How to Use the Internet Correctly
The article you are about to read is the definitive guide on using the internet. I will not acknowledge the nuances in how an individual may want to use the internet. The internet is infinity and nothing but until now scientists have never understood where you are supposed to stand. It is like a soundsystem. You want to hear the music. You want to hear every piece of the music. But never incorrectly. So you must point the speakers in the right direction and spread them out the correct distance and sit in the right spot. If you think my declaration of rightness is a turn off then that is more reason to read1.
People on the internet love to talk about "no more third spaces". For many or most the third space is the internet. Everything points to the hubs so everyone goes to them. But they are the end of the digital road. You will never discover anything there except for a new quest to go back into the depths.
SO HOW DO YOU USE THE INTERNET CORRECTLY?
Figure out your safe spaces. The sites between deep discovery and the mainland. A place where you can recuperate, get some sleep, and make something cool without needing to plug straight in. Your safe space should still be unexplored. See chart. My recommendation is watchavideo.net but it is built for me. Build your own. It does not have to be youtube videos. It can be paintings or books, pictures of your family, blue things, green things, engineering marvels, optical illusions, sounds, a live video of a camera pointing at you from the corner of the room.
There is no tech advancement that makes the site better. You are building a masquerade of an algorithm. Everything you view is controlled because nothing is automated. you are placing text on your screen like you would your bed and your dresser. If your online experience seats you in reality then you not only return faster but you have not been as drained by the five gees.
I think videos are the most exciting. I would never offer a service as a video editor but it is one of my favorite things to do. You turn on your computer give it some memories and start collaging moving pictures and sounds, listening to music as you edit to feed some groove into your workflow. If you need something you can hop on the internet and find it. Once the browser is open you know where you are headed and you return so quickly you did not even lock the front door. It is the mentality you should always have when using the internet. If you are in a place it should be intentional and the next thing you see should be predictably great. There should never be a click or a scroll that does not lead somewhere interesting.
When you watch videos that other people made and you are looking in the right places you see videos that hold equal merit to whatever Orson Welles was doing 200 years ago. Nothing great is being made anymore is bogus. There is so much greatness that you are accustomed to it. Everyone is a hipster and that is awesome. Everyone thinks more differently than ever and we are somehow convinced this is bad. My brother that is beautiful.
A SUGGESTION FOR GETTING STARTED
Go to rateyourmusic.com and find your favorite album. Click on a genre that tickles you and sort by new or old or popular and find a few albums that you judge by the cover. Find songs you like and then go to youtube. To recap, you found an article that has less than 10 readers, you went directly to a website and searched your favorite album, you were "recommended" an album you should like, and now you are on youtube with a clear objective. If you are following along with your pride behind you then you should get to the next step without any youtube shorts. If it doesn't work then start over.
Search [artist name] [song name] [live OR music video]. Find a video with less than 80,000 views and watch it. You do not have to watch the whole thing but if you don't then do it because you know why. Do this a few times almost meditatively. Focus solely on the internet. Alot of times internet guilt is from not accepting that you have chosen it as your present activity. If you want to use the internet then use it but learn to think while using it. If it is truly your one activity then you should understand what you are meant to be doing after a few videos.
FINAL STEP
Go do something.
Did you scroll to the bottom to read this or did you just finish reading and realize there are footnotes?