The internet has always been my salvation.
As a socially underdeveloped kid, I’d spend my lunch hours in the high school library on those public desktop computers, reading fandom sites about my favorite video games. Computers always made sense to me. I even owe my entire career to them.
But the internet today feels wrong. Whatever the fuck kind of psychological warfare is happening right now with this Epstein stuff is too much for my mind to handle. I can’t do it anymore.
I will love. I will vote. I will support my community and continue to oppose this fucking nightmarish system we all find ourselves in. But I need to sign off.
Imagine the door closing sound effect when logging out of AIM.
I viciously “edit” the internet as much as I can. I block toxic social networks and have deleted any accounts I had on them. There’s a Firefox plugin that lets you individually block sites in search results so you reduce scraper garbage SEO sites in your results. PiHole, uBlock, and whatever else that is available to block ads, tracking, etc. “-ai” when searching. Use SearXNG or non-big data search tools when able.
News comes from places like AP or Reuters. Not perfect, but better than half-true at best MSM clickbait.
It sucks. It takes work to enjoy what used to be better a decade ago, but let’s face it it’s been steadily downhill since ‘10 or so. I truly miss the “old” web. Yeah, it had its own problems, but it was far, far better and more egalitarian than this war zone of monetization and manipulation we have today.
It’s hard to get a recipe off the internet without having to hunt for it after a 14 mile long backstory no one on earth cares about. To me, that sums up the internet. It’s damn near dead.
I always viewed the Internet as a kind of alternate reality growing up. But, then that started to change once “social networks” started taking off and all the normies (as some people refer to it now) started using it. Then it kind of started becoming almost “realer” than IRL, with algos optimized to manipulate people, and sophisticated propaganda campaigns. About 5 years ago, I noticed politicians started using language taken from the “gamergate” discourse. Now, the US admin is transparently trying to control discourse on the largest platforms, and official government institutions are poorly shit-posting.
So, yeah, it’s kinda disheartening how one of the greatest communication tools has turned into a tool for control. Though, in hindsight, I guess I should’ve seen this coming, even from fiction created a century ago. I think I remember some person saying that the Nazi regime wouldn’t have been possible without the invention of the radio.
No, not “off” the internet.
Off the big corporate-driven soulless sites, maybe. Smaller discussion groups/forums, dedicated services, etc. still works. It’s less tedious, less eating your brain.
Basically, going back to internet before central planetary services that feed on everyone being miserable.
Nope. Just about all the good things in my life, arrive through the intertubes. My anime, games, hentai, history videos, they are only really practical because of the internet.
The only pleasure I have outside the internet is food. And honestly, eating for pleasure is far more expensive than a good game. For $30, I can have at least a month of amusement. A good meal? Just a day of contentment.
Maybe I would feel differently if I could spend money without feeling anxiety…but meatbag activities like visiting third places, fills me with fiscal dread. I cannot leave my room often, else I risk poverty finally overtaking me.
No. I might use it less often, but it’s also a more healthy relationship instead of what tech bros wanted.
I believe that life on the internet will reside in private, invite only communities. Public spaces will only get worse and worse.
you inspired me to check out ytmnd. fucking front page has an epstein contest.
i’m not entirely sure if i was on a tour of an active particle accelerator if i wouldn’t take a dive just to try to get us all on a different universe. godsdamned weasels
It’s unavoidable, isn’t it?
I checked my RSS feeds once today and read that SpaceX is developing their own particle accelerator.
- No need for you to jump in, pretty sure the incoming black hole will take care of it.
- No RSS for me tomorrow.
I keep a book on my person at all times now. Instead of mindlessly grabbing my phone (internet propaganda portal), I’ll grab the book instead. Been doing it about six months now, I like it a lot. I still havnt finished a book, I jump from one to the other very often, but I’m reading much more.
Its okay to sign off. I had a panic attack two weeks ago, and basically had to sign off for a time. I’m still keeping distance from the internet though. Renewing my love of reading has been a serious positive though.
That’s great! I’ve also been reading more than usual, finished 14 books so far this year. I read at the dog park, at the store, when my wife is driving etc, instead of checking my phone. My notifications are turned off except from my family. It’s helped my mental health considerably.
14 is wow! Good for you, I love it :)
Man I feel you. There are so many things I want to read, so it’s hard to stay focused on one thing sometimes. I have like five or six books right now in various stages of completion next to my couch. I probably need to get some ADHD meds.
I have ADHD too. Why remembering to throw the book in my purse, and to just leave it there permanently, is the best strategy I’ve come up with so far. I mean, when I finish it, I’ll swap it out, but I’m on my way to actually finish this book.
If I read at home I jump around from book to book, whatever looks interesting in the moment. Reading while out, I’ve only got the one choice, thw book I’ve carried with me.
We’ll be real though, I’m about to head out for the day, an I want to swap it out for a new one lol
Lemmy is a salvation spot for me, been an internet denizen since before I was a teen, it has been sad to see it slide into popularity contest/mass consumerism garbage. But I enjoy my Minecraft videos I’ve been watching for over a decade and getting to chat about homelab/Linux stuff as an alternative.
Its not like the real world (in the us at least) is doing any better lmao
I’ve given up on the super-corporate side of the Internet.
99% of my Internet use is Mastodon and Lemmy, both of which don’t really represent “the Internet”. I sail the high seas occasionally to help meet my other needs.
Yes, multiplayer gaming is toxic as hell. If I’m doing that, I have chat turned off, but mostly I’ve managed to finagle the Internet into my own personal, cozy little Hobbiton derivative, so it doesn’t feel quite so toxic to me as it might to the population at large.
Just don’t read news. News push negative narrative because it creates strong emotional reactions and people engaged. Problem is even here on Lemmy, people share and discuss these toxic news instead of writing their own view of it that is more modest and objective.
I’m ready to give up on most things.
Already have. Continued existence is mainly just for the benefit of the spouse who actually has things worse than I.
Inertia is really the only thing keeping me alive at this point…
AI is the thing thats close to pushing me off. I’ve loved it less and less every day since it turned into a popularity contest, but it still had a lot of great stuff. Now its not even people pretending to be something they’re not, its a computer program pretending to be somebody pretending to be somebody theyre not in the vain hopes that you’ll LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE.
I’m not talented or special-skilled or super-interested enough in anything to warrant joining any niche forums. This right here is the last of my Internet I think. Once Lemmy is overrun by thots and bots I might be done.
The Internet sucks now. There’s just not “things” on it anymore. When I was a teenager, there was always something new and interesting to do online. Modern Internet is social media, streaming, and shopping. It’s just not the same.
I’m sure it still exists , it’s just not easy to find these websites. In those times you had search engines that worked, Even before google existed, and the other search engines weren’t as good , you could find authentic websites
Yep, it was a trove of discovery, now its all data gleaning and AI marketing slop, and other garbage.
The library of Alexandria, burns again.
