We all know social media has changed us: in the best case, it lets us connect with people we would never meet and stay in touch with those we already have.
But the dark side is fully manifesting and so we need to evolve. I’ve been giving conscious thought for years to the question of HOW? How do we escape the evils while keeping the good parts?
The answer I’ve found is to be flexible and creative — to reach out to do zoom teas with that friend you miss or the one you want to know better; to form small online groups to have that closer, more frequent interaction that allows more closeness; to join social networks without algorithms so you have to actually make those connections yourself, selectively, consciously, over time.
In short, it requires effort to keep in touch in ways that aren’t “check in on FB and see if Zuckerberg will allow me to talk to my friends today”—because if you go with the easy path the billionaires have laid down for you, then you’re going to pay the price they exact, whatever price they want, whenever they want it.
Maybe that extra effort means you go for quality over quantity. Maybe it makes you really think about why you’re connecting at all, what you’re looking for, what you have to offer, what the whole point of it all is.
But here’s the thing: that extra effort has really paid off for me. I’ve traveled to meet online friends in person. I’ve had them come to my city to visit. I’ve set up digital spaces that are much more cozy where we can really talk. Zoom teas are amazing for deepening a friendship.
That effort has changed how I view connections in a major way.
Connecting online is GREAT, but there are many ways to do it—billionaire-owned social media like Meta and Twitter aren’t the only way and they have tarnished what was really good about it in their pursuit of ever-more-power-and-riches.
So yes, we’re in transition. And sure, it’s going to take some effort to do this in a way that works for you, as you figure out what price you’re willing to pay to keep the connections you want. I’d personally rather pay the price of more investment of my time to have better connections, better friendships, rather than pay by being a digital prole for the billionaires, supplying them with content and eyeballs for ads and attention for their hate-mongering.
I’m finding, across the board, in everything from social media to fighting the climate crisis, that a better world doesn’t just happen by default. It’s not the easiest or cheapest option: it takes effort and expense, either in money or time, but that’s how you build something better.
The payoff is you get a life that’s better… and you’ve opted out of the steady degradation and enshittification circus happening all around you.
Keep working for a better world, friends. We all deserve it.
Sue
(This is the kind of post is what I used to mini-blog on Facebook, but I’m slowly pulling all those old posts over, as I invest some time to literally reclaim my words from the billionaire content machine. You can subscribe on the sidebar to get these posts in your email inbox, if you like. More ways to follow me below.)
Bluesky & Mastodon are more “short form” social media posts — I’m very active on both:
Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/susankayequinn.bsky.social
Mastodon https://wandering.shop/@susankayequinn
BRIGHT GREEN FUTURES podcast/substack where I talk about solarpunk and fighting the climate crisis: https://brightgreenfutures.substack.com/podcast
My author newsletter, for when I have new fiction out: https://www.subscribepage.com/SKQStories_of_Singularity
For periodic writerly info: Sue’s Writers List: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/v1i8c3
For Writers on the Moon updates: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/g0c5i2
Email sue@twistedspacepub.com
More on me leaving FB here: https://susankayequinn.com/2024/11/on-leaving-facebook.html
Comments