that video changed my life!! this piece also makes me think about how much more often we used to say “brb,” like we could leave and come back, but now the internet is a place we are constantly in. now i often tell people in real life “give me a minute,” because i have to text someone back during dinner
I love your last paragraph. It says so much with so little:
“I smile when I think of little Arden traversing the early internet… [I]t was a place, ten years ago. You could log off.”
It reminds me of the most chilling line - and one of my favorites- in all literature, the last four words of 1984: “He loved Big Brother”.
Your paragraph chilled me to the bone in the same way that Orwell’s four-word sentence did. By the way, if you haven’t yet read 1984, I think that you might really relate to it.
You know, this is the first comment I’ve ever posted on SubStack! I don’t even know how I wound up on your SubStack! Take it as a small compliment, though, that your words moved me.
Last thing - I had originally begun my last paragraph above by saying “It’s completely unrelated, but this is the first time I’ve written a SubStack message…”
And then it hit me - that it isn’t unrelated. In fact, it’s almost the point of your article, it’s just that my first comment here on SubStack, and your article are waving to each other from opposite ends of the timeline.
i always repeat to my best friend how i am so grateful that we grew up in early 2010s because our childhood was so much more different than nowadays. it was truly a blessing to exist in that time when not everything revolved around internet and being on it. my comfort youtuber is mylifeaseva and i love to rewatch victorious or sam and cat 😂😁
I enjoyed this very much. It reminded me of my daughter, who is 31 years old this year, and how she, too, grew up (way too fast) in the age of the internet. I had to keep an eye on her very emo My Space, lest the neighborhood boys try to private message her. Oh, how things have changed. You summed it up quite nicely when you said that we used to log off!! Those were the days.
Girl when I tell you that trailer GOT me hahah. I have my old YouTube videos saved too - I was about 16 I think and sounded the exact same as you 😂😂 Zoella was my everything. I deleted all my social media a couple of years ago - it does notttt sit well with me - but I still feel so shaped by internet culture. Both the good and the bad. Ironically, I did immediately have a quick peek at your insta and thought “wow she’s so pretty and looks like she has such a fun life” - funny how quick our humans minds condense pixels to perceptions.
(I’m planning my next post to be about the internet too! Mainly about how I can’t, for some reason, deal with any kind of metric. The possibility of likes makes me insane 😂 )
To tell you the truth. I miss that YouTube....not what YouTube have became.
Nerds doing lightsaber duels, nerds thinking they know martial arts, house wives talking about there day, people being goofy, people posting funny things that there friends have done.....etc... it was actually fun. Now it is just corporate propaganda and people trying to make money.
So incredibly relateable dear one. I started my youtube career back in 2013 as well, found success, sat across the mean girls of beauty guru fame, and look back at the hundreds of videos I made with a side swiped smile. What a weird world the internet has made it. These days I revel in elemental wisdom, coming back home to my body, slowing down, and enjoying the magic in the seemingly mundane. Thank you for sharing your story and combined letters of the alphabet 🦋
It’s funny to look back at first posts on instagram. Mine was probably a picture of latte art with a sepia filter and three likes. Looking back might feel cringe but I also fondly miss that age of innocence. . To think what it has become. Hyper curated content with whole production teams behind it and constant inundation of insta-targeting ads where more and more often I’m thinking - how did the algorithm know that about me? And I’m creeped out. Scary to think how things have evolved in the last 15 years, to reflect where things were then and what things might be like 15 years from now. And it also makes me sad for kids who aren’t growing up with that version of the internet those of us millennials did.
Same, I posted my Starbucks drinks and Chipotle bowls. Even the new Instagram "dumps" that are meant to be spontaneous are super curated. I'm a bit scared to see 15 years from now...
In 15 years, we will likely be training AI algorithms to curate our content based on the top 1% of successful content and automate our lives into a digital world that is not even a 0.00001:1 copy of ourselves. And this is coming from someone who has majored in Data Science and is a total AI nerd.
I grew up with the exact same people as you, exposed to the same version of the internet. My heart broke while reading the two paragraphs after your YouTube channel video. I feel that the current state of the internet is not what it was meant to become. The amount of content and instantaneous fleeting moments make me feel like I can't breathe, and I needed to pause. Which, to some extent, I did. This year, I started feeling very discouraged to post at all, and finding the rise of Substacks made me realize how much I have been missing authenticity in content, the artistry, and rawness behind genuine authenticity. Authentic authenticity, that is, and not the "authenticity" sold by today's media standards. Thank you for writing this.
I am 73 yrs old. My sons are in their late 30s. Your young life was something I was totally unaware existed. Thank you
Thank you Mary, this means so much to me.
that video changed my life!! this piece also makes me think about how much more often we used to say “brb,” like we could leave and come back, but now the internet is a place we are constantly in. now i often tell people in real life “give me a minute,” because i have to text someone back during dinner
What ever happened to phone piles at the dinner table...
I love your last paragraph. It says so much with so little:
“I smile when I think of little Arden traversing the early internet… [I]t was a place, ten years ago. You could log off.”
