I woke up this morning feeling completely overwhelmed by the sense that no one is doing anything--or we are not doing enough of anything. So, this was very timely and helpful. So many good recommendations. One I did last week was join my union. Meeting with the union organizer and getting my union card were some of the most hopeful thing…
I woke up this morning feeling completely overwhelmed by the sense that no one is doing anything--or we are not doing enough of anything. So, this was very timely and helpful. So many good recommendations. One I did last week was join my union. Meeting with the union organizer and getting my union card were some of the most hopeful things I've done in the past few weeks.
Also, in terms of divesting from various companies: our household has almost completely transitioned away from Amazon, I am currently in the processing of moving from Meta to the Fediverse, and my husband is moving our household computing from Microsoft to Linux. (These changes are partly due to avoiding certain companies but also avoiding AI as much as possible, which I admit is perhaps tangential to the purpose of this post.) If anyone in this community is interested in any resources for making these changes, I'd be happy to put together something to share with the group.
Well, I'm sorry you were feeling it too but glad that we were at least connected in that sudden wave of "is anybody else doing something?" Jeez it's so real.
Also: congrats on joining your union!!
Also: I've learned so much from your household about how it's possible to divest from big tech (in addition to the one's you've mentioned, also the music streaming sites, even with a tween!).
SO MUCH of my social life/network since becoming a parent has been networked through Meta and I'm really finding it hard to quit. One of my big mental barriers is finding the time to prioritize those connections if I can't, in 5 minutes, swipe through a day's worth of photos/posts/etc from people and causes I care about. Is that really connecting? No. But it feels like /terrifyingly/ lonely to cut the cord.
I'm struggling with that too (Meta) on the professional side (Instagram IS a useful place to share my work still, and I don't think I'm making that up but I might also be overstating the impact of losing it).
I too am trying to cut the the cord with Meta. My first step.was to remove the apps from my phone. I can still log onto the accounts from my laptop but that little bit of friction is enough to have me only checking every couple of days or else logging in to a group because I am looking for specific information.
I totally feel the loss of those connections, too, Elizabeth. I haven't quite felt the full force of it, since I technically still have an Instagram account (my spouse and I have a shared FB for groups only, because for the life of me I cannot find a suitable alternative that all of the people in the groups will also find suitable). I am not sure I would have been able to extricate myself at other points in my life, such as right after a move. Also, my livelihood doesn't depend on promoting my work on social media, which is huge. The level of anger and resentment that I began to feel about the whole enterprise started to outweigh any benefits I was getting. But it is definitely tricky and not straightforward.
I woke up this morning feeling completely overwhelmed by the sense that no one is doing anything--or we are not doing enough of anything. So, this was very timely and helpful. So many good recommendations. One I did last week was join my union. Meeting with the union organizer and getting my union card were some of the most hopeful things I've done in the past few weeks.
Also, in terms of divesting from various companies: our household has almost completely transitioned away from Amazon, I am currently in the processing of moving from Meta to the Fediverse, and my husband is moving our household computing from Microsoft to Linux. (These changes are partly due to avoiding certain companies but also avoiding AI as much as possible, which I admit is perhaps tangential to the purpose of this post.) If anyone in this community is interested in any resources for making these changes, I'd be happy to put together something to share with the group.
Well, I'm sorry you were feeling it too but glad that we were at least connected in that sudden wave of "is anybody else doing something?" Jeez it's so real.
Also: congrats on joining your union!!
Also: I've learned so much from your household about how it's possible to divest from big tech (in addition to the one's you've mentioned, also the music streaming sites, even with a tween!).
SO MUCH of my social life/network since becoming a parent has been networked through Meta and I'm really finding it hard to quit. One of my big mental barriers is finding the time to prioritize those connections if I can't, in 5 minutes, swipe through a day's worth of photos/posts/etc from people and causes I care about. Is that really connecting? No. But it feels like /terrifyingly/ lonely to cut the cord.
I'm struggling with that too (Meta) on the professional side (Instagram IS a useful place to share my work still, and I don't think I'm making that up but I might also be overstating the impact of losing it).
I too am trying to cut the the cord with Meta. My first step.was to remove the apps from my phone. I can still log onto the accounts from my laptop but that little bit of friction is enough to have me only checking every couple of days or else logging in to a group because I am looking for specific information.
Sounds like a smart first step
I totally feel the loss of those connections, too, Elizabeth. I haven't quite felt the full force of it, since I technically still have an Instagram account (my spouse and I have a shared FB for groups only, because for the life of me I cannot find a suitable alternative that all of the people in the groups will also find suitable). I am not sure I would have been able to extricate myself at other points in my life, such as right after a move. Also, my livelihood doesn't depend on promoting my work on social media, which is huge. The level of anger and resentment that I began to feel about the whole enterprise started to outweigh any benefits I was getting. But it is definitely tricky and not straightforward.