Hey ~bashful-script, don't apologise. Your words were a joy to read. Good luck with the detox. Leaning into the process can turn up some pretty fun experiences and findings. I hope you have an enjoyable time of it.
Hello I'm bashful-script and I probably won't be posting much here. I'm a lifelong internet lurker and that is unlikely to change. The idea of commenting a lot and interacting with people online sounds really cool in my head but it's hard to pull off in practice... at least for me. But who knows maybe I'll try something new.
I tend to avoid most of the more mainstream social medias. I have an Instagram and Facebook but that's more for necessity than anything else. If it wasn't for texting friends and group discussions I'd have removed them a long time ago. I use Reddit primarily. Mostly for memes, tech news and looking at cool art but also because I have an addiction with reading the internet equivalent of tabloid articles from AITA and AskReddit. It's a common problem that people who use the platform have.
Currently I'm trying to break away from the commercial net. While convenient and approachable I think it's done immeasurable harm to society. I've watched family members fall down conspiracy theory rabbit holes and friends become swept up in hateful and self sabotaging ideologies. I hate what the internet has done to people that I care about and while I know that it's not entirely the fault of social media and sensationalized news it certainly didn't help. What I do know is that the Facebook algorithm is 5x more likely to prioritize posts which make people angry over any other emotion. And sometimes I need to remind myself that what I see on Reddit or any other social media site is just a small corner of the world, perfectly tailored to me by an algorithm designed to extract the most amount of data and ad revenue from me as possible. You watch one Youtube video then they suggest you another which is just a little more crazy than the last, just to keep you watching. Next thing you know your entire feed is filled with entertaining nonsense that is slowly poisoning your mind.
A smaller internet is nice because it does not exist purely to profit from its users. Content is not suggested to you with the sole purpose of maximizing engagement. The internet was supposed to connect people and provide easy access to information, yet it seems like we use it as more of a social drug than anything else.
Currently I'm trying to 'detox' myself from commercialized platforms. basically what most people think the entire internet is. I've been reading a lot more blogs and finding cool webrings. I'm considering using what little knowledge of node and react I have to make a website of my own. Maybe buy a server and host it from there. Seems like a lot of work but I think it would be fun and a nice break from my traditional software work. I'll take a break from writing code by writing different code.
Anyways that's kind of my rant. Consider me to be the sort of guy at the bar who's had a few drinks and has decided to rant to the person next to them even if they don't really want to listen. If that's so then I'm sorry that I made you listen but also I kind of needed to talk.
Nice to introduce myself and I think I'll have another rum and coke.
Hey ~bashful-script, don't apologise. Your words were a joy to read. Good luck with the detox. Leaning into the process can turn up some pretty fun experiences and findings. I hope you have an enjoyable time of it.
Hey Bashful! Sounds like you might have been reading Max Fisher's "The Chaos Machine". While I've largely withdrawn from the commercial web, it still helps me understand a lot of things I've been seeing in the wider world.
We won't bother you at your table if you don't want, but it's good to have you here.