Charlamagne tha God, a popular podcaster and co-host of the nationally syndicated radio show The Breakfast Club, called out the internet for creating division among Americans on Thursday.
“Look, this is a divided country. We’re polarized, and it’s getting in the way of really talking to one another. But you know what else is getting in the way? The internet, OK, and particularly the way the internet works right now,” the media mogul said at a Project Liberty conference while moderating a discussion titled “At a Digital Crossroads: Bipartisan Tech Solutions to Unite a Nation.”
“The internet is one of the reasons we don’t know how to talk to each other no more. The platforms that control it, the way they manipulate what you see and how they sweep up all your data without paying most of us a dime. But a lot of us are seeing it, a lot of us are waking up,” Charlamagne added.
He cited particular harms from the internet likely to impact young users. “The biggest issue for me with the internet is what it’s doing to the kids, you know. I don’t think kids are learning critical skills, and I don’t think your brain is even wired to deal with that many people at that one time when you’re that young” he argued.
Charlamagne was speaking against the backdrop of young people increasingly drawn to social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, with risks to privacy and exposure to online scams and abuse.
While moderating a discussion between U.S. House Representatives Nancy Mace and Ro Khanna, Charlamagne accepted Americans “love their freedoms.” But he warned against the danger of the internet to young users: “I don’t even know if we realize the harm the internet is really doing to us.”
English (US) ·