It should have been the right answer, capable of solving the many problems that grip society. But what is the Internet really and above all has kept the promises of its fervent supporters, including the billionaires of Silicon Valley, the social media marketers and the idealists of the connected life? The answer according to one of the most famous and controversial internet gurus, Andrew Keen, is “no” and it can be found argued through the critical reflection on the digital world in his new book “The internet is not the answer” (Egea 2015; 240 pages; 22 euros).
The Internet, thought of as the tool capable of democratizing the positive aspects of humanity and disrupting the negative ones, creating a more open and equal world, has actually proved to be the primary reason for the growing disparity between rich and poor and the impoverishment of the middle class.
“Instead of creating more widespread wealth,” reads Keen's book, “the distributed capitalism of new interconnected economy is impoverishing us. For example, far from creating new jobs, this digital disruption is the main cause of the structural employment crisis”.
With his great storytelling skills, the author offers us data and stories that highlight how the negative aspects of the mobile economy far outweigh the positive, often entirely self-evident ones: "Surely I could not have written this book without the miracles of email and the web."
The right answer then is not the Internet which is reinforcing the domination of thugs and which instead of encouraging tolerance has unleashed a disgusting war … “without at all fostering a new renaissance, the Internet has rather created the culture of voyeurism and narcissism centered on selfies … instead of bringing us happiness, it makes us angrier and angrier,” says Keen.
The point is to give up, with facts in hand, the fascination of Internet evangelists and start afresh from the evidence that says that the Internet is not the right answer. At least not yet. At least until we've faced the challenge of properly shaping our online tools before they shape us.
And it is Keen himself who explains the value of his work. “And this book summarizes the research of many experts and expands on the contents of my previous volumes on the subject and explains why.”
Andrew Keen is considered one of the most famous and talked about internet gurus. Writer and entrepreneur, he has published The Cult of the Amateur and has already translated for Egea Vertigo digital. Fragility and disorientation from social media.
