1281 Changed the World

The exclamation that something “changed the world” is far too commonly used. No matter how revolutionary something is, things don’t change that much generation to generation. Even something as big as electricity or the Bomb didn’t fundamental alter individuals. However, a case could be made that the printing press changed the world because it fostered people's imaginations: they wanted to get the freedom to do all the things they were reading about. That wasn’t a one-time thing; books were the motivating factor that sent many a child out of the orbit of their parents. Newspapers, radio & television are simply an extension of that, not world-changing events. Other than wars which change the world through trauma, there’s not a lot of candidates, but one does stand out: the Internet. At first that wasn’t the case, the Internet was essentially a mobile encyclopedia and postal service, but with the advent of social media, it quickly jumped into first place world changing. Older generations can’t relate to nor even recognize the generations raised under the addictive properties of gender-bending, mind-altering, testosterone-reducing, attention-mongering, society-collapsing Internet. Whereas the printing press inspired personal autonomy, ambition, exploration & quest for freedom, the Internet changed the world because it invoked people's envy, resentment & sense of inadequacy, so they want less of all those things.