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> [the internet] It didn’t just have a place; it had a time. There were moments of access, moments of waiting, moments when it simply wasn’t available. You went

> [the internet] It didn’t just have a place; it had a time. There were moments of access, moments of waiting, moments when it simply wasn’t available. You went in and came out. I feel like this physicality and time-constraint is what really helped you use it (the computer/internet) as a tool to enrich one's life. The introduction of the smart phone and the "always-on" internet that gave rise to a super-charged attention economy, tracking, engagement algorithms fuelling doom scrolls and unnecessary notifications avalanches has become a hostile internet of stress and anxiety.

thewebguyd 6mo ago
Agreed. Maybe its rose-tinted goggles for me, but I feel like the internet was a better place (and encouraged a healthy relationship with technology) when it was a place you "went" instead of something thats with you all the time, always connected. Using the computer, or getting online required setting aside a block of time, and physically going to a desk (or library/computer lab). It didn't follow you when you were done, you shutdown the computer and went on with your life. There was a clear separation of online and irl, those identities weren't merged yet. It was very task focused. Yeah, I still got on the family computer and just browsed around for an hour, but for the most part it was something I got on to do something specific, as a tool, not an extension of my daily life.
- aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
  > Maybe its rose-tinted goggles for me, but I feel like the internet was a better place (and encouraged a healthy relationship with technology) when it was a place you "went" instead of something thats with you all the time, always connected. In my experience the difference was rather that a lot of internet users of this generation were radically pro-privacy, and very opposed to any centralized service (they were willing to teach you a lot about setting up your own internet applications, websites or web applications under the promise that you don't use a centralized web platform and you delete your accounts there).

thewebguyd 6mo ago

Agreed. Maybe its rose-tinted goggles for me, but I feel like the internet was a better place (and encouraged a healthy relationship with technology) when it was a place you "went" instead of something thats with you all the time, always connected. Using the computer, or getting online required setting aside a block of time, and physically going to a desk (or library/computer lab). It didn't follow you when you were done, you shutdown the computer and went on with your life. There was a clear separation of online and irl, those identities weren't merged yet. It was very task focused. Yeah, I still got on the family computer and just browsed around for an hour, but for the most part it was something I got on to do something specific, as a tool, not an extension of my daily life.

aleph_minus_one 6mo ago
> Maybe its rose-tinted goggles for me, but I feel like the internet was a better place (and encouraged a healthy relationship with technology) when it was a place you "went" instead of something thats with you all the time, always connected. In my experience the difference was rather that a lot of internet users of this generation were radically pro-privacy, and very opposed to any centralized service (they were willing to teach you a lot about setting up your own internet applications, websites or web applications under the promise that you don't use a centralized web platform and you delete your accounts there).