To Mend a Broken Internet, Create Online Parks

We need public spaces, built in the spirit of Walt Whitman, that allow us to gather, communicate, and share in something bigger than ourselves.

AS WE HEAD into the most consequential, contentious election in our history, it’s time to fix some of the structural problems that led us to this moment. …

Let’s face it: Our digital public sphere has been failing for some time. Technologies designed to connect us have instead inflamed our arguments and torn our social fabric.

It doesn’t have to be this way. History offers a proven template for how to build healthier public spaces. As wild as it sounds, part of the solution is no further than your nearest public park.

By Eli Pariser, WIRED Magazine