Introduction

Welcome! My name is Wen, as you may already know. I began this website with inspiration from PI.FYI, a site where you can share recommendations and ask for recommendations from others. I found the way that PI.FYI has been able to bring back the 90s feel of the internet very inspiring. The internet used to be so much more simple–no algorithms, no advertisements, no hyper-speed communication or interaction. It was glitchy, hard to navigate, and sometimes aesthetically unappealing. I have a certain appreciation for these times, even though they were early on in the internet's "life", when I was not even alive yet. I have grown up with the internet as a huge part of my life, perhaps too big of a part.

I have found a lot of community on the internet–that's what a lot of people say. I have found the internet (specifically social media) to have made me feel much more isolated. The internet's ability to connect people from accross the globe who cannot feasibly meet up in person, has resulted in a lot of superficial relationships that are reliant on the internet for their upkeep. In my eyes, being reliant on the internet for social interaction is clearly a way to become lonely. Building community is very important, especially for youth, but it has been made increasingly difficult by prevolence of internet alghorithms which encourage these kinds of superficial interactions and relationships.

I will say that I am writing from my experience here. I know that for some the internet has been a place where they have been able to find their community in parts of the world where their identity makes it hard for that to happen normally. I will not deny that this aspect of the internet has been and can still be incredibly beneficial.

Writing from my place of relative privilege, I have found much more success finding community in my immediate surroundings, as well as during travel. That being said, I recognize that I am lucky to live in a place where forming a community of like-minded people is not difficult.

All right. That is all for now, I am writing this as I watch the first Yankees-Dodgers game in the World Series 2024. Now I will finish watching the game and then head to bed.

Thanks for reading my Introduction. Much more to come.