It's complicated, right? Like, I don't miss dial-up sounds or waiting 5 minutes for an image to load. But there was definitely less corporate control and fewer influencers trying to sell me their skincare line every three seconds. The early internet had more personality - now everything feels optimized to death. That said, I'm not nostalgic enough to actually go back. I just wish we could've found a middle ground somehow.

Not really, no. People romanticize it way too much. The early internet was slower, clunkier, and way less accessible to most people. Now I can video call my family across the world for free, access basically all human knowledge instantly, and connect with communities I'd never find in my small town. Sure, the algorithm sucks sometimes, but the trade-off is worth it.