Yeah, each year we inch closer to an internet where the only things to do revolve around buying things; watch “content” which mostly revolves around creators shilling products, research products, or buy products. Every hobby has to be monetized now, everything has to be a side hustle, every impression monetized. Few seem to bother anymore with personal blogs that exist for their own enjoyment and sharing of knowledge, and yet with all this paid creation, full-time artists struggle more than ever, largely unable to afford living costs in the very cities they helped to build the culture and value of.
I find it personally difficult to look at the entirety of the internet in 2024 and say that it’s definitely better for society than it was in 2004. I guess now at least we can mostly book appointments on our phones without having to speak with someone in real-time as they read dates and times off of a calendar interface that we can now just use ourselves directly.
There's nothing wrong with people trying to make money on the internet. You can sit in your bubble of personal dislikes and preferences, whining about average people using a very accessible tool to try to make a living for themselves, just like you presumably do in some way or another, but why not instead see the bigger picture of an internet in which not all things are shit and not all commercialization is automatically bad.
Personal blogs, creative efforts and wonderful resources still abound on the internet and can still usually be found quite easily if you put a bit of effort into looking.
I find it personally difficult to look at the entirety of the internet in 2024 and say that it’s definitely better for society than it was in 2004. I guess now at least we can mostly book appointments on our phones without having to speak with someone in real-time as they read dates and times off of a calendar interface that we can now just use ourselves directly.