4 ms·

Your argument is incorrect in regards to many of these social networks. Wanna be a photographer? You must have an Instagram account. Want to talk to some gove

Your argument is incorrect in regards to many of these social networks. Wanna be a photographer? You must have an Instagram account. Want to talk to some government services? You must use WhatsApp. Want to sell something used? You must have a Facebook account. Want to read what your politicians have to say? You must have a twitter account. Want to see the phone number of a restaurant? Gotta go over to Google maps. Also, no real alternative to YouTube's content. And so on and so forth. The argument "just don't use it" is disconnected from reality.

roenxi 3y ago
That list is mostly false. I've used government services, sold used things on the internet, read what politicians say (in detail) and bought food online without using those sites. Twitter is in fact a bad place to engage with politicians because, by design, you only get soundbites. It is much more informative to go straight to the parliamentary records if you care about politics. > Also, no real alternative to YouTube's content. About 40-50% of what I watch is being sloooowly driven off YouTube because they don't like right wing opinions. They all have duplicate channels on multiple sites. And even a lot of the non-political stuff is starting to appear in a few places because it makes more economic sense.
- lentil_soup 3y ago
  that's great that you were able to do all of that, but that's not true for everyone. You can't deny that for a lot of people these networks are their day to day, and have become a necessity. Just like someone can make an effort and live off-the-grid just fine, it doesn't mean it is possible for everyone to do it.
- Draiken 3y ago
  You claim the list is false and provide nothing of substance to back that up. Assuming everyone simply chooses to use those services and could stop doing so in a whim is extremely naive. If you want to participate in society today, many of those services are mandatory. Even if individuals can opt out, they can't force institutions or others to do the same, leaving them stranded. Maybe you in particular don't care about being disconnected from all that, but that is not an argument that can be generalized. The problems caused by the network effect can't be solved by individual choices.
acheron 3y ago
Not sure if serious, but literally none of those are true.

roenxi 3y ago

That list is mostly false. I've used government services, sold used things on the internet, read what politicians say (in detail) and bought food online without using those sites. Twitter is in fact a bad place to engage with politicians because, by design, you only get soundbites. It is much more informative to go straight to the parliamentary records if you care about politics. > Also, no real alternative to YouTube's content. About 40-50% of what I watch is being sloooowly driven off YouTube because they don't like right wing opinions. They all have duplicate channels on multiple sites. And even a lot of the non-political stuff is starting to appear in a few places because it makes more economic sense.

lentil_soup 3y ago
that's great that you were able to do all of that, but that's not true for everyone. You can't deny that for a lot of people these networks are their day to day, and have become a necessity. Just like someone can make an effort and live off-the-grid just fine, it doesn't mean it is possible for everyone to do it.
Draiken 3y ago
You claim the list is false and provide nothing of substance to back that up. Assuming everyone simply chooses to use those services and could stop doing so in a whim is extremely naive. If you want to participate in society today, many of those services are mandatory. Even if individuals can opt out, they can't force institutions or others to do the same, leaving them stranded. Maybe you in particular don't care about being disconnected from all that, but that is not an argument that can be generalized. The problems caused by the network effect can't be solved by individual choices.

acheron 3y ago

Not sure if serious, but literally none of those are true.