New Media Are Evil/Quotes

New Media in General

"We don't like, what we don't, understand in fact it scares us..."

—The mob from Beauty and The Beast, accurate to what most people feel about it.

"Consueta vitia ferimus, nova reprendimus.^[1]"

—Publilius Syrus

"All the new media are art forms which have the power of imposing, like poetry, their own assumptions. The new media are not ways of relating us the "real" world; they are the real world and they reshape what remains of the old world at will."

—Marshall McLuhan

New Media of the 1950s: Live-Action TV

"I asked Mr Vann which O levels you need to write situation comedy for television. Mr Vann said you don't need qualifications at all, you just need to be a moron."

—The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13¾

New Media of the 1980s: Video Games

"In the old days when everyone played with, I don't know, wooden pegs, kids couldn't wait to do their homework."

—Charlie Brooker, Gameswipe on video game addiction

"Any new media or industry that grows rapidly is going to be criticized. That's just because the older, more established media have been around, and a lot of adults can be very conservative. They may not have an open mind to new things that weren't around when they were growing up, and are replacing the things they grew up with... over the years I've seen this standard image of a child playing a video game in which the child is alone in a darkened room, with his face very close to the TV, with the light of the TV reflecting off his face, holding the controller and just staring at the TV. I'd really like to be able to change that image of video games into something that's a little more positive."

—Shigeru Miyamoto

New Media of the 2010s: Web Original

"We've got to nip this Internet thing in the bud..."

—Attributed to both Sen. James Exon and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, circa 1996

"No phone, no phone, I just want to be alone today"

—Cake, "No Phone"

"Technology is just another thing to distract you from the real joys of life. Technology will kill you."

—Filthy Frank's Macbook, MAC IS BETTER THAN PC

"The Internet's completely over. [...] The Internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

—Prince, in a 2010 interview with Mirror

"Online communities are in a precarious and unhealthy state right now [in 2018].
Major internet platforms are exhibiting a wide range of issues: they collect our personal data and fail to protect it; amplify outrage and encourage mob harassment; spread false information and radicalize viewpoints; and allow racism and hate speech to propagate. These are all incredibly serious issues, yet they're still only a small sample of the problems that are becoming apparent.
The companies behind the platforms know their products cause these negative effects, but they've decided to treat them as acceptable costs instead of taking decisive action to address the issues. Only legal or public pressure seem to produce meaningful responses.
[...]
It doesn't need to be this way. We should have places online where we can have meaningful interactions without worrying about our privacy and relationships being exploited for others' financial gain. Places that respect us and the communities we build, and help make them better instead of just trying to make them bigger."

—Chad Birch (Deimos), Announcing Tildes - a non-profit community site driven by its users' interests (Tildes Blog)

"The Internet has brainwashed these teenagers, to the point where that's all they talk about when they're not on it. If only this wasn't accurate..."

—YourMovieSucks, Megan is Missing review

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↑ We tolerate the usual vices but blame new ones.

[1] We tolerate the usual vices but blame new ones.

[1]