On this online nostalgia trip, I remembered that we weren’t curators but teens on a dial-up modem trying to make sense of pop culture with pixelated collages that resembled the most iconic high-school binder.

While revisiting my old blogging files, my hard drive unlocked wild memories. They show how much inspiration I took from pop culture: from Britney Spears embodying my wild animal while spilling tea about Timberlake’s manhood on national television, to Jeffree Star’s reign on MySpace, to Ricky Martin in a speedo on a beach with an adonis years before coming out, to even folders filled with wet pictures of the physical representation of male perfection — aka Jake Gyllenhaal.

I was not a critic, nor did I ever rely much on critics’ takes. While they play a necessary role in interpreting artworks within a cultural moment, their perspectives didn’t always capture the broader, lasting impact these works would eventually have — like The Wizard of Oz, which critics initially overlooked but later became an iconic cult film and part of the queer canon. In today’s online era, where opinions shape audiences rapidly, I try to focus less on the chorus of voices and more on my own response, discovering for myself that films like Wicked: For Good can redefine the original, proving how personal connection transcends outside judgment.

Today, internet reviews function as a new form of art criticism. While individual opinions reflect personal experience and knowledge, the fast-paced and sometimes shallow nature of online discourse often misses a work’s deeper cultural significance. Still, both traditional and online criticism play important and distinct roles in how we engage with art.

Far from wanting to be either of the above, what the internet opened was something else entirely: a space for people to share works of art that are different, overlooked, waiting to be discovered, or meaningful to those with similar backgrounds, tastes or curiosities.

I still vividly remember scrolling through endless forum threads where we shared what we were listening to, watching or reading. Personal blogs allowed us to reveal our story’s soundtrack. We wrote not just opinions, but how certain songs, movies or books resonated with us — sometimes deeply enough to shape or touch our soul. Other times, we talked about TV shows we loved but no one else seemed to be watching.

Looking at today’s culture, I believe that is that our FOMO-driven society has overshadowed genuine cultural enrichment and connection. Countless people want to have read a book rather than wanting to read a book. Internet culture — and the fast-paced nature of everything — has played a negative role in this. Now we share absolutely anything almost instantly, leaving little room to reflect on our experiences or ideas.

Over the last couple of years, I’ve kept saying I wanted to dive into Taylor Swift’s discography, yet the closest I got was her recent The Life of a Showgirl, even while the internet was hating on it. And now, days after the release of Wicked: For Good, I can safely say it’s one of my favourite movies of the decade. And still, thanks to the internet, I can find up-and-coming artists such as Grant Knoche or Brazilian Bruno Gadiol who — despite having modest followings — have invaded my heavy mix. Works of art I relate to as a gay millennial in his thirties.

This trip down the online memory lane made me want to recreate the same board-style image I used to have on my old blog. Some of those artists and works shaped the young man I became. Now I want to create a similar space again — not to become the critic I never listened to, but to share cultural pieces and moments that resonate with me or leave a mark.

So, what are you listening to? Has any artist, movie, show or other cultural piece recently resonated with you?