It’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that the first hominid communications were little different from that of their more human-like predecessors, and they were grunts and moans, and cries of anguish or alarm. Moans of pleasure, or displeasure, grunts of acknowledgement or recognition, individual sounds developed nuance to fit the situation, like, “food”, or “enemy”.

Direct communication at this point was limited to vocal power of the sender and earshot sensitivity of the receiver. Pounding sticks on hollow logs produced a volume of sound that carried over longer distances, lighting fires made for visibility at night, and the smoke worked in daylight. Runners could carry signals and messages to individuals further away, horses made it even faster still. Communications systems using flashing lights and waving flags came along, and then the telegraph let signals travel over wires. Radio let the signals travel through open air, and television sent the pictures along, too.

And then the Internet came along, in which everything is connected with everything else and that has a potential to end it all (or save us all).

The problem is this:

We’ve always had people wo are for whatever reason, not social, or anti-social. There are others that are the opposite of the “me-toos”, the “if they are for it, I’m against it”, and often it’s a case of “if I can’t have it, neither can you”.

For several centuries, these individuals and groups had relatively little “voice”, that is, there was a relatively small audience scattered about. Print media made the world closer, shared facts and opinions could be distributed further and faster. Radio and television dominated, as most print media was delivered by subscription to audiences who wanted the service and radio and tv were broadcast through the air.

Still, the audiences were relatively small, relatively urban.

It’s all changed now, with cell phones and Internet access nearly universal except in the more distant parts of the earth.

In other words, now the disaffected, malcontents and deplorables have a way to interact and share, feed on and grow their disinformation and misinformation, grow imaginary enemies, and issue calls to action.

Is this the equivalent of sowing the seeds of our own destruction? Teamed up with the rapid deterioration of the physical environment and the continued exploitation of resources around the planet, and the increasing discontent of the exploited and exploited populations, I think so.

Unhappy people express their displeasure, and often exaggerate the situation to make or enhance their case, and once attracting adherents, a movement begins. History suggests a leader will emerge to lead or exploit this power. History also suggests there will be opposition, either from other disaffected groups, or the primary exploiters, the “status quo” who have made their society to their own benefit and ignoring the “regular” general population working people.