I'm obsessed with this take. Because all these new influencers are just as problematic as the old ones, they just do it behind closed doors now. At least the drama was entertaining! Now everybody's just selling something.
Sometimes I think of things that happened on the internet a decade ago that would actually end society now. For instance the headline “Amanda Bynes on Drake ‘Murder My Vagina’ Tweet: ‘I Was Serious But I Was Also on Drugs’”
"The internet was a Hydra of grassroots communities tugging in every direction. It was surreal, like a secret society of misfits. I was on Tumblr calling people in my High School peasants because they didn’t know who Lana Del Rey was." The good old days
Ah! It's like you took ideas from my brain and wrote it all out so thoughtfully. I have been sooo jaded by my phone these past few weeks and have been trying to synthesize my thoughts into something tangible but it feels impossible, so I really needed this exact piece. Every time I pick up my phone I just cringe because I am so exhausted by the Internet.
Like you said, the main theme is just that it's boring. I miss the days when I'd run home from school to my laptop and log onto Tumblr and truly feel excited; now, the internet feels like a space where I have to present myself in a certain way, find a "niche", build a "brand". But back then it was like a world you could fall into; everyone was so much more daring, so much more creative, so much more honest. I wonder if the fact that social media became a paying job is what ruined things? When you referenced Tana being "unmonetizable", I realized that the big names of YouTube that rose to fame did so accidentally. They didn't start accounts to make money - they started them because they were passionate about whatever. Now we do things specifically for money. I wonder if that just steals all the honesty?
My main ideas that I've jotted down for a future essay is mainly that everything is an ad. I usually watch cleaning videos when I'm stressed out and now each and every one of them is trying to sell me something. And then the other day my mom and I got the same reel, where the speaker talked about mashed zuccini being good for cats - and went on to talk about how vets keep trying to sell you unnecessary things - only for it to end up being an ad for some kind of supplement. My mom and I both said "let's try cooking zuccini, I saw a reel" then both of us had to discuss if it was an ad or not - ie. if it was real or not.
Anyway. Sorry for the long response. I just love when someone else is thinking similar things to me! I love everything you write by the way. So glad I found your Substack <333
I'm obsessed with this take. Because all these new influencers are just as problematic as the old ones, they just do it behind closed doors now. At least the drama was entertaining! Now everybody's just selling something.
Sometimes I think of things that happened on the internet a decade ago that would actually end society now. For instance the headline “Amanda Bynes on Drake ‘Murder My Vagina’ Tweet: ‘I Was Serious But I Was Also on Drugs’”
"The internet was a Hydra of grassroots communities tugging in every direction. It was surreal, like a secret society of misfits. I was on Tumblr calling people in my High School peasants because they didn’t know who Lana Del Rey was." The good old days
"now, everyone has a leech and the host is starting to die" daaaaaamn
This is the best thing I’ve read on the internet in maybe years thank you for your service
Ah! It's like you took ideas from my brain and wrote it all out so thoughtfully. I have been sooo jaded by my phone these past few weeks and have been trying to synthesize my thoughts into something tangible but it feels impossible, so I really needed this exact piece. Every time I pick up my phone I just cringe because I am so exhausted by the Internet.
Like you said, the main theme is just that it's boring. I miss the days when I'd run home from school to my laptop and log onto Tumblr and truly feel excited; now, the internet feels like a space where I have to present myself in a certain way, find a "niche", build a "brand". But back then it was like a world you could fall into; everyone was so much more daring, so much more creative, so much more honest. I wonder if the fact that social media became a paying job is what ruined things? When you referenced Tana being "unmonetizable", I realized that the big names of YouTube that rose to fame did so accidentally. They didn't start accounts to make money - they started them because they were passionate about whatever. Now we do things specifically for money. I wonder if that just steals all the honesty?
My main ideas that I've jotted down for a future essay is mainly that everything is an ad. I usually watch cleaning videos when I'm stressed out and now each and every one of them is trying to sell me something. And then the other day my mom and I got the same reel, where the speaker talked about mashed zuccini being good for cats - and went on to talk about how vets keep trying to sell you unnecessary things - only for it to end up being an ad for some kind of supplement. My mom and I both said "let's try cooking zuccini, I saw a reel" then both of us had to discuss if it was an ad or not - ie. if it was real or not.
Anyway. Sorry for the long response. I just love when someone else is thinking similar things to me! I love everything you write by the way. So glad I found your Substack <333
Omg I just rewatched Tana/Trevi vid and it gave me such life https://youtu.be/6n7BLLknK5Q?feature=shared
Kick & Twitch streamers say otherwise. Also let’s not forget ChrisChan, even though he’s been in the dl
It's not just social media though...
What happened to the Internet?
https://open.substack.com/pub/heyslick/p/router-bait-and-switch
i just recently visited a wellness retreat in bryon bay if you want to read about it https://floatingfiles.substack.com/p/on-my-first-wellness-retreat