this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2026
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Technology

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How Big Tech Killed Online Debate (www.currentaffairs.org)
submitted 5 hours ago by Gobbel2000@programming.dev to c/technology@beehaw.org
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I saw this article by Nathan J. Robinson on Current Affairs and wanted to share. I do agree with the idea that the twitter format discourages deep conversation and debate. Lemmy is in general much better in this regard, but even still it is affected by the wider internet culture of our time, and a proper debate culture takes effort.

Even on Lemmy I frequently see more nuanced takes being shut down by quick, snarky comments pushing the conversation into absolutes. And yes, a democratic society absolutely requires healthy discussion of difficult issues, not just outrage.

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[–] adespoton@lemmy.ca 6 points 4 hours ago

This might be romanticizing the early Internet.

I can remember plenty of flame wars in the late 80s and early 90s that were all about shutting down meaningful discussion. Informed debate flourished in niche areas, but it still does today, in a similar volume. What’s changed is the massive volume of social media that’s grown up around it, including many types of voices that were in short supply on the Internet in 1989, and many of which are uneducated and/or tribal in nature.