I'm not sure that the Internet is the problem here. Often you discover "grand ideas" by seemingly stumble upon them or by being active in a specific problem domain. Going on an Internet diet might not help. Unless, of course, you replace all that freed-up with other activities to fuel your creativity. So if you're looking for BigHuge Social problems to solve, why not getting involved with and picking the brains of organizations that encounter these on a daily basis, organizations such as Amnesty, Greenpeace, The Red Cross or Doctors Without Borders. Together they probably experience every significant social, economic, political and environmental problem there is.
But then again, I'm not sure that the author's approach to grand ideas is that fruitful:
Lately we have seen a plague of Next Better Widget ™ startups and bright minds all over the world solving frivolous problems that ultimately contribute nothing to the betterment of humanity as a whole.
This is a dangerous fallacy as it can lead you towards a path of entrepreneurial apathy and cynicism. There's nothing wrong in positioning yourself so that you at least are solving everyday problems for people and companies. Ideally you're making a small yet valuable contribution to the improvement of lives and organizations.
But then again, I'm not sure that the author's approach to grand ideas is that fruitful:
Lately we have seen a plague of Next Better Widget ™ startups and bright minds all over the world solving frivolous problems that ultimately contribute nothing to the betterment of humanity as a whole.
This is a dangerous fallacy as it can lead you towards a path of entrepreneurial apathy and cynicism. There's nothing wrong in positioning yourself so that you at least are solving everyday problems for people and companies. Ideally you're making a small yet valuable contribution to the improvement of lives and organizations.