--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I fear for the world the Internet is…" description: "\"“I fear for the world the Internet is creating. Before the advent of the web, if you wanted to sustain a belief in far-fetched ideas, you had to go out..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89c/ellen-ullman-3943_extremism_i-fear-for-the-world-the-internet-is-cre_2907820.jpg" --- # I fear for the world the Internet is creating. Before the… ![“I fear for the world the Internet is creating. Before the advent of the web, if you wanted to sustain a belief in far-fetched ideas, you had to go out into the desert, or live on a compound in the mountains, or move from one badly furnished room to another in a series of safe houses. Physical…” quote by Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89c/ellen-ullman-3943_extremism_i-fear-for-the-world-the-internet-is-cre_2907820.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89c/ellen-ullman-3943_extremism_i-fear-for-the-world-the-internet-is-cre_2907820.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/89c/ellen-ullman-3943_extremism_i-fear-for-the-world-the-internet-is-cre_2907820.jpg) > ““I fear for the world the Internet is creating. Before the advent of the web, if you wanted to sustain a belief in far-fetched ideas, you had to go out into the desert, or live on a compound in the mountains, or move from one badly furnished room to another in a series of safe houses. Physical reality—the discomfort and difficulty of abandoning one’s normal life—put a natural break on the formation of cults, separatist colonies, underground groups, apocalyptic churches, and extreme political parties. But now, without leaving home, from the comfort of your easy chair, you can divorce yourself from the consensus on what constitutes “truth.” Each person can live in a private thought bubble, reading only those websites that reinforce his or her desired beliefs, joining only those online groups that give sustenance when the believer’s courage flags.”” [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Online echo chambers let individuals isolate from shared reality, fostering extreme beliefs. **In simple terms:** Internet creates isolated belief bubbles. Key Takeaway Critically evaluate diverse sources. Themes technology truth polarization Mood concerned analytical Type essay reflective When to use this quote - social media use - political activism - educational curricula Key Concepts information silos psychology of belief Questions to Reflect On - How do you verify your information? - What steps can reduce echo chambers? A Different Perspective May underestimate human desire for community. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extremism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-world-696454/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Leaving home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leaving-home/) [Physical Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/physical-reality/) [Political parties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-parties/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Sustain Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sustain-belief-2882910/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Before the advent of the Web, if you wanted to sustain a belief in far-fetched ideas, you had to go out into the desert,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/before-the-advent-of-the-web-if-you-wanted-to-sustain-a-belief-in-far/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I fear for the world the Internet is creating.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-fear-for-the-world-the-internet-is-creating/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Considering the inner fitness of things, one would rather think that the very first act of a will endowed with freedom should be to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/considering-the-inner-fitness-of-things-one-would-rather-think-that/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [“That's the way it is. If you believe in something your very belief renders you unqualified to do it. Your earnestness will come across.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/that-s-the-way-it-is-if-you-believe-in-something-your-very-belief/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [As I read more and I got into philosophy and met a lot of friends who weren't Christians, it became difficult for me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-everett/as-i-read-more-and-i-got-into-philosophy-and-met-a-lot-of-friends-who/) [Daniel Everett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-everett/) > [To sustain your belief through situations that completely undermine it is quite something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/to-sustain-your-belief-through-situations-that-completely-undermine/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [“Don't fear the world and you will conquer it, fear it and it conquers you - rjs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/don-t-fear-the-world-and-you-will-conquer-it-fear-it-and-it-conquers/) [rassool jibraeel snyman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rassool-jibraeel-snyman/) > [Only thing we fear in this world was Williams Wayne. Neva thought about hittin licks or slangin caine. did not think I'd be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andre-3000/only-thing-we-fear-in-this-world-was-williams-wayne-neva-thought/) [Andre 3000](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andre-3000/) > [ Fear in the world first created the gods. \[Lat., Primus in orbe deos fecit timor.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/statius/fear-in-the-world-first-created-the-gods-lat-primus-in-orbe-deos/) [Statius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/statius/) > [“making people fear you in this world is not part of being a man. Being a man is leaving such a good impression everywhere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/making-people-fear-you-in-this-world-is-not-part-of-being-a-man-being/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A childs fear is a world whose dark corers are quite unknown to grownup people, it has its sky and its abysses, a sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie/a-childs-fear-is-a-world-whose-dark-corers-are-quite-unknown-to/) [Richie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie/) > [“Death is nothing to fear. This world is neither the beginning nor the ending.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-r-smith/death-is-nothing-to-fear-this-world-is-neither-the-beginning-nor-the/) [Rachel R. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-r-smith/) > [Fear may fill our world, but it doesn’t have to fill our hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/fear-may-fill-our-world-but-it-doesn-t-have-to-fill-our-hearts/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [A child's fear is a world whose dark corners are quite unknown to grownup people; it has its sky and its abysses, a sky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-green/a-child-s-fear-is-a-world-whose-dark-corners-are-quite-unknown-to/) [Julien Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-green/) > [“what use is fear in a world where the worst catastrophes are those you ne’er see comin”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-b-laugheed/what-use-is-fear-in-a-world-where-the-worst-catastrophes-are-those/) [K.B. Laugheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-b-laugheed/) ## More by Ellen Ullman > [I think technical people now should learn literature, because literature teaches you a great deal about how - the depths and variety of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-think-technical-people-now-should-learn-literature-because/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [The web is just another stunning point in the two-hundred-thousand-year history of human beings on earth. The taming of fire; the discovery of penicillin;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/the-web-is-just-another-stunning-point-in-the-two-hundred-thousand/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [When I am writing, and occasionally