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French modernists were alarmed, inspired by newspaper's voracious dynamism

(aeon.co)
102 points crescit_eundo | 1 comments | 17 Jan 25 16:21 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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aredox ◴[17 Jan 25 18:13 UTC] No.42741439[source]▶
>In the 1860s, Charles Baudelaire bemoaned what we might now call doomscrolling: [...] The poet’s revulsion was widely shared in 19th-century France. Amid rapid increases in circulation, newspapers were depicted as a virus or narcotic responsible for collective neurosis, overexcitement and lowered productivity.

On one hand, one could think "oh, the current social network bashing is just the same doom and gloom reaction to more communication, it will pass".

On the other hand, if you know well the period, the newspapers of the time - which were closer to the tabloids of today, but worse - did a lot to stir hatred of foreigners, of Jews, of Poor, and contributed massively in causing wars, colonialism and pogroms.

Emile Zola published "J'accuse !" in a newspaper, but it was newspapers who stirred rabid antisemitism everywhere.

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1. plastic-enjoyer ◴[17 Jan 25 22:50 UTC] No.42744093[source]▶
>oh, the current social network bashing is just the same doom and gloom reaction to more communication, it will pass

One might ask if it wasn't just down hill from the tabloids to social media in our current time. I tend to think that the development from tabloids to radio, television and social media is actually a consistent and logical development. The aim has always been to generate as many readers / listeners / viewers and engagement as possible, and the possibilities have become increasingly effective and efficient thanks to digital information processing. However, the side effects that each new medium introduces are becoming more extreme.