I actually found this to be fairly nuanced review. It seems to be more about our evolving relationship to the Internet, how it fits into our "real lives", rather than about a mythical time without assholes. There have always been assholes online, that's true, and it's mentioned in the review. The review/movie seems to be saying that the Internet was once a refuge from real life because it was removed from it, but now our personas are so entwined with the Internet, through things like Facebook, that the feeling of refuge is gone. When you would encounter a troll early in the history of the Internet, that had minimal impact on your actual life because no one knew who you were. Now things are much more "real" online because the line between your online and "real life" self has become blurred, if not obliterated.
I actually found this to be fairly nuanced review. It seems to be more about our evolving relationship to the Internet, how it fits into our "real lives", rather than about a mythical time without assholes. There have always been assholes online, that's true, and it's mentioned in the review. The review/movie seems to be saying that the Internet was once a refuge from real life because it was removed from it, but now our personas are so entwined with the Internet, through things like Facebook, that the feeling of refuge is gone. When you would encounter a troll early in the history of the Internet, that had minimal impact on your actual life because no one knew who you were. Now things are much more "real" online because the line between your online and "real life" self has become blurred, if not obliterated.