The sensitive, politically correct culture of Tumblr is driven to greater and greater extremes because they see the enemy culture that comes from places like 4chan. And so we had to deal with a new sort of mean, cruel quality to the internet. I think there's a lot of kind of free form aggression in search of a target. Freud discusses this, like, morality can be sadistic,. The sadistic super-ego, he calls it. You know, that idea is that you kind of use that kind of punishing, shaming moral condemnation.
The early days of the internet collide with the feverish fandom of “Harry Potter,” and a sprawling, global community emerges. But the hopefulness of this new technology brings with it the darker impulses of human nature.
Produced by Andy Mills, Matthew Boll, and Megan Phelps-Roper, with special thanks to Candace Mittel Kahn and Emily Yoffe.
This show is proudly sponsored by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. FIRE believes free speech makes free people. Learn more at thefire.org.