I Don’t Know How to Waste Time on the Internet Anymore
I have been saying I&#x27;ve &quot;reached the end of the internet&quot; for awhile now. I am 44 and have been working on the web since mid 90s. I remember so much cool stuff from then. Trying to get a 56k modem to work, dealing with the fact that you couldn&#x27;t always get online or if you did you could get kicked off at any time. I remember streaming the Tibetan Freedom Concert with realplayer back in &#x27;98. The first mp3 i got, napster, rotten.com, the excitement of ordering from amazon, searching for cracked passwords for photoshop and dreamweaver... in general just figuring shit out. The internet was a mess back then and even though it was frustrating as hell, it was exciting.<p>Now it just seems like every website online is trying to steal and sell your data. I feel like I have to have a heightened sense of awareness around anything I do. The internet used to be just barely within reach and now it&#x27;s just crammed down your throat all day long. Nothing seems to work and all for the wrong reasons. Nothing worked back then but that was part of the experience.... now it&#x27;s just... blah.<p>I have fallen into a terrible habit of looking at reddit since I don&#x27;t use any social media. I read crap on r&#x2F;politics before bed and end up being so frustrated that I have a hard time falling asleep.<p>Recently I decided to check out a book from the library (House of Leaves, very interesting so far!) and have been reading before bed and not looking at my phone at all. I have been able to fall asleep much easier and I actually have crazy dreams and wake up refreshed. For the first time in years I look forward to going to bed.<p>Not sure what to make of all of it. Fortunately I have found lately that I&#x27;m desiring more analog activities (reading, woodworking, hiking) than I have in a long time. It is nice to be able to use the internet as more of a tool to augment my activities rather than being THE activity.