From 89b0939c584df21981d65511576a6272ce57cdbd Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: =?UTF-8?q?Yaroslav=20de=20la=20Pe=C3=B1a=20Smirnov?= Date: Sun, 12 Dec 2021 17:59:49 +0300 Subject: Why I don't use social media --- content/weblog/2021-12-12_social-media/index.md | 217 +++++++++++++++++++++ .../2021-12-12_social-media/insta-posers.jpg | Bin 0 -> 95922 bytes 2 files changed, 217 insertions(+) create mode 100644 content/weblog/2021-12-12_social-media/index.md create mode 100644 content/weblog/2021-12-12_social-media/insta-posers.jpg diff --git a/content/weblog/2021-12-12_social-media/index.md b/content/weblog/2021-12-12_social-media/index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2ea0745 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/weblog/2021-12-12_social-media/index.md @@ -0,0 +1,217 @@ ++++ +title = "Why I don't use social media" +date = 2021-12-12T13:41:21Z ++++ + +Many friends sometimes find it strange that I do not use any social media, +besides instant messaging, if that counts. Very often I find that I keep +answering the same questions over and over again, so I've decided to write up my +thoughts on social media, and the reasons that I don't use such platforms. + + + +Even though I don't have or use any social media platforms, I used to be +registered and was a somewhat active user of Facebook and VK[^1]. Active in the +sense that I would login from time to time, and in the case of Facebook, I used +to use it as a sort of backup for my photos, so I would post them there. I never +found it particularly interesting to constantly post whatever I was doing. For +me, those platforms were useful only in the sense that they helped me keep in +touch with friends, family and other acquaintances. + +I also used them to read up on some content in such platforms like news or +memes. Eventually, I realized that most of the content in such platforms was +worse than subpar and it was just distracting me from whatever I should be doing +at the moment. Even if I wasn't doing anything at the moment, I realized that I +wouldn't lose anything of value if I lost access to said content. So I stopped +using social media for that, and I would get my content from other sources, +which didn't distract as much as social media and provided much better quality. + +After some time, I found that I had less and less use for said platforms. I +unregistered[^2] from Facebook right away, because it was the crappiest of the +platforms, but I kept using VK, because there were still some people that I had +to keep in touch with and was still tolerable, until it was not. + +The only use that I had for them was instant messaging. However, most of the +people I actually care about and with whom I constantly keep in touch are using +Telegram[^3]. So I stopped using social media altogether. + +Of course, these reasons are mostly superficial. There are other aspects of +social media that when put together made me actually consciously drop their use. +Whereas before I considered social media a necessary evil that was kind of +useless in its own, but necessary because of networking effects and the way our +society works nowadays, now I consider social media not only useless, but +actually malign. + +## My problems with social media + +### Privacy, or lack thereof + +This is probably the biggest problem, yet many people either don't realize +social media has a privacy problem or they don't think it is a problem. For +years, people have been warned about the problem that social media platforms +pose for our privacy, yet only recently[^4] have people begun to realize that +all those warnings weren't paranoia but well founded concerns[^5]. + +On the other hand, there seems to have been a shift in the value of privacy for +many people. It seems as if big corporations and governments have successfully +convinced people that privacy shouldn't hold any value for them since, after +all, "you shouldn't worry if you have nothing to hide"™. Yet if you talk with +most people, even if they say that they don't care, they won't give away private +information to just anybody, and there's certain that they won't give away even +to their most trusted friends or their spouses. That is, however, a topic for +another post. + +In the end, the business models of most of these platforms relies on the +constant violation of your privacy. That's another reason why they will try and +convince you, that this violation of one of your essential rights is beneficial +to you. + +### Control and Manipulation + +This is an issue that goes very much in hand with the privacy issue. Social +media platforms are run and governed by centralized organizations, i.e +corporations, or governments in some cases. Not only can these organizations +decide what gets censored and what is allowed, but they also have the ability to +manipulate in which way the information is presented. + +In the case of Facebook and YouTube, for example, there's an algorithm that +decides what gets more visibility and what gets delegated to obscurity. Nobody +outside of Facebook or Google actually knows how this algorithm operates, yet it +is what decides what the people in said platforms get to see. And these +algorithms have been shown to have greater biases towards certain kinds of +content or information. + +There's also the case of filtering content for deeming it to be +"disinformation". It might seem like a noble thing to do, but you cannot trust +these big entities to act on your best interests, and more often than not, the +information that they censor or label as "fake" or "bad" is information that +just goes against their favored narrative. It is the right and duty of each +person to use their mental faculties to decide for themselves what constitutes +factual or desirable information, not some central authority. This is no better +than the government censorship to which many countries are still subject +nowadays and which, ironically, these corporations often decry. + +### Bad habits + +This one is probably more subjective, but it has been my observation that social +media tends to have more of a negative effect on people, rather than a positive +one. + +The reason most people keep using social media, and this is especially true of +women, is that they can satisfy, albeit in an artificial and meaningless way, +some of their emotional needs. It can be just plain vanity or ego, seeing people +react, especially positively, to your posts sure boosts your ego. It's not a +coincidence that most mainstream social media don't have a dislike or equivalent +button. + +![Oh look at me! I am so enjoying this beach, and totally not posing just to +seem interesting, and there are totally not other 3 girls doing the same thing +next to me](insta-posers.jpg) +