achieve single focus and presence, I finally feel that is where I'm supposed to be. Everything else is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/when-i-am-writing-and-occasionally-achieve-single-focus-and-presence/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I don't know where anyone ever got the idea that technology, in and of itself, was a savior. Like all human-created 'progress,' computers are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-don-t-know-where-anyone-ever-got-the-idea-that-technology-in-and-of/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [You can only get a beginner's mind once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/you-can-only-get-a-beginner-s-mind-once/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I'm a dark thoughts writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-m-a-dark-thoughts-writer/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I hate to see capable, smart people out of work - young or old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-hate-to-see-capable-smart-people-out-of-work-young-or-old/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [“I believed my motivations were clear: to help the patient see the pattern that had been imposed upon her, this endless repetition of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-believed-my-motivations-were-clear-to-help-the-patient-see-the/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [It had to happen to me sometime: sooner or later, I would have to lose sight of the cutting edge. That moment every technical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/it-had-to-happen-to-me-sometime-sooner-or-later-i-would-have-to-lose/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Software and digital devices are imbued with the values of their creators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/software-and-digital-devices-are-imbued-with-the-values-of-their/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [ I've always written. I'm from an older generation of programmers \[who\] did not come out of engineering. \[A\]ll sorts of people were drawn in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-ve-always-written-i-m-from-an-older-generation-of-programmers-who/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Through the miracle of natural genetic recombination, each child, with the sole exception of an identical twin, is conceived as a unique being. Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/through-the-miracle-of-natural-genetic-recombination-each-child-with/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Staring prejudice in the face imposes a cruel discipline: to structure your anger, to achieve a certain dignity, an angry dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/staring-prejudice-in-the-face-imposes-a-cruel-discipline-to-structure/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [Y2K has challenged a belief in digital technology that has been almost religious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/y2k-has-challenged-a-belief-in-digital-technology-that-has-been/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) > [I don't consider myself a Jewish writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-ullman/i-don-t-consider-myself-a-jewish-writer/) [Ellen Ullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) [Explore all 119 Ellen Ullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-ullman/) ## More Extremism quotes > [“Kill extremists and more extremists will appear. Kill Extremist Ideology and extremism will disappear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/kill-extremists-and-more-extremists-will-appear-kill-extremist/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [“It is very difficult to convince a person to come out of his conservative shell, unless he feels discomfort there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarif-naaz/it-is-very-difficult-to-convince-a-person-to-come-out-of-his/) [Tarif Naaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarif-naaz/) > [Not only do we still engage in wars far away from our homes, which settle nothing and fuel extremism in the aftermath, we sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-mckenna/not-only-do-we-still-engage-in-wars-far-away-from-our-homes-which/) [Declan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-mckenna/) > [“Bombs kill terrorists, Books kill terrorism. Missiles kill extremists, Mindfulness kills extremism. Guns kill supremacists, Goodness kills supremacy. Law restrains cruel people, Love reforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/bombs-kill-terrorists-books-kill-terrorism-missiles-kill-extremists/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I think the only way one can really determine whether extremism in the defense of liberty is justified, is not to approach it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-think-the-only-way-one-can-really-determine-whether-extremism-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Freedom is never granted. It is earned by each generation... in the face of tyranny, cruelty, oppression, extremism, sometimes there is only one choice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/freedom-is-never-granted-it-is-earned-by-each-generation-in-the-face/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [People are just afraid of things too much … Sure, evil exists, extremism exists. Somebody could commit a hate crime and hurt me. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/people-are-just-afraid-of-things-too-much-sure-evil-exists-extremism/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [We will see that the greatest problem confronting civilization is not merely religious extremism: rather, it is the larger set of cultural and intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-will-see-that-the-greatest-problem-confronting-civilization-is-not/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“If Jack Dylan was Captain Ahab, Bart Breitner was Moby Dick. Jack felt exhilarated, as Ahab must have felt when he finally encountered the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-m-bello/if-jack-dylan-was-captain-ahab-bart-breitner-was-moby-dick-jack-felt/) [Mark M. Bello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-m-bello/) > [There’s no need to get rid of literally hundreds of thousands of books that are fine simply because you have a problem with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-earley/there-s-no-need-to-get-rid-of-literally-hundreds-of-thousands-of/) [Mark Earley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-earley/) > [I have a particular disdain for Islamic extremism, and of course, in both 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' that's obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-particular-disdain-for-islamic-extremism-and-of-course-in/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [If allowed to continue, this process will turn the United States into a declining, unfair society with an impoverished, angry, uneducated population under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ferguson/if-allowed-to-continue-this-process-will-turn-the-united-states-into/) [Charles Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ferguson/) > [One outcome is almost certain. Extremism stands to benefit enormously from an uncalculated adventure in Iraq,.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-javad-zarif/one-outcome-is-almost-certain-extremism-stands-to-benefit-enormously/) [Mohammad Javad Zarif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-javad-zarif/) [Browse all 365 Extremism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I fear for the world the Internet is creating. Before the advent of the web, if you wanted to sustain a belief in far-fetched ideas, you had to go out into the desert, or live on a compound in the mountains, or move from one badly furnished room to another in a series of safe houses. Physical reality—the discomfort and difficulty of abandoning one’s normal life—put a natural break on the formation of cults, separatist colonies, underground groups, apocalyptic churches, and extreme political parties. 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