My current obsession is...

Neocities/old-web

Now that all modern social media is slowly rotting into gross garbage, people are rediscovering the magic of self expression via personal websites. This is especially true for artists and people nostalgic for the late 90s internet. I did not personally experience the world of web 1.0 and I did not have a myspace. However, I find this style of "internet ugly" very interesting. Seeing this style return via web hosting sites like neocities has made me realize why the era of personal websites feels so special to me. It was an opportunity for people to be unapologitcally themselves. There was no pressure to perform in an algorithm-friendly way to farm likes in order to feel valid as a person. If you wanted to make a fan page dedicated to your favorite movie, or your favorite video game character, or your favorite mid-2000s emo band, then you had the power to do that! There was no fear that you would get no likes, because there was no "like" button to be found. It was all about having fun!