False Permanence?

[jackfaire]

A while ago I found out that Blockbuster wasn't actually founded until after I was born and it went out of business well we know when.

YouTube hasn't even been around 20 years yet. But we treat these things like they've always been around. Even more so in TV shows and Movies where we act like this is a way of life that's always been.

Hell when I was in high school I was one of the few kids in my class that spent time in chatrooms. Now everyone's got social media on tap in their pocket. I see in shows all the time that people are talking as if social media is intrinsically linked into dating and that everyone just knows all the rules for that and like it's always been around.

IRL I rarely hear any of those conversations. It feels like we create this reality where anything that's become intrinsic to our lives has suddenly always been a thing. Is it just me?

[D_Yeti_Esquire]

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.

[jackfaire]

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.