The internet up until the early 2010s involved more decentralized & more closer-knit communities of forums, webrings, and no major traditional social media websites. Even though the first seeds for "nu-internet" had already been planted around 2005 with the initial introduction of yt, fb, & reddit, they would take some time to grow. The average person would browse a multitude of personalized sites to fit each of their niches, interests, & hobbies; more savvy users would likely be communicating via IRC. There were no smartphones like the iPhone introduced yet, and computers were still relatively expensive; this meant that there was a bit of a filter to use the internet--the majority who used it were already fairly technologically inclined.
Now, most people exclusively browse the exact same few sites & services. reddit, youtube, google, twitch, twitter, instagram. What used to be decentralized is now hyper-centralized. It is now easier for corporations & media to monetize the internet. It is now easier for fewer 'admins' to take charge over more people. It is now easier for politics to fizzle its way into internet culture.
The modern affordable smartphone at least fueled the beginning of the end. Any idiot, in any country, can now fuck everything up as they pleased, whether they realized it or not. There are no filters anymore. Any purpose the internet had is now simply replaced with the magnification of western societal vices. It is profitable to please the normal majority; everything has to be a hug-box. You now have to watch your back with every word you speak even with a pseudo-anonymous identity, especially considering that most services are linked. If you don't fit their cookie-cutter mold, you will be 'canceled'. You may be doxxed, etc. etc.
Many communities, faced with imminent death, attempted to push back starting around 2015-2016. However, any chance they may have had was only an illusion. The moralfags have always had the upper hand. The moralfags have already won, and anyone who doesn't fit the mold has been sufficiently silenced.
It used to be said, sometimes as a joke, that you had to have a backbone to be able to use the internet. That being taken the piss out of was to be expected, and it toughened you up. None of this is true anymore in any shape or form.
Now, most people exclusively browse the exact same few sites & services. reddit, youtube, google, twitch, twitter, instagram. What used to be decentralized is now hyper-centralized. It is now easier for corporations & media to monetize the internet. It is now easier for fewer 'admins' to take charge over more people. It is now easier for politics to fizzle its way into internet culture.
The modern affordable smartphone at least fueled the beginning of the end. Any idiot, in any country, can now fuck everything up as they pleased, whether they realized it or not. There are no filters anymore. Any purpose the internet had is now simply replaced with the magnification of western societal vices. It is profitable to please the normal majority; everything has to be a hug-box. You now have to watch your back with every word you speak even with a pseudo-anonymous identity, especially considering that most services are linked. If you don't fit their cookie-cutter mold, you will be 'canceled'. You may be doxxed, etc. etc.
Many communities, faced with imminent death, attempted to push back starting around 2015-2016. However, any chance they may have had was only an illusion. The moralfags have always had the upper hand. The moralfags have already won, and anyone who doesn't fit the mold has been sufficiently silenced.
It used to be said, sometimes as a joke, that you had to have a backbone to be able to use the internet. That being taken the piss out of was to be expected, and it toughened you up. None of this is true anymore in any shape or form.
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