At a Friday press conference, during which the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, announced the apprehension of a suspect in the murder of Charlie Kirk, he reflected on the internet influences on young people like Tyler Robinson (the suspect). “Social media is a cancer on our society right now,” he said. “I would encourage people to log off, turn off, touch grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in your community.”

It’s interesting that our livelihoods directly depend on the internet and social media. Because we exist in both this larger online world, while also in an algorithmic bubble of our own making, we have a tendency to overlook certain aspects of the internet that have started to rot. Like many people of our generation, we’ve been reluctant to take things happening online very seriously, despite mounting evidence that the toxic energies of the internet have begun to influence the reality of users everywhere.

After all, we were influenced by works of Ancient Greek and Roman literature, art, and philosophy – once considered the masterpieces of civilization. We were exposed to the beauty of the Renaissance, the thinking of the Enlightenment, the revolutions of industry, science, and technology. Our knowledge and appreciation of history has always provided a crucial context for understanding, and also a sense that there’s nothing new under the sun.

But the moment in which we’re now living is new.

The internet is a beast with an insatiable appetite, a machine that enables vulnerable people with addictive tendencies to lose themselves in its darkest corners. People like Charlie Kirk harnessed its power to great effect – and great profit – by building mass followings and influence in the process. He cultivated a reputation for being open to dialogue and the exchange of free ideas. We spent time this weekend listening to him, and while we admit he could be charismatic, he was also self-righteous, verbally combative, and incendiary. To quote one of Jon’s friends, “he did not ‘debate.’ He fired off talking points couched in a faux-reasonable tone that simulated the appearance of someone who desired an exchange of ideas. In reality, there was no exchange; just a platform for his highly profitable ‘influencer’ gig.

“We can hold two truths at the same time,” she said. “He was an awful person who made millions sowing hatred and dehumanizing others, and, he did not deserve to die for doing so. We can condemn the man without celebrating the act.”

As for the murder suspect, we do not know his precise ideology. For many users, the internet is powered by a volatile mix of negative emotions – hatred, rage, hopelessness, nihilism, cynicism, paranoia, discontent. It’s an environment engineered to sustain distorted narratives and denial, eroding the foundations of our shared reality. This toxic feed is delivered daily on an algorithmic conveyor belt, packaged in grotesque memes and viral images of death and destruction – content designed not to inform or inspire, but to provoke and destabilize.

“We are not wired as human beings – biologically, historically – we have not evolved in a way that we are capable of processing those types of violent imagery,” Gov. Cox said. “This is not good for us. It is not good to consume.”

That’s why we make it a point to get away nearly every weekend. To log off. To touch grass. To remind ourselves that the world is still beautiful, still worth engaging with in person. Offline, there’s no algorithm – just sunlight, conversation, and the quiet clarity of nature.