Most of the modern internet is indistinguishable from what we used to call malware
Every site is trying to pull a Bonzai Buddy now.
"We need all your info for advertising, not you can't opt out unless you make an account and give us your email. Oops, looks like I hid the opt-out under a subheader. Amazon is now profiling you."
WE USED TO CALL THAT SHIT A VIRUS.
ITS EVERY. FUCKING. WEBSITE. NOW
"Hi I'm going to block this entire site until you give me your info, this is very cool and normal."
Capitalism ruined the internet. The whole thing is malware now.
But the problem runs deeper. Sure you can hide from all those ads they display, but they can still data mine your existence and shape it with their recommendations.
I resent the idea that a normal person needs like two media studies degrees and a minor in cyber security to interact kinda safely with aspects of our society that are essentially non-optional
I still can't see any links my friends send me if they're from twitter, facebook, insta, etc (half the time anyway, seems to let me sometimes for short amounts of time) because they block the site with a wall telling you to log in.