117 Comments
User's avatar
Happy Nielsen's avatar

It didn’t even occur to me I wasn’t really using the internet. This reminds me of the hours I used to spend on stumbleupon. It would just take you to random websites and you could go down as many rabbit holes as you wanted

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

omg idk that one. time to research >:)

Elise's avatar

Yes! Stumbleupon! I was racking my brains trying to remember the name of it. I had it as a button at the top of my browser. Definitely a rabbit hole portal.

Happy Nielsen's avatar

I was obsessed! I wonder now how it worked. Was it really random? 🤔

Hannah McVean's avatar

I completely agree! I’ve missed this!

Jurien's avatar

I was definitely exploring the internet using Stumbleupon! That was so much fun

chef Harrison's avatar

POV my internet search history:

- google: how to trick my pet into his bespoke halloween costume

- google: how to pawn off priceless French heirlooms without attracting suspicion

- youtube: diy Artek Aalto armchair 41 Paimio build tutorial

- ChatGPT: write me a compelling alibi for the time of Louvre heist

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

did the pet one work tho i need that

chef Harrison's avatar

yes it worked - he’s now pouting in his Abu the monkey from Aladdin costume… a whole week ahead of schedule. crap i did not think this through

Pavithra Dikshit's avatar

Reminded me of why I loved the internet in the first place. The wandering.

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

it’s the BEST part. ty for reading!!!

Jojo Schön's avatar

I just posted a whole substack yesterday about me complaining about the new internet… I feel like that’s why the algorithm showed me yours now a clear „read this before you complain, bitch!“ 😂

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

HAHA that’s so cute actually i love that

lacey's avatar

this is in my top 3 substack posts, and it isn't 2 or 3

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

STOP THIS IS SO NICE

Indy's avatar

God this takes me back to "H*tler on Wikipedia" (six clicks or less on Wikipedia will 99% of the time get from ANYTHING to WW2), building websites in primary school (I went to an AOL coding camp! What has happened), and sharing fanfic. I especially loved the search guide because google just spoon feeds sponsored content and I'm sick of it. I'm off to explore!

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

HAHA wait i didn’t know the ww2 stuff. thank u for reading n the nice comments :,)

Indy's avatar

It was a running joke in high school for me. I’ve been loving your content 💕

glad's avatar

this is SO cool!!! AHH broke my brain that i don’t really use the internet. thanks for this!!

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

thank you for reading!!!!

Maria Weaver's avatar

Loved the piece. Especially about search! Literally tried it for female philosophers - and got a trove of great stuff!

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

YES i’m glad it worked!!! tysm for reading!!

Adchaya's avatar

This is what it was all supposed to be.. let's bring back those fun internet days!!

Billie on Things's avatar

Love this. It is why I came to Substack. To have a place where I can explore some topics and stuff I usually just bookmark or write in my notes and focus more on how I wandered on the internet before doomscrolling. Glad I found this article and confirmed someone else has similar opinion!

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

yay i’m so glad :) ty for reading !

Kamilah Khelili's avatar

This!! People act like algorithms own their lives and they have no choice but to stay in the hamster wheel. Taking ownership of what you consume on the internet is as simple as using the search button. I love your comparison about how social media apps are the mall and the internet as a whole is the city. Such a good way to describe it!!

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

thank you !!!!

CARICATURE's avatar

So glad your page popped up right when I was fed up with the "self-help" slop. This is exactly what I'm looking for. LOVE IT. THANKS.

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

LMAOOO THANK U FOR READING

☽ temple of eva ☽'s avatar

i LOVED it! i did get sucked into the social media craze and definitely forgot to do all these. and this is how i began using the internet, and had so much fun. thank you!! saving this <3

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

aHh YAY ty for reading <3

Nathan's avatar

Diva this is wild. I have been mindlessly wandering around the internet for as long as I can remember and I didn’t even know it. I literally DONT know how to use the internet. Definitely going to return to this and have some fun!!!

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

HAVE SO MUCH FUN YOULL LOVE IT!!

Marie's avatar

Stop- this substack is so good that I want to leave a comment here 😭😭 i love the things that are just a reminder to do something. I gonna come back and share my thoughts about my excavation in the internet

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

thank you!!!!!! excited for ur thoughts

anna's avatar

Warmed my heart to see the useless web. I remember poking around there in middle school, though I don’t think the sites have been updated much. Also bless you for including Boolean operators!

brooklyn 𓆏's avatar

thank u for reading !! i think they are probably the same ones from middle school lmaoo