Future of the Internet, Algorithms, and Networks: Why Disquiet?
This text was originally written in Korean on October 15, 2022, and has been translated into English and uploaded
Self-Reflection Before Recognizing the Problem
[Great Minds: People I Want to Emulate]
I’ve always been inspired by people who ask questions out of pure curiosity, resist irrationality, make deliberate choices, and use those choices to send a message. I’ve admired their firm philosophies, beliefs, and principles, finding them cool and worthy of emulation.
[Content: Things I’ve Liked]
As a kid, I was drawn to history, science, exploration, and justice. My dreams were to become an archaeologist, scientist, explorer, or police officer. At home, I had biographies of historical figures and science books for different fields. I loved stories like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Robinson Crusoe, Indiana Jones, and The Lord of the Rings. I also enjoyed history and exploration games like Age of Sail, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Empire, and open-world games like Minecraft.
[The Internet: Where I Found Great Minds and Content]
I started using a computer at age three, thanks to my dad’s influence. I played games and studied on Junior Naver, even teaching myself Korean with Hangul Detective Dooly. That’s when I naturally began looking up things I didn’t know online—because the internet was overflowing with information that was hard to find or understand in real life. I’d search for people I was curious about and read their stories.
Problems I’ve Identified
These are issues I’ve felt strongly about since middle school and still do today.
[Problem 1: The Internet Is Becoming Polluted]
When I was in elementary school, I explored Naver Cafes, blogs, and Wikipedia, endlessly searching for and reading about interesting people, history, and knowledge.
By middle school, Facebook started spreading in Korea, and that’s when the problems began. People became obsessed with friend counts and likes. At least around me, those with lots of friends and likes weren’t creating intellectual content. Sensational content started flooding in, which was frustrating and sad for someone like me who used the internet to find great minds and meaningful content.
[Problem 2: Algorithms Are Changing People for the Worse]
The internet—especially platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube—began altering how people behave and think through algorithms. Effects labeled as Endless Scrolling, Dopamine Addiction, Endowment Effect, Mere-Exposure Effect, Social Pressure, and Fear of Missing Out started taking hold.
Most people, including me, know this but find it hard to break free. Humans share DNA that’s mostly the same (with 0.1–0.4% variation), and algorithms exploit those patterns. It’d be great if this pushed us positively, but since profit-driven companies design these algorithms, the negative effects often outweigh the good.
[Problem 3: The Network Gap Is Widening]
Humans born in the 21st century are the first to be globally connected from birth—but also the first to be born divided. We inherit our parents’ or family’s socioeconomic networks, one reason the starting line can never be equal.
Technology to narrow that gap emerged in the 1950s: the internet. More precisely, the commercial internet took off in the 1980s and ’90s. Knowledge once exclusive to certain individuals or groups spread online, reducing inequality a bit.
Yet it’s still not enough. Knowledge alone can’t close the network gap—capital and people are part of social and economic networks too. Some own those networks outright. The more capital and connections a network has, the harder it works to stay exclusive. Network owners use algorithms to generate more wealth, and since those algorithms feed on people’s interests and values, greater connectivity can lead to greater division.
Why I Decided to Tackle These Problems
My dad said he was going on a business trip to London. With zero overseas experience and a huge Arsenal fan motive, I begged to tag along for ages—and finally got to go. It was my first trip abroad.
Before going, I had big illusions about England and London. I’d only known them through books or media and thought a “developed” country would outshine Korea—especially that people there would have more choices and live happily doing what they love.
While traveling in London, I woke up at 5 a.m. on a Wednesday—not planned—so I tried to sleep again but couldn’t. I got out of bed and decided to jog around the city.
Running along the Thames, I observed my surroundings. It was a weekday morning, so most people were commuting. I started comparing them to people heading to school or work in Korea.
I’d expected Londoners to look relaxed and happy on their way to work—living in an advanced culture, society, education, and economy.
But no. They looked tired, rushed, unhappy, all in suits. For some reason, they didn’t seem free. Then I realized why.
I was different. I wasn’t commuting—I was jogging. I wasn’t in a suit but in a t-shirt and shorts. I wasn’t tired or glum—I was smiling.
The key was choice. I could’ve lain on the ground instead of jogging, popped into a store for milk, worn a shirt and joggers instead of a tee and shorts, or faked a blank face.
Back in Korea after the trip, nothing had changed. People still went to work or school unwillingly, looking drained. That’s when I decided: I want to give them the freedom to choose.
I thought solving food—one of life’s basics—might help, so I studied baking and food supply. But circling back to Problems 1–3, I realized IT was the way to address them.
[Problem 1: The Internet Is Becoming Polluted] People struggle to find what they need, drifting further from knowledge networks. Information overload makes relevant info harder to spot.
[Problem 2: Algorithms Are Changing People for the Worse] People feel pressured by others’ eyes when they want to act, manipulated into social and psychological stress, losing their own pace for a “keep up with the crowd” mindset.
[Problem 3: The Network Gap Is Widening] Beyond unequal starting points like capital and connections, efforts to overcome them grow tougher. “Rags to riches” is a relic of the past.
These problems overlap with real-world struggles, driving people to give up—too busy surviving, no money to learn, tough jobs to earn from, no mentors, or social pressure to quit.
If we could combine good algorithms with the internet’s vast knowledge, people, and capital networks to restore its value, we might give people a bit more freedom to choose.
Disquiet* – The Best Community (Internet) for Makers’ (Great Minds’) Stories (Content)
Disquiet is precious to me. It’s the internet space I dreamed of as a kid, packed with the great minds and content I sought.
Disquiet has people who ask questions from pure curiosity, resist irrationality, make choices, and send messages through them. They inspire each other. I admire their firm philosophies, beliefs, and principles more than anyone.
Disquiet is home to those shaping history, innovating through science, exploring an unpredictable world, and making it better.
Disquiet is the space I’d been searching for.
https://disquiet.io/