Digital Disconnect

The Cybernetic Revolution

The debate over the Internet divides into “celebrants and skeptics.” The celebrants vary on specifics, but unite in claiming that the web will create prosperity, a more equal society, increased leisure and an explosion of scientific discovery due to the ability to share thoughts freely. Celebrants emphasize a speedy flow of data and the universal capacity to connect. Skeptics argue that more information does not generate increased understanding and that speedy communication does not guarantee objective information.

Eli Pariser, author of The Filter Bubble, argues that, as a web consumer, you live in a protective sphere that shields you from data that threatens your preconceptions and that – not to your benefit – also impedes the lucky connections that spark creative thought. Skeptics note that those with power separate various aspects of the digital revolution to undermine an equal society. For example, China does not allow free speech, but it permits business use of the web. Skeptics argue that the web transforms people – they become shallower and less able to think critically.

Neither camp understands the “political economic...