Overall I think higher bandwidth and faster computers + servers have led the internet to be a less reading-centric place, a less cerebral place, and more about the sort of gonzo "LOL" or "oh wow" or outrage-inducing videos served up on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. The countercultures that thrived on the internet during the 2000's are being outshined by viral content served up by social media algorithms that learn and aggregate insights about our personalities. Content that is not created for a profit is quickly buried in an SEO and social media optimization environment that is strictly pay-for-play. Browsing behavior is less about browsers and more about mobile apps. In a nutshell, the internet is transforming into the same cesspool of repetitive, low-common-denominator misinformation and trash information that TV transformed into.
If a type of information falls into the category of not having anything to sell, such as info about how to NOT purchase things or how to AVOID high investment fees, then it will be buried under piles of paid placements in social media or search engines. There is no way for such content creators to compete without a revenue source on par with the click baiters, scammers, advertisers, political causes, etc. "Financial independence" yields clickbait results about gambling, Wall Street Bets style, or outright scams. "Frugality" information is about buying these products you don't need instead of those products you don't need. "Investing" was always a minefield, but nobody is paying to spread the word about VTSAX. "Saving" is about which 0.05% yielding account you should choose. There is no need for any other sorts of information to be present.
In addition to burial-by-advertising, the algorithms following us around will bury information about FIRE because it's not what generated "engagement" for other people. This is true even if you are specifically searching for FIRE information. Some 16-year old "influencer" trying to go viral with silly antics and wild trades on Robinhood will be presented to you before any of the Journal entries on this site which show people making real progress with real strategies.
This is nothing new. What you need to know about fitness and nutrition, for example, was always been buried, twisted, and obscured by profit-seeking content creators in books, TV, magazines, etc. with a gadget, supplement, or powdered milkshake for sale.
What's different is that the internet has consumed all other forms of media. Nobody reads paper newspapers or magazines any more. Broadcast radio and TV are relics. We now have just one source of info, and that is the internet as filtered to us by a handful of big tech companies. We decide to trust certain "truthy" for-profit information influencers and companies on the internet with our lives. "Decide" might be too strong a word here, considering what we know about how social media companies can shape our perception. Even if we head straight for IRL authority figures, like doctors, academics, professionals, lawyers, etc. we have no guarantee they will not have been influenced too.
The next MMM will probably be a loudmouthed, politicized TicTok vlogger with animated face punches making wild options trades to keep people's attention. Think Roaring Kitty with lots of ads and constantly yelling. In such a world, getting new converts will be a matter of trying to talk attention-deficit netizens into reading a rare book at the library.
