Why going online is no longer fun

For many years, using a computer was a carefree pastime. Not anymore.

Before roughly 1999, internet privacy wasn’t a concern; most people didn’t worry about cybersecurity; content was almost completely free; freeware, shareware, and open-source software were plentiful; and Big Tech wasn’t running the show.

Also, the single best thing about computing – the internet – had arrived. And while it might sound old school now, “surfing the web” was the term used to describe the entertainment value of freely bouncing around the web by clicking from link to link, satisfying your curiosity and feeding your interests. There were lots of interesting things to see, few worries — and a web that was informative and fun.

Over the years, computing has become considerably less enjoyable. For a time, social media was a new type of interactive entertainment, but many users became slavishly enthralled to it. Then the commercialization of the web invaded our internet privacy and became a prime example of how Big Tech has monetized users’ data. Even computer gamers lament that they’re having less fun.

Moreover, using a PC or smartphone now requires a rising number of things to check, manage, and watch out for. They allow bosses to easily reach us on weekends. And as a result, the things we do with our computers these days are less like fun and more like, well … work! 

Some key developments over the last couple of decades have been instrumental in taking the fun out of computing and being online:

Cybersecurity. Protecting yourself from cyber threats might be the most onerous aspect of today’s computing experience. Already in 2024, we’ve seen the largest-ever database of passwords released on the internet; a massive AT&T breach that spawned numerous phishing and “smishing” (text message) attacks; and a rise in AI-augmented ploys designed to dupe the unwary. If you’re not behind a solid hardware firewall, you don’t keep your devices updated with the latest security patches, you aren’t using a password manager with strong unique passwords and multifactor authentication, or if you’re prone to impulsively clicking links in messages, sooner or later you are likely to find your devices or accounts hacked. 

(A good password manager can make the task of managing unique passwords and multifactor authentication much easier. But you still have create all your logins for a password manager and manage it.)

Accessing trustworthy content. Journalistic content is increasingly stuck behind subscription pay walls, and the fees are high, even astronomical. There’s no way most people can cost-justify more than a small handful of paid sites. Especially when you consider how many good content sites charge for access. The list includes The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Atlantic, Wired, Business Insider, and Bloomberg to name just a few. In place of well reported news, we are left with potentially flawed generative AI (genAI) content, misinformation (error-ridden content), and even disinformation (intentionally misleading content). Information wants to be free.

Believe me, I know there are costs to creating quality content. The collapse of publishing’s online ad market several years ago caused many reputable media outlets to fall by the wayside, and it’s still having an effect. Meanwhile, companies like Google have systemized online ads with little regard for quality content – in effect, gaming the market.

Whatever you think of the media, quality journalism and freedom of speech are the only principles protecting us from the chaos of censorship, misinformation, and disinformation that fogs some countries. You may think US-based media is biased, and it is. There is no way to eliminate all bias. But because of free speech we do have opposing views. We still have plenty of responsible news outlets. “Fake news” is what we would have without them. But requiring steep subscription payments to access quality journalism is its own form of censorship. It’s not the answer.

The corruption of social media. User trust in social media sites, including X, Instagram, and Facebook, is disintegrating as we watch. Their feeds are finely tuned to promote only the content that suits their owners — and most are stuffed with spammy junk. The New Yorker‘s October 2023 diatribe on why the Internet isn’t fun anymore goes full-tilt on social media, proclaiming: “The social-media web as we knew it, a place where we consumed the posts of our fellow-humans and posted in return, appears to be over.”

The joy of the internet is gone. You can no longer trust search results, hyperlinks, chat boxes, or random content. Google monetizes its search results by selling paid placement and co-opting the relevancy of its results in favor of Google advertisers. Links might drive revenue sharing via Amazon and others. The internet of 1997 still had an academic feel to it. Hyperlinks were used to lead people to the best content instead of self-serving material. (Remember when users would preemptively own up to a “shameless plug” because the online culture of the day looked down on such things.) Now, shameful promotion is the order of the day. It’s gotten to the point that people are complaining the internet doesn’t work anymore. 

That’s where we stand, mired in cybersecurity worries, bereft of unfettered social media, living with an internet that’s sickening day by day. We’ve wrung all the fun out of computing. Some sort of internet revival might be possible someday. But as of now, we confront a bleak online landscape.