Quote:
Originally Posted by Anteater
At the end of the day, to me Trump is just an experiment (of sorts) and a test for democracy in the U.S. That's not a bad thing nor a good thing overall, but it was an inevitability.
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I agree with this - it was surely inevitable the way we were going, but I go back and forth wondering if it is necessary to stoke the change that will surely come out of it. Big changes do typically happen quickly, as history has shown. The only way you can get past the people who fear change is if something blindsides them.
It's been my thought for a long time (well before Trump) that the way we use technology and the internet is incredibly irresponsible. It has been the major factor in the widespread ignorance we see. I don't think our internet freedoms should be curtailed - it still has the potential to enlighten everyone if used correctly - but I do think a sea change in the way we think about it is needed. And I think this election has planted the seeds for that change. We need to stop viewing the internet as an anonymous place where you can feel good about yourself and do whatever you want. With social media and the sheer amount of time we spend on the internet, we need to start seeing it as another real place that real people visit (albeit not physically). People need to be held accountable for their actions and we need to start behaving on the internet the way we would behave in real life. If a bum on the street starting spouting Hillary conspiracies, I wouldn't believe him. The same bare minimum scrutiny should be exercised on the internet.
I think people are now starting to realize all this. We need companies like Facebook to step up and realize that most people get their news from their feed - they are now a news media organization whether they like it or not. They need a way to get people real news. We need internet education for our kids. Like home ec before, a whole class should be dedicated to internet etiquette and utility. We are currently witnessing what happens when an entire generation grows up with an internet with no rules. The best analogy I can think of is the wild west. Kids should be taught from a young age that there are consequences to your actions on the internet.
I feel like the past 20 years of the internet have been like if all of us were 5 year olds waving around our parents' gun. We got shot in the foot with Trump, but hopefully we learn our lesson the next time around.
/rant