For as long as I can remember, I have chosen my words with care. Not surprisingly, I preferred the pencil over the pen from a young age, as it gave me more control over my writing before there was autocorrect. I devoured one magazine after another while circling favorite words. My books were filled with dog-eared pages and flimsy paper bookmarks. Stacks of international fashion magazines lay piled up in my bedroom. Practically overnight, paper turned into pixels, and pens transformed into shiny keyboards. Which meant goodbye eraser, viva la backspace. Despite the fact that I embraced the boundless freedom and possibilities of the interwebs, something in me had changed profoundly. As I grew older I noticed that the more I typed, the less I seemed to write. Instead of reading, I would merely scan articles in the hope of digesting them at high speed. My brain and my browser seemed to be melting into a solid mass.
It was not until recently that I recognized how widespread this cyborg-like metamorphosis has become. I observed a toddler aggressively trying to 'zoom in' on a Polaroid picture with his tiny fingers, while sitting on his mother’s lap. I was in a state somewhere between shock and disbelief, more shock really. And although it brought me confusion, I also felt nostalgic. I decided to share the experience with my inner circle and asked what websites, digital magazines or blogs they are currently into. “Do insta captions count? I can’t bring myself to read anything right now,” one of my friends answered with a sigh. When she returned the question, I could only name two titles. At that moment I realized that both the avid reader in myself, and my environment, is dying a slow and painful death. Or even worse, a silent death. When I asked her why, she replied that the websites of today are like ‘driving the same car, but with a different air freshener.’ An observation that struck a chord with me.
Websites have become retro, niche information is no longer scarce. And when the world is at your fingertips, boredom is only a swipe away. And even more critical questions arose. Why have we become so lazy as readers, but moreover, as writers? We look at our screens, before we look at the sky. Are we a generation of creative young people, constantly hovering on the cusp between extreme boredom and excitement? Why have we stopped battling the clickbait galore? While searching for answers to weighty questions like these, I have tried to create a place to fight information fatigue and to flex your reading muscles. An escape from the internet, on the internet. You’re even allowed to doodle a penis on this site. Without flickering banners and swirling buttons that want you to 'click here’. Offering a home to personal stories, thoughts, notes, particular places and things that stick. The ones that are worth exaggerating about. And who knows, you might find a million new reasons to read again. Or even better: to write again.
Comments