There are lots of possible answers to your question, but it is hard to guess at which one of them would be right without more information about your particular computer and how you connect to the Internet. Still, there are a few things that you can think about.
First, the today's web is filled with pictures, ads, movies, sounds, and flash animations. All of these require a browser to be much more "buff" than it was a few years back. In short, in order for a computer to be able to display a web page properly (with all its doo-dads showing) a browser must use more CPU power and RAM than it used to. It is possible that the Internet is slow on your computer because it is the same computer you have used for years and isn't getting any faster, while the web is getting harder to display.
Secondly, after years of surfing with the same browser it is likely that you have accumulated a lot of "plug ins" and other bric-a-brac that is slowing you down (in the same way that barnacles will slow down a ship.) The more of that kind of junk you have running (google or yahoo toolbar, web page checkers, etc) the slower your experience is going to be. For example, I just got a computer and I noticed that Internet Explorer is VERY slow. I have attributed it to my security software (which is checking each page to make sure I am not being taken advantage of) and IE (which is doing the same thing).
You can test the theory by downloading a different browser that is pretty spry...try Google Chrome or something. See if your browsing speeds up. If so, you know the problem is your old browser. Try turning off your virus checker for a while and surf somewhere big and safe...is it faster? If so, perhaps your security suite is bogging you down.
RAM. How much do you have? As the years go by and software gets more memory intensive, what you had a few years back might not be enough. Think about getting more. In addition, download the latest versions of Flash and your browser to be sure you have the most updated technology.
It's possible, too, that the problem isn't with you. It might be with how you connect. Maybe you are having a slowdown because your neighbors are on the Internet too and dragging you down (check this by logging on late at night, when they are probably in bed, and seeing if you are going any faster.) You might have a sucky ISP, or bad drivers for your router. If you are connecting wireless, maybe try upgrading to a faster wireless router/card? And, God forbid, you are using dial-up service, well, then you have no right to complain about it being slow as molasses : )
Anyway, these were just some ideas. Hope they help!
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