Is the internet actually getting harder to use, or am I just getting older and impatient?
I feel like over the last year or two, finding simple information online has become an actual chore.
If I Google a recipe or a fix for a broken appliance, the first page is flooded with what look like 2,000-word, AI-generated essays that repeat the same three sentences over and over just to host ads. If I try to look up a product review on TikTok or YouTube, half the videos are automated text-to-speech voices reading a script over random background footage. Even trying to find a genuine restaurant recommendation feels like navigating a minefield of fake reviews and sponsored content.
I find myself adding "reddit" to the end of literally every search query just because I want to read words written by a real person who isn’t trying to optimize an algorithm or sell me something.
Is this a known structural shift in how the internet works now, or is this just what happens when you hit your late 20s/30s and lose patience with technology? Are we actually losing the "human" internet?