this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2026
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Screenshot is just there as an example of how I feel most people treat others wanting privacy

I've always been a naturally private person. It comes from living with a mix nuerodivergence and trauma. I'm a massive dork and don't like to share that side of myself with just anyone IRL. I don't like being perceived and judged. I avoid social media unless I have to use it, and when I do it's with maximum privacy settings. You might think I'm loud and obnoxious here, but that's only due to anonymity

But I'm wondering that if people are going to think I'm some sort of shady creep for doing this. How am I going to be a good leftist and get involved in my community if every form of communication people use requires a live feed of your personal life?

How can I set boundaries in a society that thinks it's fine to have access to your personal life? Do I just have to make peace with the fact that I can't mask how much of a doofus I am from the world or everyone's going to think I'm up to something bad?

I hate this panopticon. I hate that everyone is cool with total surveillance as long as daddy capitalism is doing it

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[–] space@reddthat.com 10 points 1 day ago

What worked for me was just getting offline more. If you spend time having little chats and small talk with people in spaces you frequent you build trust. Just showing up and being normal creates so much good will that when someone asks about your socials you can just tell them that you dont use them much. If you are pushed you can give a short spiel about your views on digital privacy and you will come off as very reasonable.

To be fair my circle is very small, but when people online talk to me I quickly move the conversations to signal for privacy reasons. Most people online are very amicable to it in my experience. I even contribute mutual aid through converting my currency to crypto and people are pretty receptive when I explain that I don't want paypal or the other money apps tracking who I paying or giving my identity out.