Ultimately, the disadvantages of sharing your opinions online will become so great that people will turn away from the internet. This is the argument given by Geert Lovink, a professor at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) and the University of Amsterdam, in his new essay Extinction Internet. Lovink’s previous work focused on critical countercultures and possible alternatives such as fairer social media his platform, but he now believes that the internet is (partially) dead. , sketching a future where we are forced to give up our tech addiction.
Lovink has maintained his reputation as an internet pioneer since his involvement with internet pioneer The Digital City. Its founders envisioned it to be a decentralized network maintained by and for citizens. “We lost that battle big time,” sums up Lovink. The fact of the matter is that the internet and addictive apps are in the hands of Big Tech, who cares little about individual rights or society as a whole.
In his essays, Lovink shares insights from 30 years of Internet criticism and counterculture research working with art historians, artists, creative researchers and meme-makers. He has explored Wikipedia, search engines, social media, cryptocurrencies and their revenue models. Always from the perspective that the Internet is broken, but it can and must be fixed (as Waag founder Marleen Stikker argues in his book).
Unrepairable?
But over the past six months, Lovink started to change his mind. Can the Internet really be repaired? “There may come a point when it becomes impossible, after which the negative effects will be out of control. Already aware of this, Mark Zuckerberg has left his social media platform to launch Meta, and it looks as if everything is all right and he can start over, but apparently it’s already broken. increase.
opinions have consequences
Lovink believes this point of no return is near, as even “normal” users now have to pay the price for their widespread internet addiction and addiction to social media and apps. increase. “This price is primarily psychological. Not only are many young people suffering from distorted self-images and anxiety disorders, but they are also becoming increasingly functionally externalized. Certain key functions of the brain are It’s outsourced. Our short-term memory is getting worse and worse, and our attention is becoming more and more fragmented and very specific.
At the same time, social controls have been strengthened and users are closely monitored. “The freedom of expression that we assumed does not really exist anymore,” he affirms Lovink. The impact on people sharing non-mainstream views online, such as work and friendships, is now reaching the Netherlands. “We’re already starting to see signs that people are posting their opinions less and less.”
As controls become more and more sophisticated, impacts can be expected here as well. “In China, it is already a reality that if you have the ‘wrong’ opinion, you can’t get on the train. In the US, all social media profiles must be shared when applying for a visa. Things don’t look too bad in Western Europe yet, but online activity is trackable and visible, so at some point people may be unable to travel, get a mortgage or get insurance. It’s becoming a reality.”
Lovink believes this sophisticated control will eventually become so popular here in the Netherlands that people will eventually turn away from the internet. “I think people will start to shy away from technology.” He draws parallels with the climate crisis. Individual actions like installing solar panels were no longer enough, so people began to mobilize en masse.
extinction internet
Looking a little further, things get even more dramatic. Lovink sketches a scenario he calls “Extinction Internet.” That may sound like we’re all going extinct, but that’s not what he meant. He envisions a future of diminished access and even being disconnected from the internet.
The idea of losing connectivity to the internet may seem unthinkable, especially to young people, but we need to look critically at the future. But given the situation in Russia, it is now a clear possibility.Similarly, given the climate change emergency, necessary infrastructure such as electricity will cease to function, and The internet could go down along with it, and someone like Elon Musk would provide very expensive and exclusive satellite connectivity, as entire populations depend on it.”
While this will have dramatic consequences, Lovink believes it will eventually liberate itself from the shackles of the Internet. “I think it’s possible for us to wean ourselves from it. A variety of software and other constructs can arise, which makes us less dependent. Rethinking the efficiency argument.” How important is it to us to be able to control all our bridges remotely?Why should we convert our bridge operator stations into hotel rooms? What is the argument and how compelling is it?
The Netherlands under the control of big corporations
Many other countries still consider the Netherlands a free port, but in reality the Netherlands is completely controlled by big corporations. Lovink: ‘And we’re proud of it. Residents naturally asked questions. Why should we use green energy to power Facebook’s data centers? At some point, the company’s arguments are no longer convincing. The question we ultimately have to ask the government is why have you become so dependent. And would you please sell this to us as progress?”
the long winter has passed
In his essay, Lovink looks back on the early 1990s. It was a naive stage when the internet was seen as a decentralized public infrastructure, also known as the internet’s “short summer.” After September 11th, a repressive phase began, with the Internet increasingly being used as a control mechanism. On the other hand, emerging market forces have increased the trend towards personalization in the Netherlands. By 2011, social media had firmly taken over society, and Lovink began criticizing social media through campaigns, surveys, and protests on his platform itself. Many people are familiar with this criticism. “In the meantime, we have also been working on social media alternatives, but have not been able to make much progress in that very area. The long winter is part of my history, and on the positive side, it’s encouraging to see how the last three years have changed how we think about where we stand: Occupy, #MeToo, and the climate movement combined. Now that the state of emergency has swelled our personnel, we are leaving behind a long winter.”