October 17th 2024

The Modern Web and Why it Sucks!

I know I am not the only person who when using the internet today finds themselves coming back to the same old platforms, this is usually a mix of Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, YouTube and maybe a couple of others but for the most part it’s those few that have a grip on the modern day internet user. Do these platforms have genuinely good uses? Of course, that’s why they got so popular in the first place, but for me and for many others it has became so obviously clear that they are now designed to squeeze as much out of the user.

Algorithms have been designed to keep you on the site for as long as possible as your data gets harvested to serve you personalised ads. Not only are these platforms now full of ads but on Twitter for example corporations and brands have their own accounts, allowing them to be mixed in to your social feed blurring the lines even further between advertisement and the actual content you want to see.

I think I’m just about old enough to remember the internet when it was much more than what it seems to be today. I remember being able to spend hours discovering different, unique websites catered towards any interest and topic. Every website had its own personality and design but today everything feels polished and bland. Even YouTube felt more unique, every channel felt special you could click on videos for hours and you’d find something new and interesting but today it’s a shadow of its former self.

The internet is now dominated by large corporations who buy out smaller platforms and companies, push themselves to the top of the search engine and flood us with endless advertisements. Whilst on a personal level so many people online now are desperate to turn themselves in to a brand, putting their content secondary to making money and playing the algorithm.

Don't get me started on AI. That is a topic for another time.

I think it's going to become very important in the near future for us to have our own spaces on the internet, a place which isn't controlled by a mega-corportation but belonging to us. The internet desperately needs a reset.

Personally, I hope I will start to use this space more. And if anyone is actually reading this I hope you also carve out your own corner of the web, and if you have already GREAT! :)

Thank you so much if you took time to read this, I appreciate you checking my site out!