The Internet Doesn't Suck: Blame Big Tech, Not the Internet

Summary

The Internet Doesn't Suck Blame Big Tech, Not The Internet January 23, 2026 I think about social media a lot. I'm a computer science student at an undergraduate college, and I also happen to have an intense interest in political science and some of the humanities. I feel like it's almost natural from there that I would spend a lot of time thinking about the way we as humans use all this technology that makes up our world and our lives. Back when computers were just a footnote in our everyday lives, back when only your more well-off friends had smartphones, I could forgive you for seeing deep analysis of the way humans interact online as a trite or unimportant endeavor. Today, however, I think it's well understood the amount of impact that these online networks can have on our real world. https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/13/digital-rights/ I've often criticized current social media platforms for being designed in the interests of profit, which directly contradicts the interests of the actual people who use those platforms. Often a response to these criticisms — and indeed, I've been in this camp myself previously — is to decry the very idea of social media entirely. "Hear ye, hear ye, brethren, as I shout from the rooftops! It is time to disavow from the oppressive state of social media platforms! Indeed, social media is simply a tool of the bourgeoisie to push down on the proletariat in order to further oppress the little man! The only thing we have to lose are our chains! Disavow of all social technologies today, my brothers and sisters! Delete Instagram!" — Me, probably. Circa 2024 (dramatization) Is that really a good idea though? Should we be disposing of the very idea of a social networking technology that allows you to see baby photos of your out-of-state sister's first-born child on your smartphone while scrolling your feed? A technology that allows you to reconnect with the people you went to high school with, or to easily contact people on the fringes of you...