internet
Explanation
The Joke
An older man wistfully tells a young boy, "I wish you could've known the internet when it was young and idyllic." The boy pushes back: "You told me when you were my age the internet was 100% nerds and/or chatroom fetishists." The old man, gazing into the night sky in a moment of nostalgic reverie, sighs: "Yes, yes m'boy, it was a better time."
The comic plays on the common tendency of older internet users to romanticize the early days of the internet, conveniently glossing over the fact that the early internet was a fairly weird and often unsavory place. When confronted with the actual reality of early internet culture -- dominated by socially awkward tech enthusiasts and people doing questionable things in chatrooms -- the old man does not back down. He doubles down, insisting that even that version of the internet was superior to what it has become.
The Humor
The joke works on multiple levels. First, there is the inherent comedy of nostalgia being so powerful that someone can acknowledge the early internet was full of nerds and fetishists and still consider it a golden age. Second, there is a layer of genuine commentary: many long-time internet users sincerely do feel that the chaotic, weird, pre-social-media internet was more authentic and enjoyable than the corporate, algorithm-driven, outrage-fueled internet of today. The wistful final panel, with the old man silhouetted against a starry sky, gives the absurd statement a tone of genuine melancholy that makes it even funnier.