It feels like all the joy I used to feel from being an enthusiast has been completely voided as computing has become the modern vector for fascism and surveillance. I find myself recoiling from all online spaces, even independent and open source ones that I’d loved and supported in the past.
It’s been an exceptionally strange impulse to go from having an elaborate online presence to now feeling like the only acceptable way to engage with the network is to have as minimal of an online footprint as possible.
This especially hurts when it feels like an issue of skilling, where I know how to do certain tasks with computers, but have to teach myself for the first time the analogue alternatives that my parents and their parents likely already knew well.
How have you chosen to deal with it? Do you find yourself moving away from computing and the internet, despite formerly loving it as a hobby? Have you replaced things that computers used to do for you with analogue replacements?
I’m curious how other people are experiencing this.
I feel the same way sometimes. Here’s what I’ve been up to:
Same here. I have been moving everything I can to self hosted FOSS, contributing to FOSS projects, and rehabbing old hardware. It’s been fun, I’ve met people from around the world and I’m getting tools I like to be even better.
Locally, I’m working with the library to start Linux days, where we help fix old computers and move them to Linux. There’s been a lot of interest due to Win11.
This.
If something is a vector for evil, it’s crucial that we invest good in it. And with tech it’s doable and quite enjoyable i’d say.