Has the internet ruined creativity, politics and society as a whole.

[mathew101281]

It was suppose to unify the world, and in a sense it has. But I would argue that society as a whole is less creative, more argumentative, and more pigeon holed into ever-smaller cultural cubby holes then ever. To relate it to something relevant to this site, have you ever noticed the huge decline in new superheroes that happened around the time that the internet went mainstream? (1994-5)

A similar thing happened to music in the mid 90’s as well. The number of new genres seemed to suddenly fall off a cliff. I think the internet has divided potential viewing audiences up so much that it’s made it practically impossible for anything to really catch on across the board. Take for example the whole phenomenon of being “internet famous”. It is quite possible in this day and age to be a person with literally millions of fans yet you could walk down a street in a busy city, and not be recognized.

[Ragged Maw]

I think we can all agree that the internet has only brought out people’s best selves and enriched the lives of countless individuals by virtually uniting them with each other despite otherwise being strangers.

[WillieMorgan]

I vehemently disagree with the above post.

Therefore, this individual naturally deserves to have his entire life turned upside down and his livelihood destroyed ASAP. Cancel, cancel, cancel!!

We're the tolerant ones.

[jetengine]

I vehemently disagree with the above post.

Therefore, this individual naturally deserves to have his entire life turned upside down and his livelihood destroyed ASAP. Cancel, cancel, cancel!!

We're the tolerant ones.

Cancel culture is a fallacy. Its usually marginalised people actually having a voice now and if it worked like complainers suggested then people with money and power would actually be affected instead of being....still fine.

Now of course we should still accept that people can change and move on as people but the "OMG Cancel culture" thing is bullshit

[WillieMorgan]

In all seriousness, it's pretty obvious that the internet has sometimes brought out the worst in people from all walks of life. It's entrenched them deeply in their own endless echo chambers too. I loathe Twitter and the rampant social bullying that is commonplace on there. If that was all social media has brought to the world then it would be a dire place indeed. Thankfully it isn't and here's a recent example of the good that it can achieve:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraisi...swalkforthenhs

What an absolute superstar! It's not all bad for the music scene either. It's true that the internet has pigeon-holed music in such a way that it no longer reaches the same audience levels as in the past. I'm guilty of living in a Classic Rock bubble as far that's concerned. The easy availability of it means that much older music can still live on and reach younger generations though. People that may not have had access to it in the past. The 'Classic Rock' era may be over but it's been preserved to an insane degree and can be enjoyed that way forever now.

[WillieMorgan]

Cancel culture is a fallacy. Its usually marginalised people actually having a voice now and if it worked like complainers suggested then people with money and power would actually be affected instead of being....still fine.

Now of course we should still accept that people can change and move on as people but the "OMG Cancel culture" thing is bullshit

I was obviously joking. It was a sarcastic response to another sarcastic post.

[Kusanagi]

I think you could argue the idea of being uniformly famous died long before the internet. The moment you had more than 4 channels the idea of a single unified culture of fame began a death march.

Now the question is, is this a bad thing? You'll probably never have a 'king of pop' again something hundreds of millions recognize, but at the same time it's far easier to find/create niche genres.

From an entertainment aspect I'd say the internet has been mostly positive.

[jetengine]

I was obviously joking.

You say that but there are many who speak in the exact same way

[WillieMorgan]

You say that but there are many who speak in the exact same way

To self: Gasp! He saw through my elaborate subterfuge. What a clever cookie. Now I'm for it...

[PwrdOn]

The internet hasn't so much ruined creativity as it has just highlighted the paradox of choice in our society. Back in ye olden days, you only had so many comics, movies, and games to choose from, and as a result most people ended up more or less liking what everyone else in their demographic liked. Nowadays, we are absolutely spoiled for choice with what we can consume, but this ends up mostly just confusing and paralyzing us, and this results in many people just retreating to safe, nostalgic favorites. Most innovative art is to some degree or another an acquired taste, and the only reason it ever catches on is because self-appointed tastemakers declare that everyone should be exposed to it until they come to like it as well. If you leave the decision up to the individual, new stuff will never really take hold because while most people claim to like trying unfamiliar things, most of the time anything that's too different or uncomfortable is dismissed out of hand without really giving it a chance.

[Mister Mets]

The internet is a net positive, but there are some downsides. It can bring likeminded people together to the extent they don't realize that the majority of the population might think differently and have good reason for coming to those conclusions. It can provide instant gratification and distraction, while making it harder to engage in longer pursuits. It can exacerbate a rush to judgement and is ripe for abuse by people acting in bad faith.

[Zelena]

I think there's also the problem of competition that is worldwide.
I remember old comics where the style of the comic artist was not perfect but it worked for the purpose. And then the comic artist had time to perfect and polish his style along the years. Something new is rarely in its definitive shape.



But now as artwork is immediately judged and compared to all that already exist, things don't have time to evolve and improve: it's either accepted or discarded.
And what is the best way to be sure to be accepted than doing something similar to something that already exists and that has been already loved, like with blockbusters.
Internet is a system that encourages replication.

[jetengine]

To self: Gasp! He saw through my elaborate subterfuge. What a clever cookie. Now I'm for it...

No I'm not doubting you personally, just pointing out that whilst your saying "its obvious sarcasm" it aint so obvious anymore. Ala the onion saying its shutting down because reality is better then what they can write

[Joker]

A similar thing happened to music in the mid 90’s as well. The number of new genres seemed to suddenly fall off a cliff. I think the internet has divided potential viewing audiences up so much that it’s made it practically impossible for anything to really catch on across the board.

Oh no, six bands aren't making all the money. Whatever shall we do.

The internet has allowed a lot of niche musicians an avenue to get their work out to larger groups of people who enjoy it, and provide far more income than they would have without it.

This can be said across pretty much all entertainment industries. What the internet did was kill the Gatekeepers.

[The no face guy]

It was suppose to unify the world, and in a sense it has. But I would argue that society as a whole is less creative, more argumentative, and more pigeon holed into ever-smaller cultural cubby holes then ever. To relate it to something relevant to this site, have you ever noticed the huge decline in new superheroes that happened around the time that the internet went mainstream? (1994-5)

A similar thing happened to music in the mid 90’s as well. The number of new genres seemed to suddenly fall off a cliff. I think the internet has divided potential viewing audiences up so much that it’s made it practically impossible for anything to really catch on across the board. Take for example the whole phenomenon of being “internet famous”. It is quite possible in this day and age to be a person with literally millions of fans yet you could walk down a street in a busy city, and not be recognized.

The internet is part of humanities evolution so I don't think there is much you can do about it. Like the printing press it gave a forum for the masses to express themselves.

but yes, they say the internet and digital media has created a political echo chambers. Forums where only pro Conservative or liberals hang out in that reinforces their believes to one another without having them challenged. The crazies like Alex Jones now have platforms they can launch from, whereas before they would have been completely marginalized on the fringes.

I agree with music as well, digital sales spelled the death of the album, and consequently rock n roll for the most part. It's hard for me to be objective on this issue though because I am at that age where I hate all new music. I love old hip hop, but can't stand Trap, Drill and mumble rap, sames goes for punk & metal. Love the old stuff, but I can't stand the depressing nihilistic extreme metal bands....now if I was 16 I probably would love all these genres mentioned.