+ +An example of social-media-induced degenerate behavior in the wild. +[Source](https://old.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/92tw8e/i_was_stood_taking_a_photo_of_my_girlfriend_in/). +
+ +Now there are a lot of people that seem to be living their lives through a proxy +called social media. Or rather, it would seem as if their life has become social +media. They can't just enjoy a night out at a restaurant with friends, they must +photograph every dish and every little detail of their table so that they can +prove to other people on the internet that they have an "interesting" life. Then +they spend their time buried in their phones waiting for people to react to +whatever they posted. + +There's also the gossip aspect of social media. Now it is not enough to go about +gossiping in real life. People attached to social media seem to have an +unhealthy need to "know what's going on". It's as if not knowing what Alice or +Bob did means the end of the world. + +Of course, there is also the blind following of "influencers". This is not a +problem exclusive of social media, but it certainly has been exacerbated by it. +The voice or opinion of certain people or group of people is made more important +not by what they have to say or the actual merit of their actions or words, but +by how big of a following they have. + +### It's just useless + +If somehow all forms of electronic correspondence, such as email and instant +messaging were to suddenly disappear, a lot of people would suddenly find +themselves in a problematic situation. Nothing that couldn't be managed, but it +would certainly be troublesome. If, on the other hand, the same were to happen +to all social media, e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.; nothing of value +would be lost. + +There are of course some arguments that could be made in favor of social media, +but I believe that all of these supposed benefits can be had without social +media: + +* **It helps me keep in touch**: we've already had email and instant messaging + for quite a while, actually before social media, not to mention both mobile + and landline phones. All of those are much better alternatives in many + different ways. +* **How would I keep people up to date on some information**: if you actually have + something worth sharing, the best option is to keep a blog. If you are not + technically savvy there are always free blogging options that don't require any + special knowledge to use. Of course, if you have the skills, or the time to + learn the skills, the best option would be to host your own website[^6]. +* **How do I keep up to date with what people have to say**: Analogous to the + previous point, if somebody has something worth reading or watching, they + should post it to their own blog or website. Furthermore, there's a great + technology that has been forgotten by most people that works in a fashion + similar to social media feeds, RSS[^7], except you don't actually need an + account and you control the information that you get. +* **I want my friends to know what I'm doing**: touch some grass, 'nuff said. + But seriously, just get together with your friends and, tell them what's been + going on with your life. Or if you can't, give them a call or text them. +* **I run a business and to promote it**: Of all the pros of social media that I + have heard or could come up with, this is the only one that has some merit. In + this case I would suggest promoting your business locally first, and keeping a + website for your business through which people can follow any new information + about new products/services or special promotions. In the end, word of mouth + is the best tool businesses have to promote themselves. + +## In conclusion + +Most of what I wrote here have been my opinions and observations that have led +me to decide to don't use social media at all. I never had any real use for it +and kept it mostly as something that was expected of me for a while. In the end +I just decided that there's no reason I should actually have a social media +account. + +With all of the above said, I know most people will continue to use social media +just because it's what all their friends are using and it provides a +superficially pleasant service. These are just my reasons why I refuse to use +said services. If this text convinced you to stop using social media, great; if +not, fair enough, but just keep in mind that you can't expect everybody to use +those platforms. + +[^1]: If you don't count instant messengers as social media. + +[^2]: Boy do they want your data really bad. Deleting my Facebook account has + been one of the worst and most tedious experiences I've ever had in my life. + +[^3]: I don't consider Telegram to be the best option for IM communication out + there, it's just he lesser evil option that I could choose for the time being, + certainly much better than WhatsApp, Viber or VK. Almost nobody that I know + uses Signal, and it's centralized anyway; Matrix seems like a nice option, but + their problems with metadata leakage put me off; XMPP seems like the best + option for decentralized, E2EE, truly private IM, but I'm not sure if my + "normie" friends would be willing to switch. This footnote is already long + enough, but I will definitely switch to a decentralized, E2EE IM in the + future, and might write about it here. + +[^4]: As usual, Stallman was right. To paraphrase him: “Facebook doesn't have + users, it has "useds"”. + +[^5]: See the somewhat recent scandal surrounding Facebook and Cambridge + Analytica for some examples. + + +[^6]: I might write an article on some the ways you can easily set up your own + website and/or server. In the meantime, you can checkout this great resource: + + +[^7]: Technically Atom is the superior format, but most people (myself included) + refer to both of them as RSS, and basically all modern RSS readers support + both equally. Maybe I'll write about (I keep saying that too much) RSS/Atom in + the future. diff --git a/content/weblog/2021-12-12_social-media/insta-posers.jpg b/content/weblog/2021-12-12_social-media/insta-posers.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..00b509e Binary files /dev/null and b/content/weblog/2021-12-12_social-media/insta-posers.jpg differ -- cgit v1.2.3