31 Netizens Share What They Consider To Be Next Big Changes In The Culture Of The Internet

In one way or another, you know what the internet is and don’t need complicated explanations, such as the one Wikipedia provides. But if that doesn't satisfy you, and you actually want some kind of simple description -- basically, it’s a wide network that connects computers all over the world, through which people can share information and communicate. 

So, what's internet culture? To say it simply, internet culture consists of various customs, characteristics, communication styles, and similar things. These customs are developed and maintained by people online or, in other words, netizens, cybercitizens, or digital citizens, who can either participate anonymously or non-anonymously. Basically, it’s kind of just like any other culture, only it takes place on the internet, which presents certain unique aspects. 

Internet culture is a quite rapidly changing organism. Ever since its invention, the internet has developed not only its own culture but also greatly changed the offline world. It’s all going at such a rapid pace, so there’s no wonder that there are people wondering what the future holds. 

One of these people is Reddit user u/RemnantOnReddit, who came to r/AskReddit to ask, “What predictions do you have for the future of Internet culture?” As it was revealed in the interview with Bored Panda, they were always interested in imaginings of the future like “Blade Runner” or “Detroit: Become Human.” 

They said: “Picturing society in these futures is fascinating and one of the biggest parts of our society today on the Internet. In my lifetime, we've already seen a massive change, mostly the shift from small forums to large corporate apps. This all occurred in just 15 years.”

But what about the upcoming 15 years? This question drove the person to ask the question on Reddit. Yet, they weren’t surprised by the answers, as most of them were kind of expected: “There seemed to be a general consensus with the commenters, as well as key points that kept being touched on.”

When asked about the main trends shaping internet culture nowadays that will continue to shape it in the future, u/RemnantOnReddit said that, in their opinion, it’s artificial intelligence, the erosion of anonymity, and conglomeration.

AI won’t simply have an impact on the internet -- it will completely reshape it: “Soon, it'll be almost impossible to tell if a video or blog has been created or written by artificial intelligence. It'll be an AI-driven machine of sloppy content, propaganda, and fake news.”

Then, the erosion of anonymity is another driving factor, according to our interviewee. Nowadays, anywhere you go on the internet is tracked in one way or another: signing up, agreeing to terms and conditions agreements, which u/RemnantOnReddit called “so long it'd put War and Peace to shame,” and so on. 

Another major factor of the internet's change is conglomeration, the fancy word our interviewed Reddit user learned from the thread under their question. “15 years ago, there were maybe 10 big sites that I'd gravitate around, with dozens more I'd visit on a regular basis. Now, there are only really 4 or 5 corporate apps that encompass most of the features and content I'd have to squeeze out of a hundred websites back in the day.” 

So, as can be seen from the answers from various Reddit users and the person who asked the question originally, the internet’s future seems kind of dim. But, hey, maybe something will happen to change the future for the better. With such a fast pace of change, we can't properly anticipate what waits for us in the future. 

Do you have any predictions for the future of the internet and its culture? Share with us in the comments! And don’t forget to upvote the predictions you agree with!