The internet sucks now. I know I’m not breaking any new ground that you haven’t heard before, but it bears repeating. I’ve never been one to wear rose-colored glasses and claim that everything was better in the past, but I do find myself missing the “old” internet lately.
Look no further than Facebook. Yeah, remember when people used to use Facebook? If you’re a Gen Xer like me, you may have fond memories of using it before it turned into the AI slop-filled, bot-ridden, advertisement-packed Dumpster fire that it is today.
Back when Facebook reached its peak, say around 2010-2015, I actually enjoyed visiting the site. Many weekend evenings were spent with a cold beer, music from my computer speakers, and engaging with Facebook as an activity. For fun. Even typing that out just now seems bizarre, but it did happen.
The simplicity of early FB was brilliant. I’d write a post or share a picture and then scroll through my feed, reading and commenting on what friends posted while I was away. In the meantime, a friend commented on what I just posted and I would respond. All while new comments were waiting for me to interact with. The cycle repeated until I got bored or everyone else went to bed.
On a Friday or Saturday night, just about everybody was online and sometimes it was as close to communicating in real time as you could get. And they really were friends. People who you knew in real life. Old classmates and co-workers that you reconnected with. Online-only folks you forged relationships with. Back in my writing days, I met a lot of fellow authors and fans of my work who I became close with. We drifted apart years ago and I miss a lot of them.
The best thing about the “old” Facebook is that it was actually possible to reach the end of your feed, back before some war criminal invented the Endless Scroll. Remember this scenario? 1. Log into Facebook and catch up on posts from your friends while you were away. 2. Reach the end of new posts and start seeing posts you’ve already read. 3. Move on to something else in your life. It was actually possible to stay on top of what your friends and family were up to by spending just a few minutes checking for everything new. Simple. Easy. Enjoyable.
As the years slid by, I watched as Facebook declined into the mess that it is today. Every year, posts from people I knew were replaced by ads and group posts that The Algorithm thought I might enjoy. In the meantime, the Endless Scroll never let me catch up. The Algorithm got more aggressive. If I even thought about lingering too long on a picture of, say, an aardvark, suddenly my feed was filled with nothing but aardvark content.
And then AI happened. I don’t know if Facebook was the first social media platform to start featuring AI slop content, but it certainly was there at the ground floor and people ran with it. Hard. I think half of Facebook today is retro pages churning out AI slop bullshit pictures of 1970s teens at a roller rink or kids riding a bike, or people grocery shopping wearing dresses and sports coats. The first comment (written by a human? Not sure) is always a variation of “back before everyone had their face in their phone and people treated each other with respect!” Sure. Don’t like that one? Here’s a picture of President Jesus Doctor.
For years, I held off on abandoning Facebook because I didn’t want to miss any updates from family and friends. And then the other day it dawned on me that I hadn’t seen an actual update from somebody I knew in months. Maybe years?
I know I could just leave my account idle and never go back like so many people have already done, but I decided to take the next step. I exported all my data so I could go back and read all the cringy stuff I wrote in 2009 and deleted my account. Sorry, Meta. You’ll get no more fresh personal data from me.
And that’s why I decided to spin up this new website with a good ‘ol fashioned blog. Remember those? No AI, no ads, no toxic political bullshit or user data mining. I’ve still got stuff to say and share from time to time, but I’m not doing it on some tech giant’s platform anymore. I know few, if any, people will read it, but that’s okay. Just writing this intro post has lit up areas in my brain that I’d thought were long gone. Suddenly it’s 2010 again and I’m having fun online.
Maybe I’ll start a trend. I know I’m not the only one with modern internet fatigue, so perhaps I’ve inspired you to start your own blog. Maybe create an online forum or chatroom. Let’s take the internet back, people. All the old tools are still here, we just need to start using them again.
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