Rhys' Hub
Blog #3: "Digital Vomit"
01/06/2025
Hey Whores,
I've been using the internet for (pretty much) as long as I can remember. While there are SO many things I love about it, it's changed drastically in the last fifteen or so years, and NOT for the better. I think my problems with it really started to manifest once I switched to my first iPhone and got my own Instagram when I was around 13, because before that, most of my internet use was restricted to either the family computer, or later my laptop. Reason I bring this up is because ever since I've had a smartphone, I've been addicted as F U C K .
I'm no luddite--in fact I absolutely love the concept of the internet as a whole--but I can't be the only one who's noticed how insanely dystopian the internet has become since smartphones went mainstream. Not to mention, there are barely any spaces on the internet left that haven't been tainted by corporations making everything look clean and advertiser-friendly. The spread of misinformation is worse than ever, nothing is customizable, everything looks minimalist/boring, ads are everywhere, and it's just not FUN anymore!
So if it's not fun anymore, why do I continue to stare into the glow of the magic rectangle device for an entire work day seven days a week? I'm fucking addicted, that's why. I think it's funny that people are so hesitant to call this an addiction when I've yet to meet anyone under the age of roughly 50 with a screen time under 2 hours per day. Personally, I feel like a massive chunk of my youth was robbed because of tech giants engineering such addictive platforms, and I don't think I'm the only one who feels this way of people around my age.
Last night I was up until 6:30am scrolling through Instagram, and I felt like I legitimately could not stop. Sometimes I literally just want to smash my phone with a hammer. Once my iPhone 14 is paid off, I don't think I'm ever going to own a smartphone again unless there's one that's eventually made to not be addicting. One phone I'm actually looking into right now is the upcoming Mudita Kompakt, because it's essentially one of those minimalist phones that has an e-ink display and you can sideload modern apps into it. My line of thinking with this is that I'll be able to use modern QOL features that we've all become accustomed to, but it has just the right amount of friction with the e-ink display that it would make consuming content on it not even worth it. Honestly, I'm just tired of actively knowing that silicon valley is exploiting me for data or whatever other resources and not being able to do much about it other than reject the modern way of living--which comes with its own set of drawbacks.
At the very least, it gives me hope seeing how many people my age and younger are finally starting to push back and fight for a better future. One of the reasons I started learning HTML/CSS on here was to be a part of that by rejecting the stale, centralized modern internet, and I really hope I can inspire other people to as well. The future isn't entirely bleak, and hopefully it gets better online as more people wake up to what's happening.
Alright rant over lol, enjoy a picture of Henry in the snow and a song I'm (probably) using in a new DJ mix soon.
- Rhys
