For good reason, we’ve become pretty miserable with the internet, both in the way we talk about it and the feelings it brings up in us. It’s almost like a collective fatigue. When we’re not doomscrolling through an endless stream of mostly bad news, we’re reading yet another think piece about why someone finally decided to delete Instagram, switch to a dumb phone, or go off the grid entirely. And honestly? I get it.
The internet can feel like a never-ending source of existential dread. Literacy rates are declining, loneliness is at an all-time high, and we’re all just screaming into our own algorithmically curated echo chambers. It doesn’t help that the people seemingly in charge of it all are either cosplaying as dictators or doing Benson Boone cosplay. In a world where misinformation spreads faster than truth and meaningful connections seem increasingly rare, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed and hopeless about our online existence.
That being said, we like the internet.
In all the discourse about how dystopian it feels to be online, we often fail to acknowledge the internet’s positives—the ones that, if we let them, could easily outweigh the negatives. And no, I’m not just talking about how convenient it is that the internet connects us across the world or how quickly ChatGPT can spit out an answer. What’s truly beautiful about the internet is its weirdest, most obscure corners. The sheer amount of knowledge we have at our fingertips is mind-blowing when you really think about it. Every day, thousands of people voluntarily upload tutorials, deep dives, and niche explanations to YouTube—for free! Strangers dedicate their time to maintaining and expanding Wikipedia pages out of nothing but curiosity and passion. Independent creators pour their creativity into unique games, interactive websites, and bizarre internet experiments that exist simply because they can. And then there are places like Reddit where people spend hours answering questions, solving problems, and archiving knowledge you’d never find in a textbook.
Beneath the noise, there’s still a web of human curiosity and creativity. It’s crucial for us to remember the positive sides of the internet as we aim to make it a place we genuinely enjoy spending time again. We each play a role in shaping our online experiences; we can actively choose to engage with content that informs, instead of getting lost in endless scrolling. By seeking out the knowledge-sharing communities and the creative projects that resonate with us, we can reclaim the internet as a valuable tool rather than a source of anxiety in our daily lives.
As algorithms continue to amplify negativity, and as the sheer volume of content being uploaded grows exponentially, it’s more important than ever to recognize and appreciate the insane level of access we have. The internet isn’t just a tool for outrage or a machine designed to drain our attention—it’s also a vast, collaborative, and deeply strange library of human knowledge and creativity. And that’s worth holding onto.
Ps. If you want to discover some fun content, try Arca. Here’s an invitation code: R1KJ5R
Insert this code into the Arca app to start setting your Arca profile.
The internet can feel like a never-ending source of existential dread. Literacy rates are declining, loneliness is at an all-time high, and we’re all just screaming into our own algorithmically curated echo chambers. It doesn’t help that the people seemingly in charge of it all are either cosplaying as dictators or doing Benson Boone cosplay. In a world where misinformation spreads faster than truth and meaningful connections seem increasingly rare, it’s hard not to feel overwhelmed and hopeless about our online existence.
That being said, we like the internet.
In all the discourse about how dystopian it feels to be online, we often fail to acknowledge the internet’s positives—the ones that, if we let them, could easily outweigh the negatives. And no, I’m not just talking about how convenient it is that the internet connects us across the world or how quickly ChatGPT can spit out an answer. What’s truly beautiful about the internet is its weirdest, most obscure corners. The sheer amount of knowledge we have at our fingertips is mind-blowing when you really think about it. Every day, thousands of people voluntarily upload tutorials, deep dives, and niche explanations to YouTube—for free! Strangers dedicate their time to maintaining and expanding Wikipedia pages out of nothing but curiosity and passion. Independent creators pour their creativity into unique games, interactive websites, and bizarre internet experiments that exist simply because they can. And then there are places like Reddit where people spend hours answering questions, solving problems, and archiving knowledge you’d never find in a textbook.
Beneath the noise, there’s still a web of human curiosity and creativity. It’s crucial for us to remember the positive sides of the internet as we aim to make it a place we genuinely enjoy spending time again. We each play a role in shaping our online experiences; we can actively choose to engage with content that informs, instead of getting lost in endless scrolling. By seeking out the knowledge-sharing communities and the creative projects that resonate with us, we can reclaim the internet as a valuable tool rather than a source of anxiety in our daily lives.
As algorithms continue to amplify negativity, and as the sheer volume of content being uploaded grows exponentially, it’s more important than ever to recognize and appreciate the insane level of access we have. The internet isn’t just a tool for outrage or a machine designed to drain our attention—it’s also a vast, collaborative, and deeply strange library of human knowledge and creativity. And that’s worth holding onto.
Ps. If you want to discover some fun content, try Arca. Here’s an invitation code: R1KJ5R
Insert this code into the Arca app to start setting your Arca profile.
