numbers of more thoughtful folks who are beginning to look on the internet with something of a wry eye – doubt, skepticism, cynicism, a bit of a stink coming out of that electric toybox. Thoughts that maybe it's time to walk away from it – at least a bit. Maybe a lot.
Along with concerns about truth on the internet we now have artificial intelligence giving us no small amount of concern. Alas, we had President Biden telling New Hampshire voters not to vote, except he didn't. As if she didn't have enough money or fans there's Taylor Swift releasing naked pictures of herself to a slightly aghast world, except she didn't. Numerous celebrities are now appearing in ads they have no recollection of making, because they didn't. Authors and songsters are now finding their prized works out there on the web being monetized with not a penny coming to the creators.
It makes me wonder if there is a tipping point, as suggested above, a moment when people are going to turn away from the internet because you can't believe anything you find on it no matter how reliable the appearance might be. You might think you can get some good information about your health from the Mayo Clinic website, but what happens when you discover that that official site was actually a hacker's net designed to lure you into divulging all sorts of personal information? What do you do when your bank calls and says no payments are being made out of the account because your balance is zero – the day after you and your spouse's paychecks were deposited directly into your account. What do you do when the high school says your daughter's being suspended because she posted suggestive photos of herself on the school's website, and there's actually no record of "her" ever logging into the site?
Keep in mind, I love the internet. I enjoy shopping on it and I've gained tons of (hopefully) reliable information through various searches. Paying bills has never been more convenient with automatic payments, although sometimes I worry just a bit over having so much financial information "out there."
I've published dozens of stories on offbeat online journals, the readership small but the editors in love with my work. It used to be that you typed up a manuscript, put it in an envelope with a return envelope (in case of rejection), then hauled it off to the post office to get it stamped and mailed. Now, however, virtually every journal – online or print – requires that manuscripts be submitted online. Sooo much easier.
But it's a little disheartening when I see my books being sold on a website with neither my permission nor that of my publishers. I used to enjoy Facebook until my account was stolen due to the laughably flimsy security tools of Meta. I assume the hackers simply wanted to kidnap my friend list so they could sell it to various email lists.
Overall, I don't think the internet is ever going to go away. In fact, it's probably going to evolve in ways we can't even imagine today. However, at the very least we might be nurturing a generation that's going to look upon it the way most of us today regard the supermarket tabloids: funny, quirky, rarely true, and rarely worth buying a copy.
G.K. Wuori © 2024
Photoillustration by the author