yes, its a bit slow... I don't open a lot of tabs in safari... but it is a handy device... got it in March of 2012

I'm still very pleased with my Ipad Air 2.

I could imagine the first version might be getting a bit out of date...

They will probably give you a trade-in for a new iPad. A new iPad Air starts at $499 and the iPad is only $329
before a trade-in. You will be much happier. 6 years is a good run for an iPad. I would recommend
that you buy more storage than you think you will need. That helps when you want to keep your devise
for a long time.

It's only 10 years old!

I really only use it for reading technical manuals in the jacuzzi. It has a nice water-proof case and is a key part of my hot-tub-office. Battery is still great.

The software gets more bloated and crappy.

FWIW, I've never found browsing on the iPad all that good, even when it was new.
On the plus side, the biggest offender are ads. I set up a "Pi-Hole" ad blocker on my LAN, and things are generally much better. I suspect ad "programmers" (I use that term loosely) care little for the performance impacts of their code.

I highly recommend an ad blocker.

Wipe the drive and re install your iPad OS.. My computers always ran better after a wipe and clean install. And I agree if you can find a new or gently "pre owned" iPad would be easier....
YMMV
m

My iPad Mini 2 is also 6 years old, and it is running better now with IOS 12.4.5 than when it was on the earlier IOS versions. That's as far as this old iPad can go IOS wise. I think the original iPod Air is the same, and you have to have an Air 2 for the latest IOS 13.

I’m just getting a new one......I can’t deal with how S. L. O. W. it is. Ugh..........

At Apple.com, they also sell refurb iPads and you may find one with more features for less $$ than a new one.
https://www.apple.com/shop/refurbished/ipad

They come with one year of AppleCare, just like a new one.

1. change JAVASCRIPT to OFF
2. or get a "content blocker" of some type,

all of your pages will load faster.

I use DuckDuckGo or one of the pink Firefoxes as a backup browser when I want stuff to load with ads.

Unfortunately the newest iOS updates tend to slow down the older models. So chances are that you will most probably need to upgrade. On average an Apple device lifecycle is around 4.3 years (https://www.cnet.com/news/how-long-average-apple-product-will-last-lifespan-analyst/) so yours has already surpassed expectations.