The Internet Used to Be a Library, Now It's a Marketplace

There was a time when the internet felt pure — a place of curiosity, creativity, and community. You could search for something, learn, and move on. No one followed you with ads. No one tried to sell you a "limited-time offer." You just explored.

Now, everything online is a product. Every click, every thought, every interest is part of someone's sales funnel. Social media turned our personalities into brands, our attention into currency, and our time into inventory.

It's ironic — the internet, which once liberated people with free access to knowledge, has now become one of the greatest tools of subtle control. You can't scroll for ten seconds without being targeted. The "explore" page isn't there to inspire you — it's there to sell you. Even authenticity has been commodified: "Be real," but do it in 4K with sponsored lighting.

People aren't just tired — they're mentally crowded. Every platform competes for your focus, every influencer for your trust. Even silence feels strange now, because the world has trained us to consume nonstop.

That's why it's fascinating to see a quiet migration happening — people moving from mainstream Google to tools like ChatGPT. Not because it's trendy, but because it's quiet. No ads. No clickbait. No one trying to sell you something. Just information, the way the internet used to be.

It reminds me of what the web was meant to be — a library, not a mall. A space for thought, not distraction.

Maybe this is the new definition of digital freedom: being able to learn, think, and create without being converted into a customer every five minutes.

The same principle applies to life itself. Freedom — whether in the real world or online — isn't about owning more, it's about filtering less.

And maybe, just maybe, the most radical thing left to do is to be unreachable, unbranded, and unbothered — to live and think without selling yourself in the process.