From Human-Centered Design to Human-Centered Society

5 Internet and Social Media

DOI: 10.4324/9781003462361-5

The technological developments chronicled in Chapter 4 provided the foundation for the Internet and subsequently social media. The benefits of these innovations have been enormous, for example for coping with the pandemic. The exploitive consequences of the Internet and social media include those discussed in Chapter 4 plus surveillance capitalism and the infodemic of misinformation and disinformation. These consequences are particularly challenging.

Innovation in Internet and Social Media

The innovations in computing and communications outlined in Chapter 4 occurred over centuries. In contrast, the innovations in the Internet and social media are much more recent. The beginning, it ...