digital-worlds-manifesto

the importance of

creating our own digital worlds

by avalon 15.04.2026

(I’m better at writing fanfic than manifestos lol but here’s what I’ve got so far!)

Idk about anyone else, but I’m. so. tiredddd of the AI slop, the disinformation, the alt right crazy people, the constant advertising and data mining and privacy breaches, the trends, the algorithm - and the same shitty brainrot content.

And when I do make something, I’m so bored and frustrated with trying to fit everything I want to say or the art I want to make into staid captions, short-form video, or ‘clean’ and ‘minimalist’ blogging setups - only for like a handful of people to see it for 5 seconds anyway.

want to make

I think the internet used to be so magical because it was driven by the excitement of expressing ourselves, instead of driven by the need to be seen by the algorithm and the fear of falling into obscurity - and because of that, everything on it was unique and weird and amazing.

Everyone treated the internet as a place for expression, making websites that were like homes that they built and extended and decorated themselves. No personal GeoCities website or even sparkly gif-filled MySpace page was exactly the same as another.

And even if you never coded something yourself, you could get lost in online worlds that were so imaginative that they’d stay with you afterwards, like a good book or movie.

Everything was clunky and eye-wateringly maximalist and sometimes just straight up crashed your browser - but people made entire worlds for themselves on the internet that you could explore and it was actually FUN to be online!

We don’t create or enter worlds anymore when we’re online in the 2020s. We create ‘content’, or consume ‘content’, and it’s somehow both anxiety-provoking and tedious at the same time.

Because some point the apps got us making shit for an audience, for an algorithm, for clout, for sales, for the measuring of our own worth by ‘engagement’ metrics, ultimately for the billionaires who own the apps - we make + consume stuff online for literally anyone but ourselves.

So in that sense, making digital worlds is an act of centering our own enjoyment, instead of the demands of a bunch of rich dudes who own a platform: being self-centred in our online lives, in the best + most grounding way possible.

and that’s why you’re reading this (and why I’m trying to write something that hopefully makes sense lol).

I love the idea of bringing back personal websites, because I think they’re like art projects: there’s just so much you can do with them.

and so I started this little site with the intention to hold that centering-ourselves, old-web kind of ethos.

I want to center fun + creativity first - i.e. making what you like because you like it.

It’s about really taking the time to create and mosey about slowly growing things - instead of rushing at the frenetic pace demanded by the algorithm.

It’s all digital maximalism: vibrant, layered, clashing and complex (and FUN!) aesthetics. F*ck clean and minimalist lol.

It’s all sparkly gifs, bright colours, and rambles about stuff I like - the same as you’d find on a website made in 2004, or even an early 2010s blog.

To make a space that really feels like an internet home that’s always being added to.

kind of being the weird i want to see in the world, basically!

I believe that whenever we dare to make our own spaces, it’s radical act in a society that has, for millenia honestly, wanted us all to follow the same shitty template.

Those worlds don’t even need to be online, necessarily: just daydreaming is already an act of creation, of making something from nothing.

Which is pretty magical.

And I really do believe that the magic of creativity, of world-building - including digitally - has the power to transform everything.

so big welcome if you’ve found this weird little corner of the internet!

you’re the bomb dot com. 🖤

ooh and as a bonus: view this website from your desktop for a real 90s/y2k internet experience! There are random fun things you’ll only be able to see on desktop. :)