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> What they were talking about is giving up on smartphones and social media altogether That's incredibly encouraging to hear. It seems to be a common feature o

by mrec 6y ago

> What they were talking about is giving up on smartphones and social media altogether That's incredibly encouraging to hear. It seems to be a common feature of "I quit Facebook/Twitter/whatever" accounts that once you break the immediate addiction there's no real urge to go back, so if this does happen it should have a decent chance of sticking. (And as a mobile refusenik I sometimes feel like the last holdout left, so a bit of company would be nice.)

emayljames 6y ago
Yeah, I totally get the enjoyment of not being "always available". I have had lengthy periods without a phone, and it teaches you that; no, you don't have to be always available, and no the world will not end etc. The only "social media" I use is Reddit, but it isn't/I don't use it as they person centric networks like boomerbook/twitter.
- monopoledance 6y ago
  Reddit is by far the hardest to quit tho. I get constantly dragged into the shitshow, but can't really get off, because there is useful information there, I can't find anywhere else. In a similar way, I can't quit smartphones for encrypted messaging and navigation (not even Google Maps, but OSMand).
  - mrec 6y ago
    I don't lump Reddit into the same bucket as FB/Twitter. It's perfectly possible to have a sane, even pleasant experience there if you stay out of the default subs and the obvious dumpster fires. And I think stable-but-pseudonymous identity is turning out to have been the right call.
    - monopoledance 6y ago
      No doubt, I absolutely agree. However, I was just saying I cannot stay out of those dumpster fires. Sooner or later, I think to myself "Well, I wonder what's up in the world otherwise. Let's check out /r/all for a moment."... And there we go. It's not like other people are idiots and I am in control over addiction, impulse, outrage and dopamine. I have spend waaaay too much time on reddit. I hate it, for what it is. Yet, I can't manage to not use it for a prolonged time. Too many niche forums I depend on, and I simply can't tolerate linear, unranked forums anymore.
throwaway3699 6y ago
Assuming from the subtext that GP means they're wanting to give up because of (app)(?) censorship. Having a whole strata of society no longer participating in the conversation is not healthy. Politicians are now looking to these platforms to guide policy decisions, so anybody not on them has no voice.
- einpoklum 6y ago
  "the conversation" is not held on Facebook nor on Twitter. _A_ conversation is held there, which presumes to be _the_ conversation.
- alichapman 6y ago
  Surely politicians aren't using social media as the main driver for policy? The demographic who votes the most (the elderly) is also the demographic that has the smallest presence on social media, so only listening to Twitter seems like shooting yourself in the foot.
  - malwrar 6y ago
    It doesn’t even matter if politicians aren’t making decisions based on social media—-their constituents are demanding action because of what they see on it. A video of one person in power choking another person to death got widely shared on Twitter and the result was massive and worldwide protests. Hell, in general social media has replaced pretty much every other form of it, we can’t keep pretending the internet is a niche place anymore.
- mrec 6y ago
  Anybody not on them still gets to vote. If anything, I suspect that making these platforms increasingly unrepresentative will end up hurting pols who pay attention to them, by giving them an increasingly distorted view of public opinion. If you optimize your messaging for Twitter, an actual electorate is going to drop you like third period French.
  - im3w1l 6y ago
eternalban 6y ago
(LOL), you're not alone.
- mrec 6y ago
  There's literally twos of us!
  - eternalban 6y ago
    I am making an effort to also revert back to keeping physical notebooks. I have a mini library of notebooks that stop at 1996. That year I bought a power pc (for Java) and the record of my thoughts are spread over various boxes, legacy media, and buried deep in nested directories. It was a mistake, in retrospect.
    - mrec 6y ago
      My handwriting is far too bad for physical notebooks ever to be an option.

by mrec 6y ago

emayljames 6y ago

Yeah, I totally get the enjoyment of not being "always available". I have had lengthy periods without a phone, and it teaches you that; no, you don't have to be always available, and no the world will not end etc. The only "social media" I use is Reddit, but it isn't/I don't use it as they person centric networks like boomerbook/twitter.

monopoledance 6y ago
Reddit is by far the hardest to quit tho. I get constantly dragged into the shitshow, but can't really get off, because there is useful information there, I can't find anywhere else. In a similar way, I can't quit smartphones for encrypted messaging and navigation (not even Google Maps, but OSMand).
- mrec 6y ago
  I don't lump Reddit into the same bucket as FB/Twitter. It's perfectly possible to have a sane, even pleasant experience there if you stay out of the default subs and the obvious dumpster fires. And I think stable-but-pseudonymous identity is turning out to have been the right call.
  - monopoledance 6y ago
    No doubt, I absolutely agree. However, I was just saying I cannot stay out of those dumpster fires. Sooner or later, I think to myself "Well, I wonder what's up in the world otherwise. Let's check out /r/all for a moment."... And there we go. It's not like other people are idiots and I am in control over addiction, impulse, outrage and dopamine. I have spend waaaay too much time on reddit. I hate it, for what it is. Yet, I can't manage to not use it for a prolonged time. Too many niche forums I depend on, and I simply can't tolerate linear, unranked forums anymore.

throwaway3699 6y ago

Assuming from the subtext that GP means they're wanting to give up because of (app)(?) censorship. Having a whole strata of society no longer participating in the conversation is not healthy. Politicians are now looking to these platforms to guide policy decisions, so anybody not on them has no voice.

einpoklum 6y ago
"the conversation" is not held on Facebook nor on Twitter. _A_ conversation is held there, which presumes to be _the_ conversation.
alichapman 6y ago
Surely politicians aren't using social media as the main driver for policy? The demographic who votes the most (the elderly) is also the demographic that has the smallest presence on social media, so only listening to Twitter seems like shooting yourself in the foot.
- malwrar 6y ago
  It doesn’t even matter if politicians aren’t making decisions based on social media—-their constituents are demanding action because of what they see on it. A video of one person in power choking another person to death got widely shared on Twitter and the result was massive and worldwide protests. Hell, in general social media has replaced pretty much every other form of it, we can’t keep pretending the internet is a niche place anymore.
mrec 6y ago
Anybody not on them still gets to vote. If anything, I suspect that making these platforms increasingly unrepresentative will end up hurting pols who pay attention to them, by giving them an increasingly distorted view of public opinion. If you optimize your messaging for Twitter, an actual electorate is going to drop you like third period French.
- im3w1l 6y ago

eternalban 6y ago

(LOL), you're not alone.

mrec 6y ago
There's literally twos of us!
- eternalban 6y ago
  I am making an effort to also revert back to keeping physical notebooks. I have a mini library of notebooks that stop at 1996. That year I bought a power pc (for Java) and the record of my thoughts are spread over various boxes, legacy media, and buried deep in nested directories. It was a mistake, in retrospect.
  - mrec 6y ago
    My handwriting is far too bad for physical notebooks ever to be an option.