The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is Summary

Is the internet a tool of connection or a machine of division? Perhaps it's time to rethink everything we know about the web.

1: You Are the Product

While we use social media for connection or entertainment, it's really using us. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram profit not from user subscriptions but from the data users generate by simply engaging with the app. Every tap, like, and share fuels algorithms designed to keep us online.

Research teams working for these platforms refine algorithms to ensure users spend maximum time scrolling. For instance, YouTube recommends videos based on detailed observation of your viewing history, and Instagram adjusts your feed to hold your attention. The goal isn’t your satisfaction but your engagement, prolonging your interactions for ad revenue.

This system shapes not just how we interact online but also how we see ourselves. Instead of presenting authentic versions of our personalities, we perform for algorithms, editing out complexities and presenting "optimized" profiles. This digital self-censorship fosters polarization and weakens relationships, as online arguments creep into real-life interactions, fracturing communities.

Examples

• Facebook analyzing user behavior to recommend posts or ads
• Teens curating Instagram profiles to generate likes instead of being themselves
• Polarization exacerbated by Twitter debates spilling into family disputes

2: Algorithms Shape Reality

Much like older philosophers hoped for tools to make decisions for us, algorithms are the modern answer to this desire. Yet instead of solving problems, they often distort our reality. These systems filter what you see online, prioritizing content that fits past preferences and behaviors.

The brain’s attention system is a fitting comparison. Just as our brain selectively processes sensations, algorithms selectively show what we focus on. However, the difference is intent; while our brains filter out of necessity, algorithms do it for profit, pushing sponsored content that hijacks our natural attention.

This manipulation places limits on our access to information. Social networks sustain attention on sensational topics instead of diverse perspectives. Unlike choosing what to ignore in nature, being steered toward specific content online traps us in a loop of confirmation bias.

Examples

• Facebook showing only articles you’re likely to agree with
• YouTube autoplay pushing videos that reinforce previous views
• Ads invading your feed based on the clicks you’ve made before

3: Natural Networks Have Always Existed

The internet as a network isn't new. Humans are part of a world teeming with natural communication networks. Birds chirp, ants leave scent trails, and even trees "talk" through fungal connections underground.

Scientists discovered that slime molds, without brains or nerves, can solve problems comparable to city planners, creating food paths that mimic efficient subway systems. This suggests intelligence in systems we overlook, proving that not all communication networks need technology.

By imagining the internet as part of a larger web of unseen, organic exchanges, we connect digital communication to its natural roots. Instead of viewing our networks as disruptive or unique, it’s worth seeing them as extensions of something ancient.

Examples

• Ant trails leading colonies to food sources
• Whales communicating across oceans with sound
• Slime molds modeling efficient city routes without technology

4: Attention Has a Price

Human attention is a valuable commodity in the internet economy. In prehistoric times, communication represented deep, meaningful engagement. Today’s digital exchanges, however, are optimized for profitability rather than understanding.

Social media platforms commodify attention by prioritizing speed over depth. Gone are the days when messengers delivered thoughtful letters; now, texts and tweets dominate communication. This results in rushed and shallow interactions with little room for contemplation.

This focus on immediacy might prevent us from experiencing the richness of the moments around us. Slowing down to truly pay attention—whether to nature, literature, or real-life conversation—might feel like an antidote to being constantly “plugged in.”

Examples

• Historical reliance on oral storytelling for transmitting culture
• The thoughtfulness behind handwritten letters compared to rushed texts
• Social media algorithms encouraging quick, impulsive reactions

5: Humans as Telecommunicators

Long before the internet, humans sought inventive ways to communicate over long distances. Ancient trade routes like the Silk Road didn’t just exchange goods; they facilitated the flow of stories and cultural ideas, enriching everyone involved.

Civilizations like the Aztecs relied on messengers who memorized messages and shared them by word of mouth. Such practices created a sacred connection between message senders and receivers, a stark contrast to today’s emoji-laden exchanges.

By tying relationships directly to technology, we’ve stripped human communication of its depth and shared experience. Understanding historical methods could help us regain a sense of meaning in how we connect.

Examples

• The Silk Road functioning as an exchange of culture and ideas
• Aztec runners memorizing and delivering oral messages across territories
• The added value of meeting travelers face-to-face versus receiving letters

6: The Internet Isn't "New"

The digital revolution isn’t as revolutionary as it seems. Long before computers, technologies like the Jacquard loom and punch cards—used to automate patterns in fabric—set the stage for today’s computational systems.

These early tools inspired binary code and the concept of programming. Mathematician Ada Lovelace envisioned how computation could create entirely new worlds, not just automate binary problems. Her thinking laid the groundwork for our tech-driven society.

Seeing the internet through this lens helps us realize that it’s part of a long continuum of human innovation. Instead of blindly adopting technology, understanding its roots can encourage thoughtful use.

Examples

• The Jacquard loom automating silk patterns via punch cards
• Ada Lovelace’s vision for computers to expand human creativity
• Binary code originating in ideas linked to early industrial tools

7: The Simulation Hypothesis and Our Real World

The idea that we may live in a simulated universe gained recent popularity, but it raises more questions than answers. Many indigenous cultures, such as the Mbuti of Africa, see their environments not as simulations but as deeply interconnected systems they communicate with daily.

Simulation arguments often assume that computation equals consciousness, even though humanity has a limited grasp of either. Every leap toward creating “conscious machines” reveals the depth of how little we know about our own minds.

Rather than seeing humanity as separate from or higher than nature, embracing our ties to natural systems might lead to better coexistence—both with technology and the environment.

Examples

• Indigenous community rituals fostering harmony with ecosystems
• Neural scientists struggling to define consciousness within living beings
• Philosophers debating if artificial intelligence will ever achieve sentience

8: Communication Has Lost Its Soul

Modern communication tools create a contradiction: while we connect instantly, true depth is often lost. Early telecommunication revolved around direct, personal exchanges, but today's speed-focused systems erase the details that give communication meaning.

Charismatic forms of communication once carried an aura of gravitas. Receiving a long-distance letter, for instance, involved imagining the sender’s experiences and surroundings. Today, emails and texts rarely offer that.

Speed has its benefits, but it has traded sensory richness for efficiency, reducing relationships to brief, transactional exchanges devoid of the personal warmth that makes them memorable.

Examples

• Emails replacing handwritten letters leave less room for emotion
• Social media limiting conversations to character counts
• Phone calls being substituted by shorter, less interactive texts

9: Reclaiming the Web

The world always worked through intricate communication webs—emphasizing exchange, collaboration, and understanding. While the internet may mirror these networks, its current version skews toward profit rather than enrichment.

Instead of rejecting modern tools, one potential path forward lies in reclaiming technology for intentional purposes. By focusing screen time on education, creativity, and connections rather than endless scrolling, the internet can better serve us.

Re-engaging with nature’s networks reminds us that communication is not a pastime but an act of survival. The challenge lies in finding balance—between speed and depth, innovation and heritage.

Examples

• Using online learning tools to acquire new skills
• Prioritizing virtual meets to deepen real-world relationships
• Taking digital detoxes to regain connection with physical environments

Takeaways

1. Limit social media use by setting daily time caps to recalibrate attention to meaningful activities.
2. Engage with nature and offline relationships to diversify your understanding of communication.
3. Read printed books or explore historical and cultural methods of information sharing to counterbalance an online-centric life.