That's the magic of technology really. Everything seems like it will be here to stay until something newer and more exciting supplants it.

In the case of social media, I do wonder if in many parts of society the luster has completely come off.

To reword something I said in a place on a different topic - it's like imagining that the King of England could pamphleteer your neighbors house and pretend that it was your neighbor to say bad things against you and the only way your neighbor would be the wiser would be to embark on his own research project.

People thought it would be more egalitarian, but the reality is those with capital could more easily AstroTurf the public sphere. I don't think it's a coincidence the rise of demagogues and dictatorships in this environment.

For what it's worth, I do remember when you could at least hand wave the veracity of most news as something you didn't need to fact check. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't a constant concern either.

I wrote the original post in December. It's now August 1st. During that time we have a Pandemic that has grown. Over the last half year my co-workers and I have discussed how now it feels like this has been going on for years not months. I came here to post something else that I will but I just noticed this old thread of mine and it occurred to me the Pandemic ties right into it.