The question of emergence in modern culture is a valid one. On a more abstract scale, it may be debated ad nauseum whether the sum of multiple factors can ever produce something quantifiably more, or at least other, than the sum of the parts; with cultural phenomena, the equation is complicated exponentially due to the almost infinite number of additional (and often unconscious) details that comprise each psyche that contributes to the system.
One interesting (if minor) detail is the gradual removal of various cultural guidelines or general objectives. Anyone who is familiar with more historically-established modes of discourse will undoubtedly be surprised to find that Internet discussions trade the value of depth for the value of timely peer response (just take a look at loan refi for an obvious example). In other words, your point may be valid, but it is far more likely to be missed or even rejected if several people respond to it with less valid objections (from unsound rebuttals to tangential distractions).
One example would be attitudes toward entitlement programs. Much of the poor opinions shared by the public concerning the recipients of government programs rubs off onto the service professions, and the bureaucracy itself. Ever wonder why social security disability lawyers have such low approval ratings?
While this provides a healthy rejection of authoritarianism, it’s also a giant encouragement for superficiality, rewarding speed and popularity at the potential expense of reason, objectivity, depth, and individuality. For better or worse (and I have no wish to disguise that I personally find it to be more of a regret than an encouragement), these tendencies have equivalents in the culture at large. Increasingly, it is impossible to determine which influences the other.
The potential cultural impact of U S A online casinos may give some people pause, but we’re not seeing a major cultural revolution (as compared with some of the more iconic and prominent web destinations). With some notable exceptions, the population at USA allowed casinos is more or less culturally similar to the population at their land-based equivalents.
All-in-all, the democratizing aspect of Internet culture has the same general positive and negative qualities of democracy in general. It is encouraging that the lack of a central authority and the concomitant enforcement agencies (whether practical or cultural) has resulted in a relatively genial anarchy rather than the “wild west’ lawlessness that some would have us believe.