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How is "significantly worse" not different?
Echo chambers would have been far more effective. Algorithm curated feeds would have amplified all extremes when further. If you think fascism went too far under Mussolini, just think how that would have looked like when everyone is scrolling FearBook and upvoting @ilDuce.
On the other hand, pictures of gulags, famine and concentration camps would have leaked out a lot sooner.
This isn't a shower thought. It's a pizza cutter being all edge and no point.
There wouldn't be meaningful changes yet there would be substantial changes?
If the internet existed in 1700s, the entire world would remain monarchist and feudalistic.
Why though? I think the Arab spring says otherwise.
Arab Spring had other non-authoritarian/less-authoritarian countries influencing them.
Imagine it's 1700s right before french revolution. The French monarchs got access to this surveillance state we have.
Do you think the revolution would've succeeded?
I think they'd just massacre the revolutionaries with AI-powered drones.
I was thinking of this scenario as dropping the Internet of the 1990s on a feudal system. If you used the Orwellian spy machine of the 2020s instead, it would probably get pretty dark, just as you said.
Isn't it?
?
Monarchism would kill your entire family for saying "Lol Emperor/King is ugly"
Even with all the oppression of the modern world in mind, our current world is still much more tame in comparison.
Kim Jong-un would do the same. And billionaires get away with abusing children, even though there is hard evidence against them. That doesn't seem like much progress to me in 400 years. Call it what you will, but the balance of power hasn't really changed all that much.
I feel like it's an expected consequence of living in an increasingly atomised, low trust society and not a cause.
Redneck 1: Lynching at 6. You in?
Redneck 2: Hell yeah.
1933 Supreme Court states that African Americans not being allowed access to social media does not violate seperate but equal.
Hitler used radio like Trump uses social media. This is not a new idea.
There are significant differences: Radio works according to the sender-receiver model, whereas with social media, anyone can be a sender - and that is just the fundamental difference.
It would have happened exactly the same. Nothing changes with new information. History repeats itself until we all learn from it. Can't have just part of the culture or nation or society informed. It must be everyone to make a conscious effort to change.
this post was submitted on 07 Jan 2026
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
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