Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down Which Things Were Absolutely Ruined By The Internet

People Break Down Which Things Were Absolutely Ruined By The Internet
Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash

As much as the internet has become an extraordinary tool, we have to admit, it's changed the world in ways that aren't so great.

I enjoy working from home on this computer.

But I do see people less.

Not that people are all that great.

Am I lonely? Maybe...

It was just a simpler time then.


Redditor Accomplished-Town636 wanted to talk about all the ways the web has changed the world, not for the better.

They asked:

"What was ruined by the internet?"

I miss not being addicted to the internet. That's my issue.

Messages

season 9 episode 24 GIF by SpongeBob SquarePantsGiphy

"I used to have a pen pal. Then we both got the internet and the novelty was gone."

i_like_flies_

"I’ve recently started writing letters on aged paper and using a wax seal kit. It honestly makes the process a ton of fun and I’m loving it more than texting or email."

JacksonianEra

Endless Streams

"My attention span."

landonh12

"This. I don't feel like I can just wonder about things anymore, I have to look it up. Never thought endless streams of information would be my downfall, but here we are."

starladear82

"Reading books helps me getting my attention span back to normal. Maybe you can give it a try. In the beginning it’s a nightmare, though, after 30 min I feel tired and ready to go to sleep. But it gets better quickly."

darth_vladius

Amplification

"I think the internet just amplified everything humans do, both good and bad. Like music? Here's a few million aspiring artists, some of which have a few dozen followers at most, have fun! Like art? Here's thousands of drawing every day. Like murdering people and lighting buildings on fire? Here's hundreds of tips on how to do it!"

RelinquishedGhosts

Not for public consumption...

"Privacy."

Supplyguy404

"Up until, I want to say, maybe 3 years ago, companies were the main threat when it came to privacy. They still are bad, but there's a new trend of individuals not understanding why anyone would want privacy."

"Particularly young people who never knew the Internet pre-privacy violations, and always thought it was okay to give away information, asking for and providing loads of private stuff, and don't understand why someone wouldn't want to be filmed in public."

"Even stuff that doesn't matter. I've seen so many people asking trans and nonbinary folk their AGAB, even when the point of transitioning was to be addressed by a different gender, and it's wild that people just expect them to be okay with sharing it."

LR-II

Cheating

season 5 episode 10 GIF by WorkaholicsGiphy

"Trivia pursuit night at the bar/pub."

Feels2old

"People who cheat at trivia night at bars are crap people. Most people play honest."

micmea1

I admit it... I'm one of those cheaters. I can't help it.

Love is Dead

chris hemsworth tinder GIF by lunarpapacyGiphy

"Romantic relationships. People on social media spread oodles of toxicity and make you overthink every little thing, it’s insane."

thetonkaguy2

From Within

"The internet was ruined by the internet."

Jimmybobhorton2019

"No it was when webpages became monetized by showing ads. Suddenly every webpage including the obscure blog you like to read had become infested with 5-30 ads."

"Once people and corporations found out they could just jam a ton of ads on a page, suddenly articles and pages that have no reason to exist pops up everywhere. Remember when sites with lists would show them on one page? Now you get one result per page. This way they get 20x the ad revenue."

kkehoe5

It's a Mess...

"Childhood innocence."

W0nk0_the_Sane00

"I read in Time Magazine a few years ago the average age a child is exposed to porn is nine years old, and not finding your dad's Playboy either. That just seems wild. That and seeing execution videos drug cartels upload. That has to mess a kid up."

arlenroy

"This one I agree with. The Internet made it easy to see some pretty nasty stuff you can never unsee."

blurri

Good Stuff

"Yard sales. All the good stuff gets sold on FB Marketplace/Kijiji etc. now."

Logical-Guide-2437

"Same with thrift stores. Every jabroni thinks they're an entrepreneur because they scan everything and list it on Amazon, now good deals are harder to come by because they sit and wait all day for the shops to put stuff out."

MechaSheeva

"Pawn shops too. You're not finding that 61 Gibson SG at a pawn shop, and the owners don't know what they have, so you buy it for a couple hundred bucks and play it every day for the rest of your life. (This happened to a friend of mine in the mid 90s, but will never happen again)."

CowboySpencer

What a Difference...

Make It Rain Vhs GIF by Polyvinyl RecordsGiphy

"Blockbuster."

FluffyTid

"Well, to be fair, they kinda did that themselves, Redbox DID try to get with Blockbuster, but they just laughed at Redbox and Netflix."

yeah_yeah_therabbit

I forgot how much I missed life before the net. Ah memories.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Screenshot of George Santos; Zohran Mamdani
@MrSantosNY/X; Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

George Santos Announced He's Leaving New York After Mamdani's Win—And The Responses Are Brutal

Disgraced former New York Republican Representative George Santos was widely mocked after he announced he will leave New York City now that Zohran Mamdani has won the mayoral election.

Mamdani has sent shockwaves around the world with his win; an unapologetic democratic socialist, he took on the establishment and won despite months of Islamophobic and racist attacks from the right-wing.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of man collapsing and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. preparing to walk out
@atrupar/X

RFK Jr. Dragged For Bolting Out Of Oval Office The Moment A Man Collapsed During Press Briefing

Health and Human Services (HHS) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was criticized after hurrying out of a press briefing in the Oval Office on Thursday after a man had a medical emergency and suddenly collapsed.

Kennedy was on hand alongside President Donald Trump, Dr. Mehmet Oz—the current Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services—and health aides for a press briefing announcing lower costs for weight loss drugs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Screenshot of WalMart's 2025 Thanksgiving meal
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images; WalMart

Trump Brutally Fact-Checked After Boasting That Walmart's 'Thanksgiving Dinner' Is Cheaper Than Last Year

After Tuesday's election results, which saw Zohran Mamdani soar to election as New York City's next mayor on a campaign message laser-focused on affordability, Trump spoke with reporters and tried to make the case that Republicans are way better on the issue of affordability than Demcorats are.

Case in point, according to Trump: Walmart's 2025 "Thanksgiving Dinner" pack, which Trump boasted is 25% cheaper than in 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less

Times People Saw Someone Almost Die Due To Their Own Actions

All actions have consequences, some more negative and severe than others.

But sometimes, someone will do something so extreme or stupid, it could almost cost them their life.

Keep ReadingShow less

Cancer Patients Explain Which Symptoms Ultimately Led Them To See A Doctor

Cancer has taken far too many lives and affected far too many people.

Where is a cure?

Keep ReadingShow less