i mean, think about it. with social media and all that, do people even bother visiting personal websites anymore? is it just a relic of the past or is there still a use for it? i've been thinking about making one for myself but idk if it's even worth the effort

fun

then make it for yourself. it is indeed fun and pretty to look at :) anything you create is not a waste of time.

losers like me sometimes go on neocities and just go through random websites; its pretty fun and i love how people express themselves. it offers way more personalisation and customisation than social media websites, and also in general is cooler and offers more bragging rights.

but do it for yourself. if others stumble upon it, then great! but in the end, its only for your own approval. i believe in anything you choose to do for your website ideas :D

and if you do make one, id love to see it!

i guess in the broadest terms, having an easily accessible platform (webserver) to broadcast data that might not be able to fit in other formats (pics, vids, blogs, anonymous forms for input, artsy stuff, publishing stuff without needing a phone #+email+user+pw).
If you arent satisfied with what platforms are out there and want to post things, advertise your personal site.

• building some technical skills maybe. thats the best i can come up with.

it's a declaration of independence

Every now and then I visit places like wiby.me and spam the 'surprise me' button. Exploring the old net, or new places in spirits of the old net interests me personally; but it's not for all.

There's really no point unless you have some sort of special interest that can be expressed through the web. Most people who make them nowadays are just zoomers or privacy fetishists who don't even have anything to say but they still have a website and it just... exists I guess, it's a form of activism now, they feel good about themselves. "yea dude everyone should have they're own website!", no we need communities where you interact authentically, no one cares about your diary unless they already know you personally, I wouldn't want random people reading my thoughts unless I have some kind of very unique way of looking at things that's interesting to a larger audience. Like ranprieur.com, this guy has lots of interesting posts, but most people aren't as insightful as him.

Self-expression for the most part. Sometime's it's just fun to make things without thinking of who your "target audience" would be. Hosting is cheap (in the case of neocities, free). It's a harmless hobby and hobbies don't need to have a point.

A personal website? none. A web server you can access anywhere? LOTS of useful things!!

Yes, everyone should have a web server, not to post opinions no one reads, but because you respect your own data. When you want to share something with someone, its nice having control of that.