No, the more the future unfolds, the clearer it has become that Internet is not the answer. The more we use the network, the less value it actually brings to us. It is more like a negative feedback loop, a digital vicious cycle in which it is us, the web's users, who are its victims rather than beneficiaries. Rather than making us wealthier, the digital revolution is making most of us poorer. Rather than generating more jobs, it is a principle cause of our structural unemployment crisis. Rather than creating more economic competition, it has created new, leviathan-like monopolists like Apple, Google, and Amazon. Rather than promoting economic justice, it is a central reason for the growing gulf between rich and poor and the hollowing out of the middle and working classes. Rather than creating transparency and openness, it is creating a panopticon of information gathering and surveillance in which we, the users of supposedly "free" big data products like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube have been packaged up as the all-too-transparent product. Rather than creating more democracy, it is empowering the rule of the mob. Rather than encouraging tolerance, it has unleashed such a distasteful war on women that many females no longer feel welcome on the Internet. Rather than making us happy, it's compounding our disappointment and anger. Rather than fostering a cultural renaissance, it has created a selfie-centered culture of voyeurism and narcissism. Rather than establishing more diversity, it is massively enriching a tiny group of young white men in black limousines. So if the Internet is not the answer, then what is the question? Excerpted from The Internet Is Not the Answer by Andrew Keen All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
