I guess I read too much into your post.

I think few people, especially older people, have come to grips with just how transformative the internet will be. Ideas for the first time travel at the speed of light everywhere and responses can take mere seconds.

Evil, falsehoods, and illogic no longer have a place to hide anywhere in the world.

The downside, of course, is that nonsense and disinformation travel equally fast and people have ever crazier ideas.

At some point government might just step in to coax the internet for their own purposes. I wonder why the search engines were destroyed. Was it just for a quick buck or was too much happening too fast and in ways that displeased government, military, or financial interests? How much more damage might be done to things like photo hosting sites, search engines, or even widespread communication. It's unlikely any country would act unilaterally though which should serve to limit any intentional damage.