We Finally Have Proof That the Internet Is Worse

2024-03-03 02:53 AM by Tyler Fields

Updated at 11:45 a.m. ET on October 7, 2023 Living online means never quite understanding what’s happening to you at a given moment. Why these search results? Why this product recommendation? There is a feeling—often warranted, sometimes conspiracy-minded—that we are constantly manipulated by platforms and websites. So-called dark patterns, deceptive bits of web design that …

Nobody Knows What’s Happening Online Anymore

2023-12-18 10:21 AM by Tyler Fields

You are currently logged on to the largest version of the internet that has ever existed. By clicking and scrolling, you’re one of the 5 billion–plus people contributing to an unfathomable array of networked information—quintillions of bytes produced each day. The sprawl has become disorienting. Some of my peers in the media have written about …