Comment by vacuity

Exactly. There are always the people who complain and the people who defend. They are both not indicative of actual social changes. They're just statement factories. Think deeper about what a statement is actually saying instead of dismissing it for falling under some camp. If it is vapid even on its own, then dismiss it.

On this paticular topic, my take is that as technology has advanced, we have gone from the "technology is harmless" side to the "technology is harmful" side sharply. Books and whatnot are great. TV, ehhh. Video games, mobile phones, social media, LLMs: dangerous, or more optimistically, very tricky to get right. I think it's not strange that these three categories I've laid out occupy vastly distinct time spans. It's exactly the power of a technology that ties into both its development and its impact. I certainly don't get similar experiences from reading a book and watching short form video.