If you are referring to tabs in Safari, yes. Each of those is like an open page in the web browser, and they could each be receiving data updates all the time from a server.

But even closing almost all tabs may not give you the improvement you seek. As pointed out above, 4 GB of RAM is the bare minimum for your setup.

On a Mac since 1984.
Currently: 24" M1 iMac, M2 Pro Mac mini with 27" BenQ monitor, M2 Macbook Air, MacOS 14.x; iPhones, iPods (yes, still) and iPads.