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My family operates virtually entirely on open source software, and we self host most of it. Surveillance capitalism is the new tobbacco and you really can live

by lrvick 5y ago

My family operates virtually entirely on open source software, and we self host most of it. Surveillance capitalism is the new tobbacco and you really can live a rich (and even tech filled!) life without it, I promise. We also won't be giving any kids smartphones. Too many apps literally designed to profit by exploiting the emotions of children. We will however give them access to all sorts of entertainment their friends won't have access to. They can play with my large collection of mechanical puzzles, or read from our large collection of books. I can teach them to build and fly FPV aircraft, how to solder and make their own electronics, how to pick locks, how to write their own software, compile their own desktop operating system, how to build their own computers, how to build their own electric skateboard, how to setup a digital music player, how to navigate with a map, how to yoyo, do magic tricks, play board and card games, or play with any of the 20+ retro game consoles I have hooked up at any time. Anything they want to learn we will make the time to help them learn. Parents who say "I don't want my kid to be unpopular, so I will give them a smartphone" represent a mentality I feel is toxic to society IMO. Would you also give a child weed/tobacco/booze to share with their friends to make them cooler too? If anything, helping a kid grow up with a more diverse and balanced introduction to technology will help them have a perspective few from their generation will have that in turn may offer them significant advantages. Will they eventually learn to make their own money and buy a phone anyway? Probably. They will however have learned to not be dependent on it. I get by just fine without a phone and I have a rich social life, endless hobbies to keep my mind engaged, and I own and run a b2b company. "I could never give up my phone" is addiction speaking, and knowingly encouraging kids to share in your adult addictions is even worse.

em-bee 5y ago
it depends where you are. i agree with your ideas, and i'd like to get there too, but here where i am it is literally impossible to keep in touch with people without a smartphone. giving up that smartphone would result in complete isolation. but that doesn't mean i am addicted to social media stuff, just using messaging for the most part. but also, i grew up before smartphones and i learned to be somewhat disciplined about computer and tv use. my kids are unfortunately not getting the same experience.
- lrvick 5y ago
  In Silicon Valley where I am, everyone tells me it is impossible to live without one here too but that is just not true. I check matrix messages and emails and keep up with people and make plans to meet them when I am in my office, or in a stable location on a laptop. When I am on in the car, taking a walk, at dinner with my family... I don't need to be reachable at that moment. Society teaches you you need to be reachable every moment of every day, but the people around you will adapt to your communication cadence. The few that won't are not worth your time anyway. The world will get by without being able to reach you for a few hours at a time, and the mental health wins of not being constantly anxious checking messages 100x a day can't be understated.
  - deleted 5y ago
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  - em-bee 5y ago
    I check matrix messages and emails and keep up with people and make plans to meet them when I am in my office, or in a stable location on a laptop. that only works because you have alternative ways to communicate with those people. those alternatives are not available here. also as a foreigner i am also expected to do as the locals do, so my argument to use something else holds no sway whatsoever. The world will get by without being able to reach you for a few hours at a time and it does. but i don't need to give up my smartphone to achieve that. my notifications are all silent (except for family) and i check messages when i feel like it, not when someone tries to reach me.
    - lrvick 5y ago
      The vast majority of people I interact with only communicate with Facebook products. That has not stopped me from individually stating my ethical stance every single time it comes up, which has resulted in many moving to matrix so they can reach me. If you are fine with surveillance capitalism, then that is your choice, but if you have ethical problems with it, then you owe it to yourself to avoid living a lifestyle you find unethical. You absolutely have a choice to do something about it. No one physically forces you to hit "yes" on the Facebook license agreement. Personally, when I find someone that has ethical convincing I don't share, like a vegan, I at least take the time to understand their view, and ensure I don't create situations where they can't live their convictions. I respect people with conviction so long as it does not harm others. Maybe in order to be friends with a vegan I don't eat at BBQ restaurants as often, and they in turn use Matrix or email to communicate with me. Humans are often very accommodating of ethical preferences if you have the conviction to share them. Personally if I somehow found myself in a country where literally everyone refused to interact with me unless I accepted the Facebook terms of service, I would suspect I am in a cult and GTFO at almost all costs. If that is indeed the situation you are stuck in, I hope you find a way out of it.

by lrvick 5y ago

em-bee 5y ago

it depends where you are. i agree with your ideas, and i'd like to get there too, but here where i am it is literally impossible to keep in touch with people without a smartphone. giving up that smartphone would result in complete isolation. but that doesn't mean i am addicted to social media stuff, just using messaging for the most part. but also, i grew up before smartphones and i learned to be somewhat disciplined about computer and tv use. my kids are unfortunately not getting the same experience.

lrvick 5y ago
In Silicon Valley where I am, everyone tells me it is impossible to live without one here too but that is just not true. I check matrix messages and emails and keep up with people and make plans to meet them when I am in my office, or in a stable location on a laptop. When I am on in the car, taking a walk, at dinner with my family... I don't need to be reachable at that moment. Society teaches you you need to be reachable every moment of every day, but the people around you will adapt to your communication cadence. The few that won't are not worth your time anyway. The world will get by without being able to reach you for a few hours at a time, and the mental health wins of not being constantly anxious checking messages 100x a day can't be understated.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- em-bee 5y ago
  I check matrix messages and emails and keep up with people and make plans to meet them when I am in my office, or in a stable location on a laptop. that only works because you have alternative ways to communicate with those people. those alternatives are not available here. also as a foreigner i am also expected to do as the locals do, so my argument to use something else holds no sway whatsoever. The world will get by without being able to reach you for a few hours at a time and it does. but i don't need to give up my smartphone to achieve that. my notifications are all silent (except for family) and i check messages when i feel like it, not when someone tries to reach me.
  - lrvick 5y ago
    The vast majority of people I interact with only communicate with Facebook products. That has not stopped me from individually stating my ethical stance every single time it comes up, which has resulted in many moving to matrix so they can reach me. If you are fine with surveillance capitalism, then that is your choice, but if you have ethical problems with it, then you owe it to yourself to avoid living a lifestyle you find unethical. You absolutely have a choice to do something about it. No one physically forces you to hit "yes" on the Facebook license agreement. Personally, when I find someone that has ethical convincing I don't share, like a vegan, I at least take the time to understand their view, and ensure I don't create situations where they can't live their convictions. I respect people with conviction so long as it does not harm others. Maybe in order to be friends with a vegan I don't eat at BBQ restaurants as often, and they in turn use Matrix or email to communicate with me. Humans are often very accommodating of ethical preferences if you have the conviction to share them. Personally if I somehow found myself in a country where literally everyone refused to interact with me unless I accepted the Facebook terms of service, I would suspect I am in a cult and GTFO at almost all costs. If that is indeed the situation you are stuck in, I hope you find a way out of it.