> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://justincox.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What Happens When Everything is Paywalled - URL: https://justincox.com/blog/2024/12/what-happens-when-everything-is-paywalled/ - Published: 2024-12-10T12:00:08.000Z - Updated: 2024-12-10T12:00:08.000Z - Description: This Just In: Wealth is becoming a determining factor in the type of World Wide Web you can access. And I’m not talking about speed. - Author: Justin Cox - Tags: Publishing, This Just In, Life *Ready Player One* is a fantastic book by Ernest Cline. Set in the near future, the story mainly takes place inside the OASIS – a futuristic version of the internet that is freely accessible to every human. In the story, schoolchildren are all issued OASIS devices to freely access the vast knowledge and *worlds* provided online. While access is free, corporations get involved and found ways to charge people. Those with means had better equipment, faster speeds, and an overall better experience. Those without, like the main character in the book, were stuck with default settings and a severe lack of access beyond the freely accessed worlds. While the OASIS doesn’t exist in our reality, a digital class system exists online, and it’s quickly getting *much* worse. We’re presented with the illusion of choice online: do you want ads, or do you want to pay to avoid them? Do you want to be tracked across websites for ad purposes, or do you want to pay to be anonymous? Do you want your online experience to be flooded with AI-generated [brain rot](https://justincox.com/blog/2024/12/platforms-are-getting-much-worse/), or do you want to pay for higher quality *human*\-made creations? This *choice* makes it feel like we can tailor our experience. But, in reality, the *choice* comes down to whether you will pay *more* or accept what exists. That’s not a choice at all. Paywalls are popping up everywhere to give users this *choice* while helping creators escape the rapidly degrading internet. It’s a way to try and have it both ways. But, at the end of the day, it’s really more a statement of means. Can you pay for a better experience or not? Last week, The Verge launched a partial paywall and [subscription](https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/3/24306571/verge-subscription-launch-fewer-ads-unlimited-access-full-text-rss?ref=justincox.com). They’re calling it a “freemium” model where *most* content is freely accessible to everyone and original features are paywalled. The launch article explains: > \[W\]e didn’t want to simply paywall the entire site — it’s a tragedy that traditional journalism is retreating behind paywalls while nonsense spreads across platforms for free. The illusion of choice that exists online right now says accept the free nonsense or pay for quality. It’s a tragedy that those are the only options. Class already dictates education access here in the States. The internet was meant to be a great leveler where everyone could access unlimited knowledge at their fingertips. But, just like in *Ready Player One*, greed got in the way, and the internet became heavily monetized. Corporate internet and social platforms convinced us that the [attention economy](https://justincox.com/blog/2023/01/are-you-begging-for-eyes-in-the-attention-economy/) was what we *wanted*. They addicted us to algorithmic feeds so they could learn everything about us to sell ads they *knew* we’d click on. We weren’t *learning* or experiencing anything new; we were being suckered into consumerism. And the cost? Our individuality and personal creativity. Thankfully, we’re pushing back and helping to build a [better internet](https://justincox.com/blog/2024/01/lets-make-the-internet-personal-again/). Except that better internet can either be *free* or *high-quality*. We currently can’t have both, and it absolutely sucks. I don’t know the solution, but I have [hope](https://justincox.com/blog/2024/11/empire-strikes-back-isnt-the-end-of-the-series/) that people much smarter than me will figure it out. This isn’t just Pollyanna hope. It’s what Joan Westenberg calls [Fuck You Optimism](https://mastodon.social/@Daojoan/113540447906749333?ref=justincox.com): > What we need is a radical, rebellious, fuck you optimism. The kind that spits in the face of despair and keeps moving forward anyway, middle finger raised and teeth bared. There are awesome people like like Joan who have their teeth bared and their middle fingers raised. They’re advocating for and designing a better internet for *everyone*. People like Molly White, who literally gave the talk on [fighting for the web](https://www.citationneeded.news/fighting-for-our-web/?ref=justincox.com). Or people like Anil Dash, who is actively welcoming the [internet’s return to its roots](https://www.anildash.com/2024/10/15/its-2004-again/?ref=justincox.com). As these people spit in the face of despair and work to build a better internet, and as publishers like The Verge discover how to pay writers while also offering free access, I *know* a better internet is possible. One that is not beholden to corporate sites and ad revenue. One that doesn’t milk us for data to sell us things we don’t need. The illusion of choice is what we have right now, but it is *not* what we will have forever.