IS THE INTERNET BEING RUINED?

This post is my reaction to Freakonomics podcast, “Is the Internet Being Ruined?”, linked here. The podcast covered a large amount of background on the internet from the 1960’s and the creation of the idea of a computer itself, to today and how the internet is changing. This podcast made me think about how the internet has changed in my lifetime. The last part of the podcast focused heavily on how the internet is changing to be more advertiser-friendly. Since platforms don’t charge a fee for use, advertisements are necessary. And their goal is to keep us on the site just a few minutes longer, because then we, as users, will see more advertisements. My original thought was when Facebook first came out, I don’t remember it being very advertisement heavy. And now? All I see is advertisements for items that I’ve recently browsed the internet about, trying to get to me to purchase things that I am trying so hard not to purchase! Advertisements are all over social platforms, more than ever. Platforms that we created are becoming more regulated, in a world that we intended to not be. The internet was meant to be a world with a stupid network and smart devices, so that the network was ignorant of the user purpose. Now, does that mean the internet is being ruined? I don’t think so, but it is definitely changing. As history shows, especially with technology, there is no way to truly predict where technology will go next. I wouldn’t say this podcast changed my view of technology, but I do think it made me want to know more about the information world, and pay more attention to the algorithms and way platforms work, instead of just scrolling through and reading the feeds mindlessly. I do completely agree with what Tufekci was saying about the fact that those who are behind the internet have amazing brains, and it is a waste to use them to figure out how to keep users on Facebook for another ten minutes. In relation to MIS 320, I think this podcast heavily emphasizes what we’ve been talking about in class where the power lies not in the technology itself, but how we use it. And there is so much more we could be doing. It also relates heavily to our recent discussions about data, data collection, and algorithms (i.e. Netflix like we discussed last week). Tufekci discussed algorithms on Facebook and how they gear posts towards positivity and likes, versus information that is challenging or important to read (i.e. Ferguson). I think my biggest takeaway from the podcast is that we, as a first step, need to care. We need to care about the information environment as we do our physical environment, as Benkler stresses. The biggest way the podcast influenced me was a larger desire to understand the information environment and where it is headed. What are your thoughts on the Freakonomics podcast? Do you think the internet is being ruined?