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Never have. Was always a stupid idea. Annonymous or don't bother.
I have been in communities and chatting since the bbs days. So it's not like I am adverse to it.
But lately I see people saying, I can't quit Instagram or Facebook, it's where my friends are.
I am beginning to basically wonder: do you really want to be friends with people who directly support billionaires and fascism and propaganda? You are directly paying for that by participating. I am starting to cut people out of my life who won't leave. I've had enough.
As someone who grew up before the internet was adopted, then got into Angelfire/Geocities “about me” pages, early MySpace & Facebook; it wasn’t a stupid idea. The early years were amazing because suddenly we were in touch with people all over the world, friends half forgotten, and artists. MySpace and then Facebook was a game changer for booking bands if you were a small venue or house and for tour managers of indie bands in the early 00s. I booked and wrote for a print zine back then and got to book some phenomenal shows and interview some bands I probably never would have if it weren’t for the ease of what social media created. But it had a price. By the ‘10s I noticed the need to look DIY or like one was participating through curated “likes”, posts, or pictures was more important than actually participating. Then it just became shit. I still have an Insta for my dogs because it remains a decent platform for networking with dog rescues and volunteers across country (I wish someone with the tech skill would develop something exclusive for us to use for that), but otherwise it’s become garbage. But for a while it was as revolutionary as the telegraph or telephone for people who’d never been able to connect with others in that manner. Then, like robocalls and telemarketers, the corporate assholes found a way to exploit a fundamental human desire- to connect with other humans.
Yeah, thats the thing. I could see it coming a mile away. We already were talking to people all around the world, we already had ways of sending ideas and conversations. We already met people and went to shows and traveled the world.
But we didn't hand over all our personal information to a corporation, and that's when you knew there was going to be a problem.
So yeah, it always was a bad idea.
And I get you think having instagram is still a good idea. But it isnt. They are actively making your life worse. A single new meta datacenter will displace 3x the size of New Yorks golden gate park and require 3 new gas plants to power it. All to make AI to generate more content to keep people around and harvest data, and push propaganda.
People got along without this shit before, they can get along without it now. People need to connect more locally anyways. It is hard to leave because others are making it hard to leave. So who will break the cycle?
As I stated, I am not using it for the betterment of my life but because currently it’s the best option for networking with others who use it to help beings who don’t even know what social media is. It’d be great if we had a nonprofit platform for negotiating crosscountry transfers, volunteer coordination, and adoptions that is utilized by millions, but we don’t. My struggle is use what’s currently available to negotiate transferring one life to a better opportunity and then find them a good home, or don’t. Social media facilitated me taking in a deaf/blind dog born across the country, coordinating with volunteers who flew her to me on their own time/expense, and eventually finding a family willing and capable of meeting her needs and giving her a wonderful life. I’d love for that to be something that was possible without the hubris of social media, but presently it is not. Local connections are great and should be nurtured, but cat’s out of the bag on connecting to random people all across the world. I never would have known that pup existed, the people who did would never have known I was willing and had the capability and learned skill to work with her, the people with the time and means to transport her would never have connected and done it, and the people I eventually placed her with willing to make her a part of their lives another state over would never have connected if not for the existence of social media, as abused as it has become. My skill is dogs, I do what I can with what I’ve got full knowing it comes with a lot of shit, but it’s currently what’s available. If someone out there has the skill to create a platform for connecting us without the bastardization of the network, please break the cycle.
Dog tax. This little soul getting a happy life was worth the cost. But I do wish someone with the skills I lack would use the power of the internet to connect those of us who’d like to help others without the negatives.