But still we have something to talk about. Many people have already discussed this before me, but I also have something to add, because despite the current state of social media,

including YouTube, they were first and foremost created so that people could communicate and share their ideas. And I personally consider each of my viewers to be the same interlocutor.

It has always been this way and I hope that it will continue to be this way no matter what.

If you are at least 12-18 years old, you probably felt how the world and technology have changed. And this has some very negative sides.

But first, let's get a little nostalgic with you.

I am 16 years old now, I belong to the so-called Generation Z, i.e. those born from 1997 to 2012. Most of my childhood was in the 2010s, and I am glad that

it was like that and a lot of things in my life happened the way they happened, and now I am the way you know me. (Although many English-speaking guys are probably hearing me for

the first time, because Russian-speaking guys watched me more when I was younger, but still.)

I'm glad that I have good friends, that I managed to spend a huge part of my childhood with them and we still communicate with many of them and have a good time.

I'm glad that we managed to watch a lot of interesting cartoons, movies and TV shows, and the Internet was primarily set up to discuss interesting topics and publish high-quality

content of an entertaining, educational, relaxing and many other kinds.

I'm glad that during this period of time we played a lot of good video games, listened to a lot of good music, but most importantly, we had a great time together, in person, walking

outside, playing games in the fresh air, visiting each other, discussing many interesting things, just fooling around and coming up with something of our own. And we still do this in

our free time to this day.

And if we talk about the current decade, then the happiest period, with a few exceptions (2022), for me personally was from 2020 to 2024.

The 20s started very unsuccessfully and during this time many very unpleasant things happened, some of which we still cannot recover from. But one way or another, there were positive moments too.

I started developing my YouTube channel, drawing, music and making a game. And I continue to do this now.

Surely the audience of 12-18 years old experienced the same feelings and spent their time in the same way.

And here we get to the thing many people are talking about. Namely, how the media has changed and what impact this has on us and the younger generation.

You probably know that short brain-rot videos, politics, and AI videos made on the fly are currently at the top of many social media. And these social networks themselves have started

to promote videos that will only keep people on them. Do you know why? (Money, money, bitch, money!)

By the way, my YouTube channel and, as a result, Normenhill suffered from this. Since my views dropped, YouTube disabled my ability to leave links in the description (they are not active) and pin comments. My content has never been famous for its high quality and frequency of release, but nevertheless, a lot of people were interested in listening to me and discussing with me. And how am I worse than those who make content for the sake of views and bringing money to YouTube? Nothing. Even though I started releasing shorts on the game, which gained 500-600 views, this is still not enough to turn these functions back on.

And all this, of course, affects you and me. Personally, since 2021, I rarely visit the shorts section and rarely go to TikTok, so I consume much less of this content, but this does not cancel the fact that AI crap still slips into other sections of the Internet. Although the content created by people with enthusiasm still exists and it is also in demand among people. (Remember Hazbin Hotel, Antonblast or the animation channel Patrikus Droilius or films without an agenda (My friends and I recently watched the film Willy's Wonderland))

And what can we say about the younger generation, which absorbs this much more and it affects their development much more. They show aggression, their social skills are impaired and they themselves are divorced from reality. I myself have observed such people both online and in life, and you also probably understand why they are like this.

In general, if we talk about this whole topic, then I do not think that short videos in themselves are a bad phenomenon, they have a place to exist, but if from an early age you consume information exclusively in such a small volume, then you may have problems with concentration, critical thinking and memory. (What's wrong with that, they won't be able to read this post to this point and to the end, as well as longer texts that many have to deal with in everyday life.) I'm not even talking about problems with vision and excess weight.

But I also don't think that all representatives of the Alpha generation are like that, after all, I hope with all my heart that some of them are cared about by their parents and they don't stick to their tablets 24/7. And the Internet itself is a huge storehouse of information that just needs to be used with understanding and for its intended purpose. And if we talk about the modern conflict of generations on the Internet, then I would say that all sides are wrong in some way. Degenerates have been in all generations, and the fact that there are also many of them among Zoomers does not mean that we all have clip thinking and we spend money thoughtlessly on donations in games.

And many people talk about the fact that the theory of the dead internet is real and in the future everyone will be completely cut off from reality, which will ultimately lead to the extinction of the species. I partly agree with this and it is sad to realize that now this is not the plot of a science fiction movie, but a completely possible thing if nothing is done about it now. Last year I myself imagined a future in which people exist together with technology, and not one in which they do not know what reality is.

And in general, this whole situation also affected me in 2025. I once wrote that everything that inspired me before has become strangely boring for me and does not inspire me as before. Someone wrote that this is normal, over time everything becomes like this, but no, I meant something slightly different.

And I would like to advise you to try to spend less time online and more time doing physical things and being outside, and also keeping an eye on what your children or younger siblings, if you have any, are doing.

Trust me, watching videos and playing your favorite indie games is good, but it is also very good to be outside in the sun or rain or snow and see atmospheric views during the day and at night that no camera can capture in all its glory. It is good for physical and mental health and I will do it myself after publishing this. I will take a break, which is really worth it, so that I can come back to you with fresh ideas for my game, which I hope you will like as well.

Speaking of which, there will most likely be no devlog at the end of this month, but I have been working on the story and drawing assets. I will just post what I have done later when I feel it is necessary.

Anyway, see you someday!