I think that’s the point. Arab spring, the chance of positive change around the world because of it, pre Snowden(!).
It’s not that things weren’t awful then just people didn’t know what was going on or how things would turn out, so we were all upbeat about the internet.
I disagree. People know how awful their lives are by their well being. The internet offered people the ability to organize and topple their corrupt government, but that doesn't mean that the new people in charge are going to be better.
Definitely. The awfulness that I implied was meant to be mass surveillance. That people could organize and resist was great, needs to be way more of that, not less.
Still, that moment has passed so people aren’t positive about our connectedness in the same way cause it doesn’t seem to be causing any progressive/democratic changes.
It’s not that things weren’t awful then just people didn’t know what was going on or how things would turn out, so we were all upbeat about the internet.