I grew up pre-internet and only embraced it at uni, early www time. I grew up not having a mobile phone because they didn’t exist, went to the local (crappy) library if I wanted a map of the world or to do any form of research. Things most people today can do it seconds involved having to get up, go out, and interact with people one way or another.
I rushed out one day and forgot my phone and headphones. I got about 40m away before realising and thought ‘meh’. Didn’t make any difference to my day.
I look at what I do today, and even typing this wouldn’t really have been possible some 25-30 years ago, unless it was in an email to someone I probably personally knew. I only had read-only access to usenet.
Now, everyone (and any bot) can write text on to another computer that others can be influenced by.
Posts that are clearly attempting to manipulate me are everywhere - propaganda thrived on the radio, the television, and now internet. He who wins, gets to write history.
Having so much information at my fingertips (both biased and factual) mean I actually need to interact with the world less because any inquisition can be solved within seconds.
So now, I’m actively stepping away from the online and want you encourage you to do it too! I’ve started to read a physical book, ask more people questions forget my phone more often, and take a better look at the world around me, and things are so much more quieter!
“Muh anxieties” have no excuse because I need to forget about them to do stuff.
We’re actually becoming a world of isolated people falling into particular funnels that shape us. Break free now and do something afk that scares you. Put your phone down, leave it at home when you go out, ask a stranger for directions.
You owe no online community anything, especially not your short-lived time.
I feel like you are on to something there. I was never interacting with people online prior to this. I was a heavy user of reddit, but never posted anything. And then when they went to shit (closing the API down) I migrated to lemmy and I did (still do) feel like I need to be active here so that I’m doing my part for the human part of the internet
You owe no online community anything, especially not your short-lived time.
This is a very powerful argument and one can use it justify all sorts of selfish behaviour (as a strawman). I’m not saying I entirely disagree with this statement but on the other hand, what else do we have. I mean in this short lived time, if we’re not engaging with community and other people, what even is the point.
One could argue to find the community offline/IRL, but it’s not so easy. And moreover, I want the old/indie/free/community run web back. Too many things have been fucking enshittified by capitalism
yeah but making friends IRL as a mid 30s millennial feels impossible.
You don’t have friends here.
…huh? i don’t know what that means.
So now, I’m actively stepping away from the online and want you encourage you to do it too! I’ve started to read a physical book, ask more people questions forget my phone more often, and take a better look at the world around me, and things are so much more quieter!n
Good for you, take care of yourself but do not waste my time implying this space is hollow simply because it is digital, that is nonsense.
We’re actually becoming a world of isolated people falling into particular funnels that shape us. Break free now and do something afk that scares you. Put your phone down, leave it at home when you go out, ask a stranger for directions.
Ok, having an intellectual conversation here about a difficult topic I care about scares me. I must cite my sources and respond honestly to genuine criticism in a way I don’t have to elsewhere especially in person.
Go for more walks in the woods, sure, but don’t categorically bash digital communities fighting back against the brutality of the day in the process, it is intellectually lazy.
No, spend more time here, find a way to levitate your discussions here so they are heartfelt and meaningful, let an initial mindless scroll give way to a genuine sense of an online community of good (hilariously funny btw) people we are trying to foster together, add your fuel to the fire.
I for one keep finding my way back to the fediverse because the precision of thought I leave quality conversations here with I can’t get anywhere else in the world consistently enough, ESPECIALLY in physical analog socialization. That isn’t hyperbole, it is a simple near daily observation I make like the observation that coffee smells amazing or mornings are peaceful.
The benefits of a healthy online space for discussion premised on shared interest and (ideally) quality are immense, no doubt. Good participation can bring people more of those benefits, and it would be foolish to dismiss them.
But at the same time, we folks in the West at least live increasingly atomized, lonely lives. While it’s certainly better than nothing, particularly if you experience barriers to IRL socialization (disabilities, mental health conditions, etc.), having your sense of community derived completely from the internet has drawbacks.
The medium is particularly vulnerable to manipulation, whether through artificial means or simply groupthink as a product of the specific actors involved (intentionally or not). It can create spaces with weird feedback loops that inform crazy outcomes (think of the incel movement, extremist movements of many colours, etc.). And it removes a bunch of context from the interactions which, on one hand, is liberating (only your words matter, regardless of social position, physical appearance, place of origin, medical conditions, etc.), but on the other is limited (nuances of speech, facial expressions, physical proximity, physical context re: where the interaction takes place - this all adds to the meaning of a given interaction).
As with most things, balance is key. Participate online, sure - you can have great discussions, build friendships, etc. - but recognize meatspace community has value, and should be tended to equally. We should be talking to the people physically around us more, and I truly feel one factor of the shit we wade through these days is that many don’t.
don’t categorically bash digital communities fighting back against the brutality of the day in the process, it is intellectually lazy.
Mental bondage is stronger than any physical bond, there is no “brutality” of the day other than what you invent.
No, spend more time here, find a way to levitate your discussions here so they are heartfelt and meaningful, let an initial mindless scroll give way to a genuine sense of an online community of good (hilariously funny btw) people we are trying to foster together, add your fuel to the fire.
Right… That’s the exact reason dubvee and lemm.ee are gone.
Not sure if your post should have “/s”
Why not go for a walk then friend?
If you will not listen to reason, nothing binds you here.
deleted by creator
Thank you
Maybe. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I’m using it because Reddit AI kicked me out permanently.
Said something about Jews?
Nah, I’m not that low. But it was definitely something that only AI could have booted me out for. The words that got me ejected? “Punch her.”
lol, what was your crime?
So there was a post where this woman was complaining about her landlady or head of the homeowner association or something in some apartment building. The lady was fined 50 bucks for trash outside her door. But it turns out it wasn’t trash but an Amazon package, and she was so frustrated and felt unfairly treated by the landlady. So my comment to her was: “Punch her.”
And boom! I was permanently banned from Reddit. Unbelievable.
