Hello my dear readers! Look at that, another blog post! Can you believe it!? Perhaps it’s even more shocking that this’ll be a pretty short post compared to my usual standards!
Anyway, I hope your 2025 is off to a decent start and that many good things come your way this year. Of course the best of those things is the realisation that I might actually blog with some frequency this year!
I said in my last post that firstly, it’s incredible that I used to blog weekly! It was a habit and somewhere along the way that habit just stopped. It’s not even necessarily about the time, it’s about wanting to make the time and I just didn’t have that writing mojo behind me.
The other thing I said in my last post is that I was much less present online in 2024. It wasn’t just a WordPress thing but just generally, I didn’t really have much of an online presence anywhere on the same scale that I have in previous years. I’ve been perpetually online for the best part of 25 years but I just find this internet age loathsome.
This has been a lingering feeling of mine for a while and I’ve only recently discovered there’s somewhat of a conspiracy theory dedicated to it known as the “dead internet theory” which partially explains it. I’m not some conspiracy theorist but I’d argue in this case it’s not even a theory, it’s undeniable that the internet has lost that bit of magic about it. That human connection that much of the internet seems to lack now.
The counter-argument might be that I’m just becoming some grumpy, old man. That might be fair but my wings have spread across many a corner of the internet over the years and there’s just a real lack of authenticity and realness to this internet age.
I’ve met some incredible people online over the years but 99% of the internet now is just an advert, advert, bot, bot, spam, advert, actual human spewing hate, bot, bot, advert. Occasionally an actual human being filters through and it’s usually only communication served in self-interest.
“Sign up to my pyramid scheme.”
“I love your blog so much, your painfully average photos are so amazing! Can you subscribe to mine and we’ll never speak again?”
Where are the real people in this internet era? Is it a decreasing minority? I think the greatest thing about the internet is the ability to connect with someone anywhere in the world and it’s something that with more internet users than ever, has somehow become a bigger struggle to find.
Maybe I am just getting old and grumpy but I seem to spend half my time online not even looking at content I want to be looking at before giving up and doing something better with my time. Ultimately it is what it is and I don’t see that changing with the rise of AI and that’s even transcending into blog-writing and content-creating but for me, there’s no substitution for that genuine human connection.
That’s partially a topic for a blog-post on another day but I think somewhere along the way it has been lost that what makes the internet an incredible place is people and what AI will never be able to substitute is that people are imperfect.
Anyway.. this was just kind of a long-winded way of saying that my hopeful solution to my current disdain for the internet is that maybe WordPress is where I should be spending more of my time online.
I was feeling this way already and I’d actually written a large chunk of this post beforehand but the response to my previous blog-post kind of reaffirmed that there is a community here on WordPress and it’s one that I’ve missed. I have much less control on other platforms but here I can write what I like and filter out the spam or mundane interactions that don’t bring me any joy.
Time will tell but hopefully the best of the internet can still be found in this little corner of the web.
Thanks for following, until next time!
Jason
P.S – pictured is me and your modern day, faceless AI travel-blogger (Sydney, February 2013)
Jason likes to travel 
If you’re becoming a grumpy old man, then I guess I’ve gotten grumpy and old as well because I feel the same. So much of social media just doesn’t bring any value to life anymore and aside from wordpress I’ve cut way back as well. It’s so nice to have an actual human community here, and I’m glad you’ve decided to come back!
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It’s really sad. It was really nice coming back here and having meaningful, personal engagement with people. I’ll never leave the other apps but I do find my time on them decreasing all the time.
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Honest thinking on your part,Jason!Keep going as thoughts are constantly oscillating like a pendulum,Sir
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Thank you, glad you enjoyed the post! 🙂
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🙏🌹🙏
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I’d never heard of the dead internet theory, but if Facebook is anything to go by, it’s a reasonable assumption. I’ve toyed with getting rid of it, but there are a few things keeping me on. I don’t use it much except as a place to put my blog posts, but instead of getting rid of it, I recently moved it to the last screen of my phone. I’m looking at it a lot less and it seems like a good solution for now. All it is anymore is ads and videos curated based on what it knows I like. It used to be for social connection. Not anymore.
