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October 10th, 2024 -- 11:46pm
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Been thinking about the "smolweb" a lot lately. Surfing the
old web and checking out gopher holes. I wonder how much of
it is yearning for the '90's. I think there is some aspect
of that, but also it's just that the current web is
ridiculous. I hate that being a part of society today
requires shit like a smartphone and neverending apps.
The best solution that I've been able to come up with is
simply not using things unless absolutely required. I've
avoided many apps and haven't been on social media in
over a decade, so that's easy. But I still lurk on reddit
and imageboards. It's just ridiculous how much crap you
have to put up with just to read text online. This is what
has drawn me back to lowtech, web 1.0 stuff.
I'm not opposed to current technology. I just dislike the
need to always be available and connected. That is difficult
to avoid. But websites today are trash. They're built to
keep you continuously scrolling so they can place more
ads in your feed.
Anyways, just rambling here. I just feel like everything
kind of peaked with web 1.0... webrings for communities,
messengers/irc for communication, information everywhere.
Even Myspace wasn't terrible. I do enjoy having the
better hardware and Internet connection. I think it's
great to have videos like on youtube... for informational
purposes used in moderation.
Some of the best times in my life in the last decade have
been when I have eschewed a cell phone and used a home
phone (using a VOIP ATA). It's just impossible to function
in the current world without a cell phone. I've dropped
down to a limited laptop and lived in a bungalow during
those same time periods... I enjoyed it despite some of
the inconveniences. I'm just looking to find a balance.
