Steps to going "free" on the internet:
At this point in history this is an internet dominated by mobile (at least from the perspective of personal internet use). Most casual browsing is done via mobile. I have installed LineageOS on my phone without Google services installed. I will be getting WhatsApp installed as I need to keep in close contact with family members. I don't use Facebook or any other major social platforms. I use Gmail but am accessing it via IMAP.
The internet in 2020 is paid for by advertising revenue. I use the duckduckgo browser on my mobile, and Firefox on the desktop. Without advertising revenue content generators would have less funds to produce. I believe being a responsible online citizen means picking the content generators I like and directly funding them if possible. This means figuring out how much to contribute and determining how to pay them. It is a hassle but I believe it is more responsible than handing this task over to ad networks and ad revenue.