I do think that you can find a positive tribe on WP.
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Yeah, I keep Facebook out of necessity to keep in touch with a select few people but I hate actually using it. It ends up being such a waste of time any time I look at it and end up inundated with ads and other videos and things.
Wordpress still feels quite “old school” internet and enjoyable 🙂
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Yup…focus your attention where you feel a sense of community and enjoy the comradery and feedback from your blogging.
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Absolutely! I’ll quietly check in elsewhere but definitely want to spend more time here 🙂
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I think WordPress is a great place to invest for a sense of community, it’s the only place where I feel I have made ‘friends’ online, and is full of support, inspiration and lots of travel content. I like you can choose who to follow and don’t get served irrelevant ads every 5 minutes 🙂
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I’ve been quite lucky that I’ve met a lot of good people in lots of different spaces of the internet over the years. WordPress is definitely one of the better places for it though – there’s some lovely people here and as you say it’s good inspiration for travel too!
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I can relate to what you are saying. The online world can be wonderful, but it has become a ‘proceed with caution’ kind of place. I do think online manners and etiquette are at a low, lots of users taking the privilege of being online without any of the responsibility. People certainly seem to vent online things you’d never say round the dinner table!
But with that said I think there is a wonderful community and the right online connections can be really rewarding so we shouldn’t be discouraged. Good to see you back, Jason!
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Absolutely, it is incredible what you see some people say and comment online. Very sad too.
There is a lovely community here though 🙂
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I’ve missed you here and truly look forward to reading more of your wonderful posts. I agree with everything you’ve said about the meaninglessness of many (most?) online content, and by content, I mean a list like yours: adverts, ridiculous ‘let me support you but give me $$ first’ outreaches from bots, celebrity gossip that comes our way because clicked on one thing, ONCE, trivial non-news ‘news’, hate speech and those endless, I mean ENDLESS notifications that come on the phone. BUT, there are also real people online, with real stories, making real connections. I still remember reading your post about Weetabix and grabbing a pack in the Heathrow Airport United Club lounge so I could experience it (not a fan). Anyway, I agree with the other comments – you’re not grumpy or old (no one as much younger than me as you are can be old, I’m decreeing – old is my 93-year-old mother-in-law); you’re just discerning and selective, thoughtful and reflective, Welcome back to WordPress, my friend! Looking forward to our continued connections.
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You’re absolutely right, so many “social” media apps seem to be focused on the wrong things whereas there are still real people and real connections to be made.
I’ll always fondly remember that you tried Weetabix on one of your trips, even if you weren’t a fan!
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I think of you every time I see a Weetabix! I still have to try the crazy Weetabix Eggs Benedict recipe, just for fun.
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Haha, that sounds intriguing! My Weetabix is usually much more simple than that but I’m curious to see how that’d work.
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Hey Jason, I cannot concur enough with your sentiments about the internet age. I feel just the same as you and am actually shaping up for a much-needed break from blogging myself. I have also taken myself away from most social media platforms for many of the reasons you have outlined. Essential for the old mental health, I find. AI I only going to make it all worse I’m afraid. Blogging is really important to me, particularly as there is something of an authentic following on WordPress, though over the years you do figure out which people are for real, who is transactional, who is completely full of shit etc. I’m glad you’re back writing and sharing again and it’s good to have you back on my comment threads as you are certainly what I call “added value”. Wishing you all the best in your online (and personal) endeavours throughout 2025. By the way, I am based in The UK currently, remind me where you are?
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It’s definitely good to take a break when you feel you need it and to recuperate and focus on your mental health.
I agree that AI is just going to make things worse but I’ll continue to try and make decent connections online where I can.
I’m over in Peterborough for the timebeing, I can’t quite remember where you’re at but I don’t think it’s too far away?
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