I have been on the internet since the mid-90s and computers have defined my life , personally and professionally, since I was 4 years old.
And still, this kind of messages make me uncertain about what to really think.
There is a nostalgia for the authenticity of the earlier web, and I have felt that myself. Things were hard in the 90s, but maybe that is what made it feel more worthwhile. It is also true that a lot of the current internet is dominated by financial and corporate interests.
BUT ! everything that was possible in the 90s is still possible today. Even more so.
Access to technology and software has never been easier, neither has the opportunity to learn about pretty much any topic. We have access to the output of so many people in an instant.
This can be liberating, but it can also be paralyzing. An ugly mix of FOMO and impostor syndrome making many of us paralized on most days and scroll for a quick dopamine hit instead.
But what if we consciously choose to focus on the positives by focusing on what we feel truly engaged by, and to ruthlessly ignore the rest ?
This forum is literally the proof that old web still exists, its ugly but efficient.
People there aren't chasing for social recognition or karma and genuinely want to share their opinion.
And back then website were still chasing for advertising money, the popups and ads were absolute cancer. More than today. IMO the tool (internet) hasn't changed, it's the people using it who changed for the worst.
> everything that was possible in the 90s is still possible today. Even more so.
This is only true in a narrow technical sense. But the Internet is not only the technology, it's its users. Many social interactions that were possible in the 90s are not possible today because, even if the infrastructure that facilitated them is still there or can be built, the people are not there.
And still, this kind of messages make me uncertain about what to really think. There is a nostalgia for the authenticity of the earlier web, and I have felt that myself. Things were hard in the 90s, but maybe that is what made it feel more worthwhile. It is also true that a lot of the current internet is dominated by financial and corporate interests.
BUT ! everything that was possible in the 90s is still possible today. Even more so. Access to technology and software has never been easier, neither has the opportunity to learn about pretty much any topic. We have access to the output of so many people in an instant.
This can be liberating, but it can also be paralyzing. An ugly mix of FOMO and impostor syndrome making many of us paralized on most days and scroll for a quick dopamine hit instead.
But what if we consciously choose to focus on the positives by focusing on what we feel truly engaged by, and to ruthlessly ignore the rest ?
We can only make that choice ourselves.