Internet Communities as Proof of Life
Though many of us Millennials (or Millie-nillies, as I like to call us) might scoff as we watch Gen Z (and Alpha, and likely Beta) chain themselves ever-tighter to that great idol we call the internet, it’s really our generation that forged these links of connection between human existence and ~internet presence~.
While admittedly time online can take away from face-to-face interactions with other humans, internet communities often provide an infinite scroll of nourishment that genuinely sustains us (us being the WOTW team, of course).
As we all know, Instagr*m was once a juicy green rainforest, dense with lush photos organically posted by people we actually knew and cared about. This content paradise was destroyed when Big Capitalism came in and polluted our feeds with oily ads and greasy algorithm-derived content.
Due to this FernGully-reminiscent downward slope (in which money-hungry Meta is Hexxus and we, the innocent web users, are Crysta), Karen and Alaina have migrated to BeReal, where they don’t have to “wade through ads” and can instead enjoy a daily “raw glimpse” into their friends’ lives. In another, less nefariously-based departure from the mainstream, Justin has shifted from LinkedIn over to the creatives-focused read.cv, whose social platform (posts.cv) is chock-a-block with inspiration.
Outside of these socially-designated media zones (like, oh, an unnamed dating app on which an unnamed WOTW-er saw an unnamed founder of a site that rhymes with Flyspace), we shan’t forget that even our most basic communication (texting) is internet-based! Anna’s beloved text threads may go dormant for a few weeks at a time, but as soon as someone shares a meme or Reddit thread, the chat comes to life and the contact stays constant. It’s “true life…the woes and talks and questions and support and celebrations,” with simultaneous acknowledgment that “it’s ok not to chit-chat every day.”
Sure, these genuine connections and conversations could exist without the internet. But, in 2023, would they? Really? Perhaps we, smug Millie-nillies, should trust-fall harder into our virtual communities, letting them hold and nurture us. And then maybe we can turn around and do the same for them.
