[WS:] But that is not new to the internet. I recall arguments from media theorists, before the internet, that there is not such a thing as mass media - as the meaning of broadcast is almost always mediated by social networks of the audience. For example, tee-vee viewing used to be a social act - people did it collectively with their families, neighbors and friends, and then "negotiate" the meaning of what they had just seen and heard.
This is how human perception always operates - there are always social filters that reduce the noise level. This is usually a good thing because it prevents our brains from being overwhelmed by sensory stimuli, but it can of course be a bad thing if used for bad thing such as exclusion or elite formation.
-- Wojtek
"An anarchist is a neoliberal without money."