I miss the old internet

i was watching a video made by someone and he was discussing how he misses the old internet and I agree, especially with his point that nowadays there's just this mob mentality on social media of subscribing to a set of beliefs. like yeah back then you have opinions and beliefs but everyone still felt like an individual? you can have contradicting beliefs. people aren't quick to jump someone because u just take everything with a grain of salt, or disagree and let that be the end of it.

i think part of that is because of the whole centralization thing the internet has going. back then, it was forums u actively looked for based on ur interests. u would look for websites, and it all felt so private and personal. now, you go on social media, and suddenly u feel exposed to a huge audience of people, because now EVERYONE's all in the same place! so you feel the need to blend in with everyone else. and it's kinda horrifying to watch. lots of people feel like cogs in a machine. there is no room for doubt or mistakes. the moment u mess up ur immediately ousted out, and ur ex moots on twitter r like "oh I knew there was always something weird with them." That's kinda sad isn't it? the person u thought was a buddy just turns around and acts like u were always bad, when chances r u didn't even do anything bad at all!

its all so silly. i think one of the few places I don't see this is tumblr (and spacehey of course). and that's mainly because the things you get on ur dash are from the dashboard u curated for urself. blocking is common. and it encourages u to just be urself. i think being able to curate ur experience on the internet, to pick and choose the people u talk to, is one of best ways to keep being urself on here. don't limit urself to what other people expect from you.

there will be people who hate you regardless, that's just how the world works. so why not enjoy your time on the internet? do things YOU wanna do. say things YOU wanna say. you may not agree, and I may not agree, but as long as we don't have to interact, then we're both happy.

so yeah, i also miss the old internet. everything feels so performative now. and so fast paced. its rare to find people u can actually talk to like a human being. not like back then. i know I sound old talking like this but yeah.