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Modern web.
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I quit social media more than a year ago. Despite the fact that it was a pretty big part of my life for a long time, I feel a lot better now and want to talk a little bit about modern web problems and possible solutions. A lot of things that I will mention might seem "nostalgic," so I just want to say upfront that I'm in my mid-20s and was introduced to social media almost a few years after the first time the Internet came to my house (I think it was 2007-2008). I've never had experience with the "real" old web - GeoCities, webrings, IRC, RSS, and other stuff - and I want to make it clear that the main message is not "bring back the good old web, it used to be better!" though I find some of those things useful and healthy for society in general.

SPENDING TIME ONLINE

Until 2023, I had no idea that there were so many amazing web places all over the internet because everyone around me (including me) used basically 5-10 websites: Google, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Wikipedia, and Reddit.

Basically, we have everything here, so why would you need something else? The funny thing is that all those places lead to each other in a vicious circle: you search something on Google, with the magic of SEO it leads you to a few Reddit posts, which lead you to YouTube videos or Twitter threads, which lead you back to Reddit, and this loop never ends. Most people of my age live in this ecosystem their entire life and have no idea that there's something else.

In 2022-2023, I started gradually quitting social media and deleting my accounts. I had a few similar attempts already, but they didn't end up successfully for many reasons. I was heavily addicted to Instagram and YouTube; my screen time was up to 8-9 hours per day, and it felt terrible. Bad mood, bad sleep, poor social connections, and the worst thing - I was losing interest in everything I liked at the time.

At some point, I felt so terrible that I decided to delete accounts one by one in the least painful order: first, delete accounts that I hardly use, then delete the ones I use more often, and so on. The whole process lasted around a year, and it worked! But a new problem appeared. I love the web for the ability to connect with other people, so I started searching for alternatives.

That was the moment I began to delve deeper into the indie web (aka small web).

WEBSITES ARE COOL

What is even indie web? At first, I had a strong feeling that it's a very small marginal community of a few maniacally enthusiastic people who can't stop talking about how cool the indie web is and why everyone should make a website (and now I'm one of them...). I was kind of wrong: this community is huge and full of amazing people. To be honest, I can't remember when was the last time I discovered so many creative people in one evening. I wanted to include all of them in this article but made a separate page with my favorite web places. And the cool thing about these places is that almost each site has such a page dedicated to other cool pages! So, the first week after my discovery, I spent in this endless rabbit hole, going from one site to another. You might say, "but the whole point of quitting social media was to avoid such time-wasting rabbit holes," and I partially agree. But there's a slight difference: browsing personal web pages, which were made by hand with a particular intention, is a completely different experience compared to big tech sites.

MODERN WEB PROBLEMS

I won't expand on this topic too much because otherwise this post will grow 10 times longer, but here's a short list of reasons why I don't like modern web solutions and try to avoid them as much as I can:

  • Web bloat - pop-ups/ads/trackers/cookies, which make websites slow, ugly, non-private, and almost unusable.
  • SEO - you can't find anything useful because of search engine optimization; as I already mentioned, the first 20-50 results are the same 10 sites.
  • AI-written articles - I'm pretty sure you've already noticed a bunch of nonsense websites with AI-written news/articles/etc.
  • Driven by money - in most cases, those sites are trying to sell something to you or sell your data.
  • Algorithmic feed - almost every app or site has an infinite feed nowadays, which is the worst human invention of the last decade.
  • Every website is the same because it's financially good for the companies. If posting pictures of shit were financially better, they would do it immediately.
  • Driven by likes, trends, and influencers, not by creativity and people.
  • Closed spaces - you HAVE TO create an account just to see a picture or a post (=> give some of your personal data and sign the "Terms of Use", although it's absolutely unnecessary).
  • You don't own anything; you're literally called a "user." As a result, your data could be deleted/moderated/censored, and you can't do anything about it. For example:

Google reserves the right to delete an inactive Google Account and its activity and data if you are inactive across Google for at least two years. This policy applies to your personal Google Account.

