Bolshevik

Haidt used teenage girls as a focus . . . so future mothers . . . . so in time your mom is raising you according to the social pressure of the internet

It may be what we are unclear on what can be controlled.

I'm lost on what your saying then. I'm may have clarified (or not) in my last post.

I think Haidt was pointing out as people start out younger and younger on the internet that personal development in intertwined with social media. Which is unfortunate. I don't think it's a leap there to see a how borg mentality can develop across millions of people. - Who in turn judge as their peers do. You, specifically may not have ulterior motives, and yes there are bots and AI and douchebags also, but that is not the point. There are uncounted readers also, who know what they are up to, if anything at all. But it's not about any one individual. - So there's not a personal accusation. The internet's effects on the population I think is different than with written books, which take more thought and effort.

The implication is not that the internet of is an entity with a hidden agenda. A collective that dices human interaction into numerous commodities might be a way to put it.

I forget what we were on about, free speech or something Right, these websites remove boundaries within a group. We don't have personal conversations as much anymore because the rumor mill runs the show. In the real world we all begin separating from one another . . . just in case the other person is what the internet says maybe is a possibility. Our character, is what the internet says it is.

Your time in TWI . . . was pre-internet . . . my experience was it was there pushing matters early on We were also involved for very different reasons . . . and naturally have a very different angles to view I would say Cult is family. I would also say social media heavily directs how families form, or don't. Some would say family is the basis of society.

I don't have the stats in front of me . . . but this is also a primary mode for meeting people, as WW described happened with him. People are intentionally quitting meeting face to face en masse . . . . . . in favor of the internet . . . . or no people at all . . . (which leads to discussions about robots in place of people . . . again . . . and a variety of other matters) We agree there's a distortion. As I have described, a person can avoid the internet, but not avoid its effects.

That is a good example. Most people I meet online turn out to be nothing like the online experience. Sometimes they're doing it on purpose, most of the time it's the medium. The medium distorts things.

I just now googled "social media is destroying society". Some of the videos have Jonathan Haidt. He is a person who says stuff. He goes into shared stories and a lack of trust.

Well the internet is people, interacting in an unnatural way. It's run by people. Maintained by people. Used by people. You and I don't know each other and never will. This interaction we're having, shooting symbols via electronic gizmos and assuming something like ourselves is out there . . . Our interactions in the cult were not real, Twig face to Twig face. Fake. That's where Twig and Internet are similar.

What is the likelihood this will be here in 20 years? I honestly thought it would be gone a decade ago.

The Way International is not an autonomous being. Corporations are people though, right?

I think you misunderstand me, Twinky.

That's when people post to the internet and the other people read the posts and distance them from other people still so as not to catch the cooties the internet warns about. I mentioned I was affected repeatedly before ever looking into the internet about TWI. I was having arguments with the internet without going on the internet. Those people had no business. It is often posted these cites have some sort of effect on TWI. That's fantasy. That's speaking in tongues to stop the adversary. These cites can and do harm non-leadership. The internet has been part of the chaos. That's irresponsible. You'd think if people just wanted a therapy group they'd make it a closed group. People with one on one relationships with those in TWI I think would be better equipped to help.

Then I would hope you understand how isolation works. The internet is a tool for isolation. One way is information gets posted . . . read by those new to this information . . . who in turn push away those trying to leave . . . there's a word for that It's impersonal, the internet. China uses social media for control. So does Zuckerberg. North Korea also sucks.

Yep.

It's not a threat to any real government . . . or real governments would act

It was a hypothetical point about how at some point, TWI should be nobody's business.

I find it interesting you would openly share your relationship like that . . . if privacy is of low value . . . maybe take the curtains of all the windows too. Upload bank statements. Maybe if all couples were required to do this . . . it would end domestic abuse? The #MeToo movement would gain a lot from that . . . as strangers can collectively monitor these matters . . . and referee as needed

Ok. Just a hypothetical, If every conversation you have with your significant other were uploaded to the internet, how would that change your relationships? The Way is not just some organization you do on the weekend for fun . . . free speech as I understand is about our relationship with the government . . . The Way is not a government.

I honestly would like TWI to be it's own little world - I come from that world and am a result of it - As much as I don't like it - I hope I am very clear that I hate The Way I've also posted light on TWI inner whatevers . . . but don't you want that done where non-wayfers aren't looking?

I tend to think in terms of the next kid trying to slip away and talk to other people in a fresh context. See how things do and don't work without the internet birds chirping bias in the ear of people they meet. From there I see the internet a greater threat than The Way itself. Why is an open forum necessary? Former wayfers want to talk about being wayfers. That's fine.

You also seem far too intelligent to be wasting your time on these topics.