Internet Optimists And Pessimists

I still remember the early enthusiasm brought about by the seemingly endless possibilities the Internet seemed to offer. Over a decade later, many people – including myself – look back at this early stage with more and more criticism. 

In this article, Tim Hwang delves deep into an analysis of those early enthusiasts, calling them  Depressed Former Internet Optimists. Let me quote one section of the article:

As Yuri Slezkine argues wonderfully in The House of Government, there is a process that happens among believers everywhere, from Christian sects to the elites of the Russian Revolution, when a vision is unexpectedly deferred. Ideologues are forced to advance a theory to explain why the events they prophesied have failed to come to pass, and to justify a continued belief in the possibility of something better.

This is an interesting and timely point as we think about how the Internet was misused during the last years, and our trust in many tech companies has been deeply shaken. Hwang groups people dealing with Internet hangover into four categories: the Purists, the Disillusioned, the Hopeful, and the Revisionists.

If you are experiencing doubts about the Internet yourself, it will be interesting for you to see into which group you fall. I would like to think of myself as a Revisionist.