Using the computer
When i was growing up we had the family computer. It sat it the study, my former bedroom, which i left once my older sister moved out. Where it sat before that i cannot remember. The computer was basic, it had some free microsoft games like minesweeper or majhong, firefox, and most importantly, powerpoint. As a child, I had a facsination with stop motion and animation and microsoft powerpoint was the closest i ever got to creating moving images. I would create entire storys and designs within those slides, even playable games as i got older. I never used apps, games, or websites according to their designs. Maybe this was due to childhood creativity, or a neurodivergent brain that does not approach problems or unknowns typically and thus failed to pick up on the unsaid steps involved in navigating the online. Maybe it was because i had certain things i wanted to do (like create animations) but not the "proper" software to do so.
In my final years of schooling i did not have a laptop unlike most of my classmates. I would take all my notes on paper and do most of my writing in my book. If something required an online aspect (like most of my assignments) i would use the schools communal shared laptops found in every couple of classrooms. I would also get most of my work done during school, finding empty classrooms and stealing a shared laptop to complete my work. When a deadline was imminent i would use the microsoft word app and safari webrowser on my phone. This appalled my classmates. But it served perfectly well for me. I could access all the relevent pages, although i might have to squint a bit more if there wasn't an accessible reading mode, and type up my assignments, although my graphs weren't as prettily alligned compared to other student's work.
I have a distant memory from when i first saw someone read on a phone. It was in the car, along a stretch of highway and bush that i am quite familiar with, and my sisters ex boyfriend sat infront of me. His phone was small in his hand and showed solely black text on a white background. I was shocked that it was useable, there were no buttons, he had no mouse or keyboard, only his finger and a wall of text. I was shocked that someone could navigate a device like that! So unuser friendly! And ugly! Now, older and an appreciator of fanfic websites, a wall of black text on a white screen and nothing else feels refreshing and homelike (especially in this busy online landscape), and has become one of my favourite "looks" of web design.
Other people my age had a vastly different experience using the internet growing up than i did. Many played roblox on tablets or had xboxes and playstations. They explored apps and games i only heard of as a teenager. Part of this i think has to do with my intense fear of viruses and committment to online safety. You would never catch me showcasing my face, using my real name, or downloading anything. My dad was also quite anti consumerist and i have disliked ads from a young age, i would only watch the kids channel on tv that only showed ads for other kids tv shows (this was probably more due to me seeing the ads on other channels as inappropriate, not child friendly, and overstimulating. on this topic, i think my usage of the internet was also shaped by my personal fear of seeing things that were innapropriate due to growing up with friends who weren't even allowed to watch harry potter or my little pony due to their "sinful influences"), and avoided websites with advertisements (although that might be partly due to my fear of pop up ads and malware).
I no longer use technology in "unintuitive" ways but i still hate how boxed in the intuitive way of using it feels. As an adult phones still seem way too small, although i do love how they make all of us cyborgs. I downloaded roblox to play dress to impress and honestly it was quite fun, the game is a childhood dream come true (i always yearned to play a game where you designed avatars but actually had numerous and good options) but i dont know if younger me would of liked the time limit it sets. I also stopped using microsoft on my phone and invested in a laptop for uni which i am thoroughly enjoying. I think ever since i got this laptop im slowly reverting to a more 2010 way of using the internet. I am so close to replacing spotify with an mp3 player. The only reason i still have apps like instagram is to watch anime edits, find good recipes, know whats on sale and when near me, find irl events, and talk to my friends. Honestly i dont think i could delete instagram or facebook considering its how i find out about all my offline stuff, but oh how i would love to. I always go to events i see posters for, and encourage others to as well, posters are way better than instagram reels. I think i will delete tiktok tho, i dont get much enjoyment out of it aside from things i could find on youtube.
And so here i am on neocities, using my computer yet again, in ways unexpected by the people around me. I might write again soon. Cya later internet.