Is This the End of the Internet?

I knew this was going to happen. How? Well, a couple of years ago, I started noticing this shift online. Social media was becoming more filled with AI, and bots, and trolls, and people who might not have been real people. People pretending to be other people, criminals, etc. The internet has had everything, and it continues to grow, like some kind of giant gelatinous glob of oil or something really gross and sticky that we all despise. (Take your pick and make your own simile).

My point is, I saw this coming. I was hoping that it wasn't, but unfortunately, it is. As a previous teacher, I find that we have failed our children, especially Gen Z. We should have taught classes on internet safety that were required, just like SOL classes. We failed to do that. The American education system failed to see how popular the internet was and how much it has taken over.

The world is no longer a physical space that some can travel and some can't. For the last several decades, we have been able to "travel" on the internet, meeting people from different countries and cultures, connecting with them through media and video games and movies. At first, it humanized all of us. Everyone from around the world was impacted. We became fascinated with this new world, a place where possibilities seem endless.

Around 2014, I started using an app called Smule Sing!. It was a karaoke app that allowed you not only to sing and post your karaoke covers, but it also allowed you to join and sing with other people from around the world. How it worked was, if you wanted to create a song for people to duet, you would record yourself singing only one part, and then it was posted on the live feed with invitations to anyone to join. Once a person joined, it recorded the video or audio of it, and it would be displayed on both users' profiles.

The really cool thing about Smule Sing! was that when you sang with others, it showed you generally where in the world they were singing from, so you might see, for instance, my profile photo over top of the Northeast US, indicating that's where I'm from. I have sang with people from every part of the world; the United States, including the West Coast, Central and South America, including Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico. Europe, including the UK. Asia, including India, Korea, and Japan. The Middle East, including Morocco and some other countries. I dueted with a LOT of people from Africa, in places I didn't even expect!

The thing is, these people smiled and laughed with me. They cherished the moment of singing a Beatles song, or an ABBA song, or some other popular music. At that moment, we were able to see beyond race, gender, sexual orientation, geographical location, political beliefs, and religious beliefs. On that app, we are simply humans with a love of music sharing that with others.

As surprising as it may be, I've never been on a plane, and I've never traveled outside the U.S. once except for one visit to Canada in high school. For me, the internet, and apps like Smule, were like unexplored territories, places I could "travel" and meet people from all over. We talked in the comments with each other, bonded about music, we communicated. Most importantly, I NEVER saw any toxic behaviors or rude people causing issues on the app. The whole toxic thing never took hold of the beloved karaoke app, thankfully. (at least not when it was the most popular)

The reason I brought up my traveling conquests online is simple; that example tells it all. Compare that to Tiktok, or X, or Threads. Compare that to Instagram, Facebook, or Discord. Compare that to any other social platforms that connect you with other countries, and you find hate everywhere. People shaming others, pointing out their differences, attacking regular people just trying to make a difference in the world. Humanity has become selfish and vain, and only looking out for number one. We don't care what happens to others, especially on the internet. Thing is, there are so many situations and accidents that have happened on the internet that have seriously changed peoples' lives.

The internet is far from perfect, but it is sad to see it declining. Social media, something that was once fun and engaging, something that once brought us together as a world during COVID-19 when everyone around the world was stuck at home, something that once brightened many hearts, made many laugh, became the enemy. Somewhere along the line, social media became toxic. People started believing the words random internet trolls would tell them on their posts and videos, taunting a reaction out of them. Evil people feeding off of the innocent for their own personal fun: the real world is no different.

There are plenty of places in the world that just aren't safe for anyone, or you may have a high likelihood of getting hurt. Danger is always here and always near. What I am mainly upset about is that we have taken something so beautiful, something that taught us to NOT see people as objects or races or countries, and it has turned us all into the exact things we hate the most. Discriminating, vain, self absorbed people who are addicted to fear and shame and terror. People that doom scroll out of necessity just to get their "fix" of toxic internet drama for the day. Social media has turned us into monsters.

I have a feeling, like so many others, that the war on the internet has only just begun. Beyond the borders of the physical world lies the internet, where there's plenty of space to occupy, and plenty of minds to influence. There are plenty of rich people, politicians, and world leaders playing with the power systems on the internet, and now, it is becoming even more frightening by the day. We are concerned with hackers, identity thieves, and just really mean individuals who like to be cruel to others.

The internet has and always will be like the modern day Wild West, but I think now more than ever, we need to recognize this toxic pattern and start learning how to challenge it, otherwise, there may not be any hope for keeping the internet at all. We must fight for the good and fight for the good things about the internet that we love. I think we are going to see a lot more of that in the year to come. I don't know about you, but I'm going to be there, watching and hoping for the world to heal.