Wasn’t this inevitable once the internet was in full swing? I remember saying to one of my Aikido instructors, shortly after Trump was elected in 2016, that given the internet, and given the way people are, Donald Trump simply had to happen. He is a manifestation of the dark side of the internet. Not the only one, but the one we are most familiar with in the US.
Early internet boosters spoke in glowing terms about how the internet would bring people together, promote social justice, kumbaya and all that. And it did some of that. It also contributed immensely to the advancement of sciences such as virology and molecular biology. It is doubtful that we would have mRNA vaccines with which to fight the pandemic without it.
But the devil was just biding his time. All things have their dark side. The dark side of the internet is really dark, as your article makes plain. It provides the devil with a whole new tool box. I have heard it said that we are God’s hands. In the same way we are the devil’s hands.
Yet we just can’t get enough. We are even willing to sacrifice the night sky for newer, shinier toys.
