in search of authenticity online

the collective yearning for web 2.0 and how to enjoy being online again

A couple of weeks ago, I reinstalled tumblr. A wild decision, I know.

I reinstalled tumblr because I found myself feeling an emotion for Instagram I am almost ashamed to admit in front of actual people. I missed it. To clarify, I missed bookstagram. I missed taking pictures and curating an aesthetic grid and making friends with people who liked similar books I did. 

But no matter how long you try to ignore the glaring flaws of Instagram—comparison, pressure to post frequently, non-chronological feeds, ads, engagement—those little devils on your shoulders eventually crawl into your ears until you can’t hear anything else.

The numbers are too big and important. Turning off likes isn’t enough. Non-chronological feeds are a headache. And a feed with portrait and landscape photos alongside auto-playing videos and an ad after every post was quite frankly, an assault on the eyes.

Trying to enjoy Instagram while simultaneously ignoring these caveats was getting too much to handle. It didn’t feel real anymore. In fact, the internet as a whole doesn’t feel too real anymore either.

I think we can all agree that Instagram is no longer what it used to be. What once was a platform that allowed people to experiment with filters and post pictures for their friends to see quickly became a popularity contest. And the same can be said for the internet today as a whole. It’s become nearly unrecognisable compared to about ten years ago. Instagram has made many changes to its platform that have turned people off the app altogether, me included, but despite this, the platform continues to grow exponentially with over 2 billion active users today.

And yet, we all still talk about how we’re searching for authenticity online. So much so that it was last year’s Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. 

I think Instagram is the last place you would look for authenticity. Today’s Instagram is solely about engagement and attracting enough people to eventually sell something to. It’s not even really about growing a following anymore. If you’re not there to sell something to someone, you’re almost a bit of an outsider.

And it seems like a similar sentiment is encroaching on the rest of the internet. Social media has dominated the online space and it feels like there isn’t much else left. There are still spaces online that Mark Zuckerberg hasn’t touched believe it or not, but with the majority of internet users chained to the Big apps, it feels nearly impossible to find anywhere else that resembles the warm embrace of Web 2.0—MSN, Farmville, posting Photobooth pictures from the Apple Store to Facebook, “YouTube: Broadcast Yourself”, etc. It appears the internet has shifted into one giant money-making scheme as opposed to “a place for conversation and reciprocity”.

If you really think about it, do you enjoy being on Instagram? Do you enjoy being online altogether? Sure, there are a few who enjoy “creating content” and maybe even thrive off positioning their phone on a tripod, walking past it like it’s not there and then running back to place it in the next location, all the while hoping no one snatches it in the process. Go off, sis. But for the rest of us who don’t particularly care about making a living online, creating content, want to read an article or two without sifting through chunks of ads between paragraphs or just want to see what our friends are up to, is the internet still somewhere we can do this?

Are we all just craving Facebook?

I realise this is a horrible sentiment as Facebook is now (in my head anyway) a derelict abandoned warehouse overrun with AI bots and conspiracy theorists screaming about chemtrails and 5G towers. But thinking back to before all of that, when we just shared 500 photos from a single night out and stayed up late talking to our friends and checking to see if our crush was online, staring at their name and never messaging them (just me?), that’s what we all mean when we say we want authenticity online again. Does this version of the internet still exist?

I think it does. It takes a bit of work and you’ll get the odd moth in the house no matter how many net curtains you put up, but the internet can still be a tolerable place to be. One place we may be able to start is with a private Instagram account just for your close friends where you can post unedited, unflattering pictures of yourself and memes. A finsta if you will.

Unfortunately, finsta is dead. In fact, it died around 2018. But should that stop you? Absolutely not. I still use mine and it gives me all the pleasure of 2010 Facebook. No Guides, no eyesore Home Feeds (I follow 28 people and I don’t really scroll my feed anyway), no pressure to post, no anxiety about Like count, no Business Account Insights, none of that.

It’s only a fact that the internet is dying. It’s quickly becoming overrun with dropshipping bros and 10k months girlies, but there will always be room for you to make it whatever you want it to be. Just like Kyle Chayka says in that New Yorker article, “that old version of the internet is still there”.

my mum doesn’t know how to turn on a laptop

The internet doesn’t have to be a minefield where you need to dodge life coaches, ads, paywalls and clickbait at every turn. Download an ad and pop-up blocker, use a better browser, follow 10 people on Instagram, reinstall tumblr, install Pinterest, use the block and mute buttons, curate your spaces with “not interested” options, for the love of everything that is good, uninstall TikTok (unless you’re genuinely having a good time, again, go off sis), make your own website, start a Substack! 

There are plenty of ways to make the internet yours again. If you want authenticity online, you’re going to have to find it yourself. These social media owners are not in the business of protecting your sanity and mental health, that’s your job.

Installing tumblr again made me feel like I was finding a version of the internet I genuinely used to enjoy. It’s become a little forgotten over the years but maybe that makes it even better. tumblr now, to me, has the air of a once-loved little town that had an unfortunate oil spill and everyone had to move away, but someone made a little cosy tent with blankets and candles in a corner where the oil didn’t quite reach and people hang out there now. I’ve created a book log where I can upload pictures of books and write mini reviews that might get seen by all of four people but that’s okay because I can comfortably not care, and I don’t think many people there care too much either.

I’ve found my version of the internet I enjoy, what’s yours?

by @d1rtdr34m on pinterest

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Hi lovely readers, thank you for reading this week’s post. How do we feel about the internet nowadays? I’m dying to know your thoughts. Although it seems like everything is dwindling down to AI bots chatting with other AI bots, there are still corners of the internet we can carve out for ourselves and find ways to work with what we have. As always, I hope this piece made sense!

And just a quick note about Substack: I’ve been feeling a little mentally drained recently so I’m adjusting my approach. You will still hear from me weekly it just might not be an Essay and it may not be on a Tuesday. Thank you for understanding <3

I’ll see you next week!

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