4 ms·

Interesting. What you say makes some sense for keeping sane where the Internet is one big room of people shouting, but for preference I'd prefer the total oppos

by rm445 5y ago

Interesting. What you say makes some sense for keeping sane where the Internet is one big room of people shouting, but for preference I'd prefer the total opposite. I would love to be part of small social media groups with bonds of friendship and tolerance. Trends, food, non-extreme politics, in proportion to their magnitude in everyone's lives, varying with people's interests but not magnified by one-issue echo chambers. Not 100% sure what you mean by normies but I suspect I'm in favour of them. Group chats with close friends and family fulfil this need fairly well, and are quite relaxing compared to wider social networking. But they're likely only to cover a small subset of every person's interests. Something like the infamous 'Circles' might actually be useful on a larger scale.

rg111 5y ago
I just have DMs on Telegram/Signal with people I like to be close with. For 3-4 people of my parents' generation, I just call them up once in a while. Actually, there isn't a lot of an overlap of interests with those of the people I grew up around. I have no interests on sports, celeb culture, etc. And politically, I conform to neither side (although I am not a centrist). People have said things behind my back and in one particular instance, I have been verbally harassed for not liking the things most people like. So, I don't bother being "social". I do community service, donate time and money to charities, attend marriages and funerals and such and nod and smile for 1-2 hours. I also mentor 2-3 kids. One is a neighbor, one lives on a different country. I don't see the point of a "social" media. I just want to be away from most people I know in real life. I find better solace on anonymous sites like Reddit, HN, or new like-minded people I get to know through interest-based forums. I do send people pictures of stuff I cook, glasses I buy, etc. tgrough DM. I also have a private Instagram where I allow about 30 people to follow me. I would never even think about social media like most people use it.
- rm445 5y ago
  Yeah. I guess most people have a complex list like that. In many ways we're actually spoilt for choice when it comes to communication. And the forum we're on right now is quite excellent. It would just be nice if the big sites were less terrible. If Facebook were once again a nice place to stay in touch with 'real life' people instead of an engagement-driven nightmare. If LinkedIn could be a wider-professional-interests place with HN-quality discussion instead of just recruiters and drivel. If Twitter remained an amazing place to connect with thinkers but not the place for outraging people into campaigning for someone to lose their job. Because of network effects, the big sites eat up a lot of what should be better discussion.
GreenWatermelon 5y ago
You're pretty much looking for discord servers with people sharing your hobbies. And while they might not be small, servers corresponding to niche reddit subs might tickle your interest.

by rm445 5y ago

rg111 5y ago

I just have DMs on Telegram/Signal with people I like to be close with. For 3-4 people of my parents' generation, I just call them up once in a while. Actually, there isn't a lot of an overlap of interests with those of the people I grew up around. I have no interests on sports, celeb culture, etc. And politically, I conform to neither side (although I am not a centrist). People have said things behind my back and in one particular instance, I have been verbally harassed for not liking the things most people like. So, I don't bother being "social". I do community service, donate time and money to charities, attend marriages and funerals and such and nod and smile for 1-2 hours. I also mentor 2-3 kids. One is a neighbor, one lives on a different country. I don't see the point of a "social" media. I just want to be away from most people I know in real life. I find better solace on anonymous sites like Reddit, HN, or new like-minded people I get to know through interest-based forums. I do send people pictures of stuff I cook, glasses I buy, etc. tgrough DM. I also have a private Instagram where I allow about 30 people to follow me. I would never even think about social media like most people use it.

rm445 5y ago
Yeah. I guess most people have a complex list like that. In many ways we're actually spoilt for choice when it comes to communication. And the forum we're on right now is quite excellent. It would just be nice if the big sites were less terrible. If Facebook were once again a nice place to stay in touch with 'real life' people instead of an engagement-driven nightmare. If LinkedIn could be a wider-professional-interests place with HN-quality discussion instead of just recruiters and drivel. If Twitter remained an amazing place to connect with thinkers but not the place for outraging people into campaigning for someone to lose their job. Because of network effects, the big sites eat up a lot of what should be better discussion.

GreenWatermelon 5y ago

You're pretty much looking for discord servers with people sharing your hobbies. And while they might not be small, servers corresponding to niche reddit subs might tickle your interest.