What I always thought interesting was that right at the very beginning, when those involved first mooted the idea of what became known as the internet in the late 60s / early 70s they recognized the duality of the system. They wanted to create something where knowledge could be shared freely online and be far more accessible (no more trawling through libraries for example) but were keenly aware of the potential for it to be mis-used for propaganda purposes as an example. This raised the question of free speech v levels of policing.

This duality has always been there, but the altruism of the early years (Google's original motto was famously "don't do harm") and over all benefits has slowly been eroded by those using the system to spread mis-information, hatred, scams, propaganda, trolling etc. Social Media-and the over-reliance and addiction to it (The hit of dopamine that many get simply by giving or getting a "like" leading to a mass of inane posts)- is much to blame and is eroding social/communication skills, especially amongst younger generations.