For most people, the internet was a mistake. And smartphones were a huge mistake. Not for all — but for most. But absent a nuclear war, there is no going back, no returning to what was extant before. We must adapt and make the best of the mess.
The internet should’ve remained as it was back in 1999-2001 or so. Smart techie type people only, with very little spillover into the wider world. No dating apps and not overrun by ads and large corporations. Smartphones should probably not exist at all. Too cognitively hazardous.