y2kid is both an enigma and an epileptic’s worse nightmare. If you ever desired to simulate the experience of having Parkinsons mixed with schizophrenia, then check out his website for yourself.

In the past, Y2kid has addressed some FAQs on their own website, so rather than tread famaliar water this interview will be a bit more unconventional

Please describe yourself for those who may not be famaliar with you and your work

a much moar interesting person thru the lens of other people; I'm just a guy Online, posting

What made you choose this way of presenting yourself? Or rather, what influenced the maximalist aesthetics of it?

every Other guy In this old web """niche""" Says this, but it's just true: The internet is fucking ugly n boring now . I get mad abt it all the time, n think back 2 when the internet wasn't as cold n formulaic n shitty n try 2 just put myself out there in a way that reminds me of how things used 2 be. kinda sloppy, kinda ugly, rlly loud. I just miss the no-fuss era of user generated content where ppl just did something n posted it n didn't rlly consider evil shit like reach n analytics or whatever else . I could sit here n make a list of Everyone b4 me that I ripped off or felt inspired by, But I think the core of anything I put up is all of that. I also have 2 mention the movie "Hackers" , lawnmower man, and da general 90s perception of what hacking looked like. I'm not a hacker, Dunno fuck all abt code outside of css, But the Design n theatrics of hacking/malware in major media has always fascinated me, So it does end up presenting in a lot of My stuff .

I noticed you parodied a David Dees image at one point, who or what would you say are your artistic influences?

HAHAHAHHAHEHSGGWQHABE no one ever fuckn notices . I luv the work of David dees, n even just the general Appearance of any early internet photomanipulations. I do look at his shit a lot , I think u can rlly feel how fuckn mad he was abt whatever he wuz trying 2 convey in any given image he was assembling. seeing wut somebody can do with pictures that already exist is what Excites me. I would say cyriak is a big one -- ppl always point that out. I don't have a lot of specific names 2 give, but that one era of flash animations where ppl did a lot of collage work n puppet rigging is big 4 me. david firth comes 2 mind too. I also draw a lot from old youtube horror, Early creepypasta ( before it got Fandomized ) n Slenderman/slenderverse tropes . I mean, even the way I Blur my face is sort of Based on that. no one loved Slenderman moar than me when he first Appeared, I promise u.

Soo what's with the fixation on teeth? Do you also get those nightmares where your teeth fall out?

I've nevar had that 1. I don't have a gr8 answer 4 this: I just like teeth n always have. i collect some IRL, n I've always found the imagery sort of intense. people's reaction 2 it entices me 2 keep putting it in shit. 4 some reason, the teeth rlly get 2 them. also rlly like teratomas n tumors too, N it kind of ties into that. I had a bad dental experience when I was like 4 , n that might have imprinted somethign? Who knowz, idk. it's not as deep as someone Might think.

What’s the best dream you’ve ever had?

Best dream? hard 2 say but probably one of those ones where it felt like i was in a mall or some weird place that doesn’t exist. liminal dreamcore.

What are your earliest memories of the internet?

mostly flash games n chatrooms n forums. 4 as long as I've been online I've just wanted 2 talk 2 ppl. i spent hours on club penguin, gameHouse dot com chat, Omegle, whatever. n ancient YouTube , generally. That's vague but it is wut it is.

Are there any other online communities you used to be apart of that no longer exist?

chatzy chat rooms, n the slenderverse community. I've detached from Most fandom space n shit like that bc it's evil, But I do miss that. there r still ppl into it but it's a dead genre. also must shout out the Intense Justin bieber hate communities of the 2010s. we were mean but it was fun. n not necessarily a community but the original "myyearbook" website had one of the most colorful n fun web design ui's ever , N I crave it like a cigarette. I wish I could go back n use it one last time even if the actual content of the site was just Myspace knock off garbage. same for beebo n hi5.

Do you remember when you first discovered YouTube/what’s the first YouTube video you remember watching?

I had dial up internet far past wut any reasonable member of society Should, So I had 2 gorge myself on YouTube slop via the library maybe once every couple months. the very first thing I remember seeing was some 180p Video of a guy pissing on an electric fence n falling over : Peak comedy

Your top 3 fav websites?

thsre r no good websites left , I am sorry 2 tell u ‹/3

How did you find Neocities?

honestly cannot fuckng remember. it wuz around 2018-2019. I'm sure I was following someone somewhere or just digging thru old geocities sites when somehow it came up.

Best & worst thing about the Internet?

it's a Complicated question. Really , the best and worst thing abt the Internet is the unlimited access 2 whoever n whatever u want. U can do a lot of amazing things n meet Incredible people, or get sucked into a rabbithole that spits out a twisted Leaking mess of a human being  at the end.

What do you think the Internet will look like 10 years from now?

