I think that part is really about himself. He's trying to imagine what the appeal would be if it were him. De Boer is definitely someone for whom the Internet

I think that part is really about himself. He's trying to imagine what the appeal would be if it were him. De Boer is definitely someone for whom the Internet has been bad. He is one of those people who wants to be internet-famous, which causes him to stumble into weird online fights that end with a bunch of total strangers hating him. He quit the internet for several years because one of these fights. I think these days most people have their social circle, even online, and they basically just learn the norms of that circle and stay within it, so they don't have meta-theatrical problems.