“[For] people who live in the country or in remote areas or minority groups or [who have] small businesses, that is a really good way for them to communicate and reach other people,” she says.
“It’s just not possible to set up an alternative at this point in time. So, to put it bluntly, we’re in a bit of deep shit, to be honest.”
No mention of Pixelfed, but I can understand why. Will it only be seen as an alternative once a critical mass of users move there? And can that happen if they don’t see it as an alternative? Chicken and egg. I’m trying out, but it’s a little vapid when everyone I know is on Instagram.
I understand that logic, but “being the product” must not really be that bad for them. They might complain, but if it was truly distasteful, they’d do something about it.
And being exploited for profit and explicitly knowing it is about the saddest thing I can think of for my fellow humans. It’s no wonder the billionaires just take and take, because people let them.
One may as well have said the same things about cigarettes up through the 1960s. Sometimes we do things against our best interests. Sometimes it’s really, really bad for us. Sometimes it’s painful and deadly.
Humans aren’t rational creatures.
The desire to belong is primal, and strong.
And it served us well for millennia. In a lot of ways, it made us who we are.
That’s a truism, but it’s not justification for allowing it to happen. People being naturally irrational is not an excuse to continue being irrational.
And if it makes people feel uncomfortable to be reminded that they’re choosing to be abused by billionaires for free, then good. Get uncomfortable. I hope they feel uncomfortable every time they scroll Facebook. I hope they feel a little shame every time they complain about housing prices on Instagram, because clearly, knowingly having their worst impulses monetized for the benefit of the absurdly wealthy isn’t enough.
It is a justification, actually, because other people are using it against them to extract value for themselves. Users of corporate social media are no more responsible for their addictions than alcoholics are. Some people break it, sure. And some people use it without developing an addiction. But those aren’t the people we’re talking about here.
Exactly. I’m not trying to victim blame here, but I do want to point out that you can leave social media and still have a social life. It takes a lot of effort, but it can be done a little at a time.
For example, tell people you don’t check Messenger or WhatsApp or whatever very often, but you do check Matrix or Signal or whatever a lot more. If they ask, tell them why you prefer the other platform (e.g. less SM noise), and if they try it out, reward them by being super active on it. If you get enough people on it, try organizing your own events or whatever and communicate about it on your preferred platform as a sort of reverse network effect.
My SO is still on Instagram and sends me links occasionally, but neither of us use Facebook or WhatsApp (granted, WhatsApp isn’t very popular here in the US).