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The Evolution of the Online World

The internet is the most significant invention of the last 50 years. It has changed everything, from how we consume news to the devices we use, to how we work and play, and even how we find information in the first place. Join Freethink as we explore the ins and outs of our new digital worlds. In Terms of Service, we dive into the debate around screen time with Professor Peter Etchells, why the metaverse isn’t dead (yet) with Matthew Ball, bringing the next 1 billion software developers online with Replit CEO Amjad Masad, how the internet transformed news as told by The Onion, and more!

Three people in traditional attire look at a smartphone together outdoors, holding long sticks decorated with colorful patterns.

Global Development

2.6 billion people don’t use the internet. What’s stopping them?

One-third of the world still isn’t online. Here’s how the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is working to close the digital divide.

Kristin Houser

Entertainment

How the internet changed news, according to The Onion

Freethink spoke to Onion staffers about parodying news from the print era into the digital age.

Tim Brinkhof and Stephen Johnson

Three individuals sitting on steps, all engrossed in using their smartphones. The background appears blurry, with a dark and starry effect framing the scene.

Apps

My anxious generation: The unforeseen toll of a digital childhood

In this op-ed, columnist Rikki Schlott draws from personal experience to argue that a digital childhood is a childhood squandered.

Rikki Schlott

The internet is one of the biggest wealth creation engines ever known to human beings. It is the one thing that we can use to lower inequality globally [and] give people more access to wealth creation.
Amjad Masad, CEO of Replit

A graph depicting a disruptive trajectory path rising sharply above low-end and mainstream lines, intersecting the high-end line. The background features a unicorn image.

Big Tech

The next big tech trend will start out looking like a toy

In “Read, Write, Own: Building The Next Era of the Internet,” investor Chris Dixon explains why the biggest trends often go overlooked.

Chris Dixon

A person types on a laptop keyboard with the text "replit" displayed prominently over the image, along with colorful geometric shapes.

Computer Science

Replit CEO Amjad Masad on bringing the next 1 billion software creators online

Freethink spoke with Masad about the future of software development, the outsized power of Silicon Valley, and the absurdity of the AI extinction theory.

Stephen Johnson

A person lying down in the dark, looking at a smartphone held above their face, scrolling through social media.

Mental Health

Potato chips or heroin? The debate on social media and mental health

Experts disagree on whether social media causes mental health issues in adolescents despite looking at the same data. Here’s why.

Kevin Dickinson

Video Games

Meet Thresh, the world’s first professional gamer

Was Elon Musk any good at Quake? “He’s a legit gamer,” but…

Ross Pomeroy

A tiny six-inch screen redefined what it means to grow up, hit milestones, and pass time, so much so that this generation’s upbringing is entirely alien even to that of their parents.
Rikki Schlott, columnist

A search bar appears in the center of a dark background, with the text "the future" typed in it. A cursor hovers over the "Search" button below the bar, which is highlighted in blue, reminiscent of advanced answer engines.

Perplexity, Google, and the battle for AI search supremacy

AIs that generate answers to user queries could transform search, but only if someone can get the tech and the business model right.

Kristin Houser

A person wears a VR headset with "Coming Soon!!!" displayed on the screen, extending one hand with a finger pointing upwards, against a blue sky with clouds background, symbolizing the intersection of technology and social media mental health awareness.

Metaverse

You’re thinking of the metaverse all wrong, says Matthew Ball

Rumors of the metaverse’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Ross Pomeroy

Misinformation

Hugo Mercier says we’ve been misinformed about misinformation

Cognitive scientist Hugo Mercier argues the problem isn’t that people are too gullible but too stubborn.

Tim Brinkhof

A digital rendering of a judge's gavel striking a sound block against a background of green and black pixelated squares, symbolizing the concept of social media censorship.

Censorship

Constitutional warning shot for social media “deplatforming” laws

Can the government tell private websites what they have to publish?

Damon Root

Big trends start small; the biggest upheavals come from disruptive innovations, which, by definition, incumbents overlook.
Chris Dixon, entrepreneur and investor

3d rendering of a broken computer with mountains in the background illustrating how Generative AI will impact the internet.

Series| Hard Reset

What is Generative AI? It’s going to alter everything about how we use the internet

12:33

Artificial intelligence is bigger than image prompts and idea generation. Much bigger. This veteran technologist says Generative AI will bring about “The New Internet.”