Physical Media and Dying Digital
I've said for a while now that physical media was going to have a resurgence. It wasn't some grand prophecy, I didn't have any secret insight, it was simply the writing on the wall. Digital media took off because it was cheap and convenient, but the rivers of capital only ever flow in one direction, and so the question was simple: what happens when digital is no longer cheap or convenient?
The unforseen variable, at least for me, was the addition of: what happens when digital is no longer human?
I think we're in the death throes of the internet age. It has become too fractured, too impersonal, and yes, too inconvenient. Tools that redefined a generation are now worthless - Google is intentionally tanking its search efficiency to show you more ads, algorithms shove useless, empty "content" in your face constantly, social media is toxicity made manifest, and on and on. Now, on top of all that, there's a constant need for AI vigilance. Even if, for reasons I don't understand, you're a pro-AI guy, you still must be overly vigilant of what your AI is producing. Because it's wrong. It's factually wrong all the time.
And now, how do you verify it?
The internet has been taken hostage by big tech. We all know this. The dead internet theory (the idea that one day the internet will not be human but, instead, will only be bots talking to each other) is rapidly approaching reality. The power of constant connectivity has fractured our civilizations and our psyches. So what do we do?
We go forward by going back. We re-aseemble our foundation and build our own, better future.
And that's not to say the internet is inherently bad. I remember the brief, shining moment where it was a genuine force for good - before corporations got a hold of it. And yeah, it had its dangers. Nothing is perfect. But it connected oppressed communities, rallied human empathy, and, yes, increased human connection. Briefly. Oh so briefly. But it happened.
Now? Now it starves us. We're all stranded in a digital desert and pressing ever forward in the hopes that the oasis is near, but it's only a mirage. What's next for digital? The surveillance state: cameras on the roadside, your TV spying on you, your phone constantly listening to you and tracking your location, your doorbells giving backdoor access to whatever public official wants to abuse it... All things once thought to be sci-fi conspiracy, and all things that are now a proven reality.
I don't think people will tolerate it for much longer. I think going back to physical media will soon become a quietly revolutionary act. I think people will rebuild chunks of the old internet, connecting only to servers owned by other people, not massive corporations. I think people will invest in physical, support local, build clubs, and reform communities.
I think we're all exhausted, and you can only push exhausted people so far before they say fuck it and go their own way.
And you know what? It's good. Let's forge our own paths.