I was going down memory lane, I graduated in 96. But Internet culture of the mid 2000s to mid 2015. Seemed like there was always some stand out video or event ranging from chocolate rain video, nyan cat, amazing horse, I like turtles, why does the Internet seem so stale lately? I just realized a lot of this fun stuff stopped around 2014 or became less prevalent the closer we get to events that started dividing us, like gamergate, Trump canidancy in 2015. God this last decade has just sucked and it just keeps getting worse. How did we go to so much hope and promise to where we are now? Even reddit sucks now
@TwirlyTaco@aus.social Good question.
Yes, I believe that the real world is too much tied to the use of internet for everything. Earlier in the millenia, you wouldn’t use the web as much as today. A few dozens websites and you were “done with the internet for today”. Now, it’s almost the norm to see people being online for more than 3 hours a day.
The abundance of content and the consequent rush for fame on social media enhanced the doom scrolling phenomenon. Social media, getting money from selling advertisments, are becoming giant and normalized among youth. And the cycle continues.
Also, with social media, people started putting their life online, until it became the norm. Anonymity became less accepted, until it was portrayed as an “incel thing” and confined to the edges of the web. (Although, i think meeting new people from all horizons online is more beneficial to one’s culture than chatting with you friends living 5km away.)
Yeah, I think the proper way to use internet is to use it with a goal in mind. “Why do I want to get online today? Do I want to learn new things, meet new people, have a fruitful debate with someone, or am I simply doing it because I’m bored and wants to entertain myself?”
It should just be a tool. A tool with endless potential, to use responsibly.