Unfortunately, advertising companies built low-effort dopamine funnels on top and plugged everyone up. This has amplified the more basal animal instincts humans come pre-wired with. Outrage, lust, want, and envy are being micro-stimulated in all of us, constantly, all for the objective function optimization of engagement and ad revenue. Attention has been hijacked, fears have been stoked, and people have been made to hate each other.
We've evolved as individuals and devolved as a whole.
the now-informed go and inform the uninformed, affecting everybody in a slow and gradual manner -- regardless of the individuals participation.
One didn't have to read in order to be affected by the advent of the printing press.
In the same way that some thought about radio, TV and now the internet.
In any case any issues with digital media giants aren't the result of the internet, but rather late stage capitalism.
You can safely bet money on that.
I don't agree with this. While it's made it possible to be better informed, it isn't the case that everyone is, and in addition it's meshed with the bugs in our code (confirmation bias springs to mind) to allow disinformation to spread, and people to seek sources that confirm their beliefs rather than actually inform them of the truth.