In the shifting mound that is The Internet, do you ever wonder about the ultimate ending of it all? When society as a whole decides the Internet to be too far gone—as it becomes an ouroboros of AI generated content and companies bleeding creators until it's no longer profitable for them, beneficial for them, or otherwise impossible to reach a good audience, which is something we're seeing the consequences of today, where some creators need to push aside their values, (perhaps somewhat like you commented on in Clickbait Values: Losing My Integrity) to be able to "make it," playing characters and bits for so long people forget the "real person" behind the screen—I begin to wonder if 'integrity' is even a concept valued in this rotting culture.
Thoughts?
Ooo great ask (sorry it took so long for me to get to it). I actually started my channel when an american bill was introduced that would effectively 'kill' the internet as we knew it. It failed to pass but the idea of the internet that I loved 'dying' filled me with dread. It made me realize how fragile cultures and communities can be and how quickly they can be ripped away and that finally gave me the courage to make my first video about the internet.
Since then the internet has 'died' twenty times over. I think at one point a different version of the bill that motivated the creation of the channel did end up passing. I think in a great many ways the internet has grown worse- but almost all of the original qualities that made me afraid of losing the internet are still there too.
Ultimately, for better or worse, you decide which parts of the internet are important to you. While large corporations will likely always be causing some form of enshittification while they try to extract value from this magical place, you have the ability to surround yourself with people who will fight back.
I'm much less worried about AI then I once was. While I don't think it's going away, seeing the anti-ai culture develop so rapidly (and in some cases maybe even too aggressively) has given me a lot of hope.
Yes there's like a whole section of the internet population who are now being constantly being chewed up and shat out by the ai oroboros, but I'm also seeing people growing bored and choosing to exit that space entirely. I'm seeing more people considering and discussing art philosophy then ever before- because they can tell something has changed and that they don't like it. Maybe I'm only seeing this because I'm looking for it but I've found that pursuit is essential for enjoying your time in this place. It's all just a big kingdom of glass- impressive maybe even beautiful but also very temporary. None of it is going to be here forever so try to find and create as much joy as you can.
