being online like it’s 2007

what to do online that isn’t scrolling the big social platforms

by avalon 17.08.2026

what we’re covering in today’s blog:

being an internet hermit: how i use the internet without the big social media platforms

algorithm-less browsing, cute personal websites, creating your own corner of the internet, and more

how not being online all the time was an important factor in why the internet was more fun in the early 2000s

a couple of weekends ago i headed up with my wife to stay with some friends - and to teach yoga at a goth festival 15 mins away from where we were staying!

this was my third year of featuring in the program, out of the four years the festival has been running. ^^ does that make me a veteran now lol?

honestly i don’t have that many pics from any of the years i’ve attended - i’ve been too busy having fun to bother fussing around with my phone!

this was a cute display we came across in the tiny town that the goldfields gothic festival is held in!

i don’t use socials very often to begin with, but being completely occupied for three days straight with travelling, markets, concerts, teaching yoga and having plenty of fun times with my wife and friends meant i was even less online than ever.

i was actually so reluctant to check any of my accounts for messages when i got back.

in general i feel a pit in my stomach at the idea of opening any of the apps, and i barely do it as it is.

and, conversely: i’ve also noticed feeling lighter, freer, and more myself in these last few months as i begin to change how i use the internet.

i actually do love being online. i always have!

i’ve just been refining and curating how i spend my time online - and it’s weirdly been making such a huge difference.

it goes beyond just not using social media and into what i do want to do with the internet.

it kinda started with my wondering: if i just don’t want to use social media anymore, then what can i do with the internet?

could i just decide to use the internet like it’s 2007?

can i maybe browse only using my laptop, because we didn’t have the internet in our pockets in the 2000s - and thus have a boundary with being online?

can i just start my own website and decorate it like my emo teen self would have? what blogs and forums are still alive out there? where’s that VampireFreaks revival site i could have sworn i saw a couple of months ago?

and it was questions like that which made me realise i could stop longing for the old internet - and start contributing to building and experiencing the internet the way i like.

because the internet actually is still so alive outside of the big platforms!

so right now, the only social site i visit with any regularity is VampFreaks (where i can customise my profile with CSS very similarly to MySpace!), and maybe the occasional use of reddit (because there are fluffy guinea pigs and cute cows).

the rest of the time, i’m online to do completely non-social-media-related things: to read + write fanfiction, collect gifs from old web archives, make blog-art on this website, make blingee-style gif art, find cool cafes in my city, search for fanart i might enjoy, go down wiki rabbit holes, find music on YouTube, browse places like neocities, stumble on blogs that are still being written, learn industrial dance, make cute Pinterest boards…and maybe occasionally look at cool clothes lol.

none of this is unique! BUT. the distinct lack of big social media platforms, infinite scrolling, and continual bombardment of thousands of people arguing in the comments has been like an ongoing spa day for my nervous system lol.

and, an important part of this way of doing things: i’m not online all the time. in having gradually gotten rid of scrolling, and replacing it with my own ways of having fun on the internet, i’m also unexpectedly having a bunch of time to engage with offline hobbies, and more of an attention span to sit with and properly enjoy them.

i feel like an internet hermit of some kind: mostly just doing my own thing, occasionally crossing paths with a few people via forums or chat, and then going back to pottering about decorating my own garden.

using the internet like it’s 2007 is not necessarily about trying to make Myspace happen again (though the people on places like spacehey have definitely taken that route and i love that for them!).

i think it’s more of a general approach: being online in 2026 but with early-internet principles like agency, exploration and whimsy as guidance.

after a bit of thinking about the topic, i’ve come up with a small list of things that could be helpful for folks who miss the old web or are curious about what it was like - and maybe bring some of that back to today’s internet!

browsing with a computer most of the time: honestly this is a really easy and fun way to use the internet like it’s the early 2000s - by using a laptop or even desktop, and making it your main device again! not only does it bring back the nostalgia, but also boundaries: by making the internet a special place you only access during certain times, when you have that device.

exploring personal websites: websites were the bomb-dot-com back in the day and they still are. have you tried looking at your fave music artist’s website? they often still have that being-immersed-in-someone’s-cool-world feel that you got on the old internet. you could also browse places like neocities and nekoweb, which are outside of the big platforms, and are full of people (like me!) who have made their own little digital homes on the internet. everything is so colourful and full of life and individuality on the indie web! and letting yourself click random links and exploring webrings is how you discover more of what you like - algorithm-free.

finding small community: prioritising small communities with shared interests, like discord servers and forums. btw forums are absolutely still out there! (e.g. EvThreads is a forum dedicated to Evanescence that has been running since 2006 and is still fairly active!)

algorithm-less browsing: letting your own curiosity lead you to search for something, travelling through websites and forums and interesting niche corners of the web, so that you’re actively experiencing the internet on your own terms. algorithms do make things convenient - but they’re also designed to grab attention and then not quite hit, keeping you on the apps trying to find what you do want. having no algorithms back in the day made being online a more intentional experience, where you mostly only engaged with stuff you actually wanted to and had an active role in discovering things you liked. see where your rabbit holes take you. learn new stuff! find cool places!

finding new fave blogs: blogs kind of remind me of old magazines: like getting home from school, popping on some music and enjoying a leisurely read. i like to google things (but not actually using google, because its search is horrible for so many reasons atm - i use Ecosia instead, it plants trees and you aren’t forced to use AI!). and then i see where it leads me, outside of the big platforms. i usually discover a wealth of active blogs!

make your own corner of the internet: being a creator - not in the sense of being an influencer, but making your own home online (after all, Myspace was all about having your own page, your own space online - it’s even in the name!). for the nostalgia trip, you might try spacehey, which mimics Myspace, or if you lean goth/alt you might like a revival forum like VampFreaks. but for the ultimate in making your own space: you might do what i’ve done here and make your own website and constantly decorate and write all over it. you get to be active in carving out your own experience, and having a corner of the internet that is all yours. and then to have the fun of building it out, like your own digital castle or cottage or lounge!

spend time offline. you might be wondering wtf that has to do with the old internet lol. but, as with many things, the ability to say yes and no freely - knowing both when you’re down and when you’re done - is part of what makes any experience safe, fun, and meaningful. having boundaries with the internet is no different!

in the 2000s, the internet was like a portal to many different places and worlds, which you could only access through a device you had to set up - and you could disconnect and leave it behind in another room once you were done. you could decide when you were finished and the internet wouldn’t follow you; there was an off ramp. the internet was just a complement to all the other fun stuff we could do with our lives: hanging out with friends and fam, watching movies, reading, going to concerts, meetups, having hobbies. offline life hasn’t gone anywhere - and your online life can just be an added extra dimension, colourful and filled with the stuff you love and which you’ve intentionally chosen.

these are all things i do myself, and i feel like the changes to my mental health and ability to be present are hard to describe, yet tangible.

if you’ve ever related hard to that meme that says “the internet used to be an escape from the real world. now the real world is an escape from the internet” - i think this approach of bringing the fun back to being online might be for you. :)

let me know how you go if you try it!