I'm 2 afraid 2 think that far ahead 2 be honest. I imagine moar ppl will b driven to using services like tor 2 circumvent new draconian laws abt Internet usage. things will b harder, more censored, more strict. more ppl shitting up good places w/ bad ideas, forcing Other ppl 2 just dig deeper n deeper 2 get away from them.

Outside of Neocities you are quite popular on TikTok, what's your thoughts on the recent legislation attempting to ban/sell it off?

it's fucking weird n stupid. total abuse of power. I don't like censorship, n I don't like when the government starts digging into wut people can access. I think it sets a dangerous precedent 4 the future, very Overbearing. n boomers r so angry about the dumb content on that stupid fucking app that they don't understand that banning anything 2 that degree is bad, n dangerous. morons out here celebrating 4 some reason, when u should be appalled the govt thinks it's appropriate 2 tell u what apps u can use. just insane. I got plenty of issues w/ tiktok, but anybody Should b able 2 use it.

iPhone, or Android?

I don't like how iPhones babysit their userz, but Google is evil, so Truly it's all evil

You write about the funneling of children onto the general internet, and you make a great point about how a lot of children's online spaces are no longer with us (Club Pengiun, Cartoon Network flash games, etc) so it made me cuious, what was your preferred digital hangout spot as a kid?

I do, N I will alwayz. it's unfortunate. I hung out a lot on clubpenguin, n different art / animal games n forums. I wuz a chronic deviantart browser, n in basically any chatroom I could get into. meez dot com. Omegle , Like I mentioned earlier, consumed many years of muh life, Especially ones it shouldn't have. played a lot on miniclip dot com. wuz also a twitter Addict , n still am. I was an og twitter user even as a Child. wish it didnt suck so bad now. ‹/3

On the note, what's the most traumatizing thing you remember seeing online at a young age, and how old were you?

the Thing is, Yes, I'd seen every stupid fucking shock site n 2girls1cup n been exposed 2 other hideous immoral unmentionable things ofc -- But what actually comes 2 mind upon reading this question is: as a Kid, I saw a Video of the Obama "Yes We Can" song 'backmasked' aka reversed n slowed down paired w/ a picture of some kind of Evil Demon Obama n this Caused me genuine terror. I wuz convinced that hearing this audio n glimpsing some cuck's bad 15 minute photomanipulation would open My mind n body 2 some kind of demonic force. I can't relay 2 u how real this was 2 me. seeing 2 bitches lap up vomit n eat poop or whatever couldn't phase me , But a single ten minute YouTube video w/ 300 views shook me 2 my core. I have 2 compare it 2 that Mulholland drive jumpscare-- it was just off-putting and uncomfortable in that way.

If you have kids, would you let them have the same sort of Internet access you had growing up? Or do you think it's a mistake for parents to let their children online?

I would let them have some access. I think ppl unfortunately get this idea that I'm This child hating snob who wants 2 see children obliterated from da net entirely, n that's not true. internet is part of our daily lives , n I think not teaching kids 2 use it n technology responsibly is a great disservice 2 them that sets them up for bad shit down the line, especially now. I would let my hypothetical kid have some access 2 shit that makes sense w/ their age n w/ appropriate moderation. rlly it's not that kids being online whatsoever is a mistake, just that their parents have 0 regard or interest in what they're doing. it's not even a matter of "kids just sneak around" it's straight up that these parents couldn't tell you anything about what the kid frequents, enjoys, or who they talk 2. the shit they upload. they don't ask, and they don't think abt it. they don't educate them on good practice. they don't check in. it's disgusting. even worse, Many parents choose 2 upload videos of their children that live 4ever online, selling them 2 these stupid content aggregators like jukin or barstool or whatever. that's not right. u shouldn't be willing 2 have ur child's face live online 4ever. ur an idiot.

You have quite the digital profile, so what do you do outside of the net to have fun?

I like going 2 conventions n shit: doesn't matter what, I'll go 2 nerdslop comic crap or faerie festivals or literally whatever. n live music. luv traveling 2 see frens n everything. also just rlly enjoy doing local shit: events, thrifting, whateva. my meatspace hobbies r limited, But they exist. I watch a lot of Films, read bookz. I'm a shrimple guy Outside, truly.

Best gaming console?

I'm a handheld enjoyer; any breed of ds 4ever. but the psp wuz n is also very sexy

What are you currently working on?

Life's boot heel is vewy busy grinding itself in2 my spinal column , limiting my creative output. what time I do have, I spend more on small self indulgent projects -- characters n world building n shit liek that. I do plan 2 resume making actual y2kid content slop again at some point , But rn I just feel like fucking off n having fun scribbling in Photoshop n writing. I do Have a couple vids cookin up , I just need some moar time 2 execute them.