THE DIFFERENCE

So, what is the difference? Indie web is made for people, not for algorythms or companies. This was my main reason to switch, but there's a lot more than that:

  • It has zero web bloat
  • No trackers, no cookies
  • Loads fast on any device
  • People own it, not companies
  • Creative and versatile
  • Written by human, not AI
  • No restrictions, highly customizable
  • No distractions, FOMO, or modern brain-stimulating shit
  • And many, many more

Sadly, almost all web services are aimed at making money through data collection and advertisement nowadays. Everybody knows it and silently agrees because it seems like we have no other options. You want to check out cool pictures of your best friend's dog on Instagram, but you don't have an account? Sorry, won't happen! First, you'll need to provide some personal data, sign an agreement that this data could be used in various ways, and create an account that will tie you to that particular web space.

The indie web is cool because it is the opposite. It doesn't force you to do anything, it doesn't need your data or your attention, it doesn't sell you stuff you don't need, and honestly, it feels like a huge breath of fresh air. If you're tired of all this stuff, I encourage you to take a break from commercial social media and spend a few days browsing the indie web (you can start here or here), and I'm pretty sure that you'll quickly get what I'm talking about. If you decide to go further after that, I highly recommend you consider making your own website - it's easy, fun, and you'll gain some new knowledge, which is always great.

YOU CAN MAKE A WEBSITE, IT'S EASY

To make your own personal web space, you don't need to have any particular skills or deep knowledge. It's definitely not as simple as making an Instagram account, but it takes maybe a week or two to cover most of the things you need to know.

This whole website-making idea serves two purposes:

  1. Break from the big-tech environment cycle
  2. Rebelance the web in favor of quality and strong social connections

I've seen some videos on this topic lately, and a lot of people write in the comments something like "Yeah, personal pages were cool, I hope someone would bring them back one day!" and it sounds so strange to me. I think that starting with yourself and making small contributions here and there is what really makes a difference in the end, and that we're still able to change the situation, which is only getting worse over time. So, if you have something to share (it could be thoughts, knowledge, art, or anything else), or you just want to make a simple landing page, I encourage you to check out these resources and make your own web space:

You have few routes when creating your website:

  • Create website from scratch using HTML & CSS
  • Use layout generator as a starting point
  • Use website builder or CMS (Wordpress, Wix, Shopify, etc.)
  • Use SSG (Static Site Generator)

I don't recommend using the third option because, again, it ties you to a specific platform. Instead, I suggest trying the second one - using a layout generator to create a template for your future website. I think it’s the optimal option because it provides all the structure you’ll need initially (plus, you can customize it before generating the code). When you start filling it with your content, you’ll figure out how things work really fast, but be sure to check out HTML basics beforehand.

If you want to build everything from scratch, start with a simple landing page, figure out the basics, add some simple CSS, and gradually add pages as needed. Don’t be afraid to break things - I’ve re-designed and re-written this site a few times already; it’s part of the learning process! (Update: After 10 posts, I decided to transfer everything to an SSG (Zola in my case) because it’s much simpler to use if you have a larger site. For example, with an SSG, you can use templates for side panels, and you don’t have to change them on every page, like with plain HTML. You can also use taxonomy to filter posts by tags, which is very useful. I highly recommend this method, but it does require a bit more technical knowledge!)

After creating your website, you'll need two more things:

  • Domain name
  • Hosting

The first one is pretty easy: you can buy a domain in a few minutes, and it costs 5-10 dollars per year. Some of them can be pricey (especially short .com domains), but you probably won’t need those. Hosting is a bit more advanced because there are plenty of options: you can use a dedicated service (I'm using Hostinger right now), a VPS (Virtual Private Server), or even self-host your site. I’ve chosen the simplest option to start so I can dedicate more time to learning HTML and CSS, but I’m really interested in the VPS option (though it’s more expensive), and I will explore it a bit later. Anyway, if you're not a tech person, I think a simple hosting service is the easiest way.

Once you set up all those things, it’ll become really easy and fun to maintain and develop your site. You can add posts, photos, and all that stuff like on social media; you can play with the look and feel of your site by changing the CSS; you can optimize it a little, and much more.

I hope this text will inspire you to make your own web space, or at least think about it! If you found it useful or even created a website, please write me a letter; I would really enjoy it.

RESOURCES

Here're some resources that are written much better then my article, I highly recommend you to read them as well: