I dunno if this is just nostalgia poisoning or what, but like... remember when internet friends were actually friends?

There wasn’t this weird filter of "parasocial relationships" or "content creators" vs "audience". It was just some person with a screen name talking about stuff they liked, maybe on IRC or in a forum or on a webring-linked page. And then you talked back. And maybe you added each other on AIM or ICQ. Simple as that.

Now it’s like everyone’s got a brand. Everything's so fake, so polished. Even the stuff that pretends to be raw is probably scripted. No one's really being themselves. It's exhausting.

Anyway, shoutout to the old net when people could just be weird and honest and not worry about farming likes.

i think at some point one's social reality became way more entangled in the internet rather than just remaining a void you post into
i chalk this up to a shift in perception, mid '10s maybe? though i'm sure the enforcement of providing identifiables in most places also factors into the mindset
...or maybe like most people, i just grew up. dunno.

newfags like me really missed the bus. couldn't dare to imagine how it felt for people within your camp

>I dunno if this is just nostalgia poisoning or what, but like... remember when internet friends were actually friends?
Not just you, as I also believe this same reason. Just that depends where you find your friends, they will actually be your friend, and not a lousy "look at me im ur fucking pal."

>There wasn't this weird filter of "parasocial relationships" or "content creators" vs "audience". It was just some person with a screen name talking about stuff they liked, maybe on IRC or in a forum or on a webring-linked page. And then you talked back. And maybe you added each other on AIM or ICQ. Simple as that.
Club Penguin type friends? or something? (not very fond of this kind of?)

I'm too tired to even figure out what Im trying to say, but i honestly agree with you. Friends just doesn't feel like the same at all. it's just so bland and boring, and when you do find an actual good friend, either 2 things will happen. You lose contact with them overtime, or you both become best buddies but have the more harshest conditions together.