I feel like there was a long time where people on the internet did things just because they wanted to, rather than to make money or get attention. People shared things on places like Digg and Reddit because we all enjoyed seeing things from all over the internet. Facebook was about connecting with people around your college campus. People made things for fun and had discussions because they were interesting.

Then companies finally figured out how to manipulate internet users. Their presence was no longer just a website you could check for hours and products. Now it seems like every company and youtube/instagram/whatever star are all trying to make things ‘viral’ as an advertising gimmick. Websites don’t just give you articles with sprinkling of ads, they need you to download their app and like their facebook page and sign over the rights to your soul and follow them on twitter.

It’s lost a lot of the passion and genuineness that I associate with using the internet when I was younger. I feel like I’m being force-fed content from companies with a financial stake, rather than discovering something interesting that another person did or made.