Great post as always. I'm in Default Friend's Discord and there's been some talk about the idea of why it's become difficult to "just sit down and read" when people discussing it used to be such great readers, and the smartphone always being in our pocket was kind of the tipping point we settled on. I thought about that while reading your bit about the "friend in the pocket" line; there's this weird melancholy that I have while thinking about how I viewed the internet "then" vs how I do now.
I think a part of that sadness is wondering if I should shame myself for some naivity, like "it possibly couldn't last". But then again, being young and optimistic and just *there* is different than being sad in the present, and trying to claw back or figure out what we once had.
Sorry, didn't mean for this to devolve into sadposting, but I'm with you for everything here.
My pondering has made me so melancholic too, it feels like I got online at the fun time, if not the profitable time. It does feel completely different. I also think it would've been worse to know it would fail/be coopted in the future. i think the optimism made it more enjoyable.
Sidenote, the reading thing is interesting and I very much agree, but if you're into fanfic..... you might actually read more than most people. There are some epics out there that are really popular. It makes it all the weirder. Is it part of the fervor or evidence that we can concentrate?
Great post as always. I'm in Default Friend's Discord and there's been some talk about the idea of why it's become difficult to "just sit down and read" when people discussing it used to be such great readers, and the smartphone always being in our pocket was kind of the tipping point we settled on. I thought about that while reading your bit about the "friend in the pocket" line; there's this weird melancholy that I have while thinking about how I viewed the internet "then" vs how I do now.
I think a part of that sadness is wondering if I should shame myself for some naivity, like "it possibly couldn't last". But then again, being young and optimistic and just *there* is different than being sad in the present, and trying to claw back or figure out what we once had.
Sorry, didn't mean for this to devolve into sadposting, but I'm with you for everything here.
My pondering has made me so melancholic too, it feels like I got online at the fun time, if not the profitable time. It does feel completely different. I also think it would've been worse to know it would fail/be coopted in the future. i think the optimism made it more enjoyable.
Sidenote, the reading thing is interesting and I very much agree, but if you're into fanfic..... you might actually read more than most people. There are some epics out there that are really popular. It makes it all the weirder. Is it part of the fervor or evidence that we can concentrate?