It reminds me of the most chilling line - and one of my favorites- in all literature, the last four words of 1984: “He loved Big Brother”.
Your paragraph chilled me to the bone in the same way that Orwell’s four-word sentence did. By the way, if you haven’t yet read 1984, I think that you might really relate to it.
You know, this is the first comment I’ve ever posted on SubStack! I don’t even know how I wound up on your SubStack! Take it as a small compliment, though, that your words moved me.
Last thing - I had originally begun my last paragraph above by saying “It’s completely unrelated, but this is the first time I’ve written a SubStack message…”
And then it hit me - that it isn’t unrelated. In fact, it’s almost the point of your article, it’s just that my first comment here on SubStack, and your article are waving to each other from opposite ends of the timeline.
Thank you Dave! I started 1984 when I was younger but I have to read it again. Honored to receive your very first comment.
i love this and it made me emotional too.
i always repeat to my best friend how i am so grateful that we grew up in early 2010s because our childhood was so much more different than nowadays. it was truly a blessing to exist in that time when not everything revolved around internet and being on it. my comfort youtuber is mylifeaseva and i love to rewatch victorious or sam and cat 😂😁
I LOVED mylifeaseva!
I enjoyed this very much. It reminded me of my daughter, who is 31 years old this year, and how she, too, grew up (way too fast) in the age of the internet. I had to keep an eye on her very emo My Space, lest the neighborhood boys try to private message her. Oh, how things have changed. You summed it up quite nicely when you said that we used to log off!! Those were the days.
Thank you, Michelle! I was too late for My Space, but mine probably would have been emo too.
Girl when I tell you that trailer GOT me hahah. I have my old YouTube videos saved too - I was about 16 I think and sounded the exact same as you 😂😂 Zoella was my everything. I deleted all my social media a couple of years ago - it does notttt sit well with me - but I still feel so shaped by internet culture. Both the good and the bad. Ironically, I did immediately have a quick peek at your insta and thought “wow she’s so pretty and looks like she has such a fun life” - funny how quick our humans minds condense pixels to perceptions.
(I’m planning my next post to be about the internet too! Mainly about how I can’t, for some reason, deal with any kind of metric. The possibility of likes makes me insane 😂 )
Aw thank you Jess! We are total products of the internet. Can't wait to read it.
To tell you the truth. I miss that YouTube....not what YouTube have became.
Nerds doing lightsaber duels, nerds thinking they know martial arts, house wives talking about there day, people being goofy, people posting funny things that there friends have done.....etc... it was actually fun. Now it is just corporate propaganda and people trying to make money.
So incredibly relateable dear one. I started my youtube career back in 2013 as well, found success, sat across the mean girls of beauty guru fame, and look back at the hundreds of videos I made with a side swiped smile. What a weird world the internet has made it. These days I revel in elemental wisdom, coming back home to my body, slowing down, and enjoying the magic in the seemingly mundane. Thank you for sharing your story and combined letters of the alphabet 🦋
Thank you this means so much to me <3
I got my iPod touch in 2012 when I was 10. I remember how much fun social media was in those early stages! It’s a shame what it’s become :(
Wish I had a Time Machine...
It’s funny to look back at first posts on instagram. Mine was probably a picture of latte art with a sepia filter and three likes. Looking back might feel cringe but I also fondly miss that age of innocence. . To think what it has become. Hyper curated content with whole production teams behind it and constant inundation of insta-targeting ads where more and more often I’m thinking - how did the algorithm know that about me? And I’m creeped out. Scary to think how things have evolved in the last 15 years, to reflect where things were then and what things might be like 15 years from now. And it also makes me sad for kids who aren’t growing up with that version of the internet those of us millennials did.
Same, I posted my Starbucks drinks and Chipotle bowls. Even the new Instagram "dumps" that are meant to be spontaneous are super curated. I'm a bit scared to see 15 years from now...
In 15 years, we will likely be training AI algorithms to curate our content based on the top 1% of successful content and automate our lives into a digital world that is not even a 0.00001:1 copy of ourselves. And this is coming from someone who has majored in Data Science and is a total AI nerd.
So cute! Your videos. I miss those days of simple.
Thank you!! I do too.
I grew up with the exact same people as you, exposed to the same version of the internet. My heart broke while reading the two paragraphs after your YouTube channel video. I feel that the current state of the internet is not what it was meant to become. The amount of content and instantaneous fleeting moments make me feel like I can't breathe, and I needed to pause. Which, to some extent, I did. This year, I started feeling very discouraged to post at all, and finding the rise of Substacks made me realize how much I have been missing authenticity in content, the artistry, and rawness behind genuine authenticity. Authentic authenticity, that is, and not the "authenticity" sold by today's media standards. Thank you for writing this.
Thank you so much!!! I have hope for Substack as well.
This is so relatable. I was TheGucciGirl08 inspired by MacBarbie07 lmao
NO WAY. I love it.
Great read!
Thanks Sandra!!
Dear Ms. Yum,
I think your honest conversation is just as wonderful today as it was back when you made that "private" YouTube video back when!
Thank you so much! That is so kind.
Ugh we were so lucky to exists in that time
Soooo lucky