Online Culture: The Biggest Slum

In his book, “You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto,” Jaron Lanier compares our current online culture to that of a slum. Lanier states that slums tend to have a noticeable higher presence of advertisements in contrast to those of wealthy neighborhoods. If we compare that statement, and think of all the free apps we download and use, the free websites we have access to (if we are so lucky to have access to them), then we can notice these apps and websites are filled with ads. Ads that are usually tailored to our personal interests, but that is a privacy debate better saved for another day.

Lanier further states that people are meaner in the slums; that “mob rule and vigilantism are commonplace” (p.87). First example that comes to mind that perfectly fits this description is the comments section of any YouTube video. Actually, the comments section of any website typically contains an intense presence of vigilantism. Opinion is everything. The stronger the opinion, the greater the reaction. Regardless of whether the reaction is in favor or against the opinion, people’s innate need to speak their mind and protect their beliefs is evident in online culture.

If a cascade of negative tweets about a person, event, or idea begins and goes viral, the chances of recuperating good reputation is minimal. The mob mentality cannot be shut down online. The mob mentally may start in virtual reality but is carried out in actuality. I agree with Lanier’s comparison of online culture to that of a slum; I further believe that online culture is the biggest slum.

Lanier, Jaron. You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. Print.