The internet is broken by creator karenxcheng

by karenxcheng

I used to love the internet. It was a magical place. A place where I could discover quirky people doing talented things. Where I could go foraging for inspiration to learn and create.

But it hasn’t felt like that lately. What happened?

Today, I open instagram....
Instead of the carefully curated artists I follow, it serves me low quality meme garbage.
I open twitter…
Someone angry and virtue signaling
I open linkedin…
Some sensationalist headline from a "thought leader" about how the latest AI will change everything and you better learn it or you'll be left behind
I open youtube…
And have to sift through clickbait headlines and thumbnails of people making exaggerated shocked faces
I open TikTok...
The app that was so successful in making an addictive substance, that now every other social media company is copying its algorithm format because if they don't, people will spend less time on their platform.

The internet didn’t used to be like this. What happened?
Now when I scroll.... it's angry people. clickbait. attention bait.
Instead of foraging for inspiration. I am force-fed viral bait.
Corporations learned that our attention was a resource to be mined. That our attention could be monetized, and there was a lot of money in it.
So now, every time I open my feed, it’s a dystopia of everyone competing and battling for attention.

And the worst part is, it's changing our behavior.
Humans are incredibly adaptable. When we’re positively rewarded for a behavior, we do more of it.
Algorithms are changing our behavior. They’re turning us into more attention-seeking, lower attention span, angrier, more anxious people.
I see it changing my behavior. And I have to reckon with uncomfortable questions. What is my role in it? After all, aren’t I the one supplying the machine with inventory so they can monetize eyeballs?

The internet doesn’t have to be like this
I’ve felt this way for a while but I didn’t write about it, because I felt hopeless. But lately, more and more things are giving me hope.

I open Patreon
My feed is full of artists sharing their creations, in a chronological feed where creators can actually reach the people who follow them, so we don’t have to attention-bait here.
It's based on relationships, not algorithms.
And so it leaves me feeling creatively nourished, rather than depleted.

I open my Remarkable
I wrote this blog post on my Remarkable. Imagine an iPad, but the only thing it can do is let you write. It doesn’t access the internet, it’s distraction-free and it’s e-ink (like a kindle) so it’s easy on the eyes.
It’s part of a new class of devices that are designed to be non-addictive. I’ve been experimenting with a bunch of these devices in the past year.
Here are a few:

• E-ink typewriter (Remarkable + keyboard)
• E-ink computer monitor (boox mira pro)
• E-ink phone (option 1, option 2, option 3)

I open books
Where I get to peek into the mind of writers who took months and years to form their thoughts. Here are two I really enjoyed...
Stolen Focus
Anxious Generation

I open… my front door.
For the past year I’ve been experimenting with screenless Saturdays - where on most Saturdays, I don’t look at screens. It was really hard at first, but it’s forced me to get out of the house and away from the internet, and it’s been the single best thing I’ve done for my health and sanity.

I’ll be writing about more of these things with time, and maybe making some videos about them too :)

For more of Karen's writing and videos, join her Patreon.