I think so many people are so deeply alienated from themselves that they have no clue how to exercise their free will and autonomy. For some, this alienation runs so deep that they are afraid of their own autonomy and humanity. It is completely understandable why one would have those feelings, but it can be worrisome.
I want to help others who feel this way, so here are small things I have done to exercise my free will:
Add "guilty pleasure" songs to playlists and actually listen to them (I have a ton of late 1990s-early 2000s music I listen to now proudly that I never listened to in the past out of shame)
Taking a new route to get to a place you go to often
Eat dessert first
Celebrate well, and often
Collect things that are "odd" or don't seem like an "acceptable" thing to collect (somebody on my "for you" page collects dandelion crayola crayons and it was so cool!!!!!!)
Incorporate one new piece in an outfit you wear frequently (e.g., a new chain, a necklace, ribbons, bracelets, ect.). Challenge yourself to add onto the outfits if you feel up for it.
Sing along to songs without worrying that you sound "good" or your intonation is completely accurate
Read a book from a genre you weren't allowed to read as a kid (comics, thrillers, mysteries, anything!)
Walk without having a specific destination or goal
Pick up a new craft without expecting yourself to master it or to ever be "good" enough. Get your hands messy.
I don't want to shame anybody for not feeling as though they have free will or that they are exempt from exercising it. However, I wanted to give ideas so that you might read this list and find your own ways to express your intrinsic autonomy and will. You deserve to be a person, to feel alive, not just living. That is what our lives are for.
What do you mean âchatâ is now referring to ChatGPT and not twitch chat? What? What? What the fuck? No?
When I address chat I am speaking to a presumed Greek chorus of real human people shitposting on their lunch break, not a machine that devours lakes to covert electricity into slop.
âFor me this glass is already broken. I enjoy it; I drink out of it. It holds my water admirably, sometimes even reflecting the sun in beautiful patterns. If I should tap it, it has a lovely ring to it. But when I put this glass on the shelf and the wind knocks it over or my elbow brushes it off the table and it falls to the ground and shatters, I say, âOf course.â When I understand that the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.â
âbut what if you abort the baby whoâll cure cancer?!â sir the baby who will cure cancer is an organic chemistry major who works at a Home Depot because you use AI to go through your resumes
"I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einsteinâs brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops." - Stephen Jay Gould, The Panda's Thumb: More Reflections in Natural History
a witch and the princess she "kidnapped" will be living their best lives in their tastefully decorated tower complete with courtyard for their beloved pet dragon when suddenly Prince Compulsive Heterosexuality bursts in on his noble steed Property Damage
I can't believe we live in a world where there's an AI company unironically called "Palantir," and it isn't a parody. It's a real thing. I remember seeing a picture of an advertisement on here and thinking, "This HAS to be a joke. This is too on-the-nose to be real. They wouldn't honestly name an AI company Palantir, after the Seeing Stones from Lord of the Rings that are supposed to offer knowledge, but famously also might be feeding you misinformation from evil sources because 'we do not know who else may be watching.'" But then here I am listening to the BBC News discussing why the CEO of Palantir just published a Manifesto that sounds like it was written by a supervillain.
Thank-you to all of my new Internet stranger friends for being so gracious about having my post shoved onto your dashboards. I loved reading all of your kind tags and comments! Both Martin and Bosco have been gone for several years now but for 24 hours, they felt very present in my life. I greatly appreciate this gift. â€ïž
I follow some non-consumer and pro-recycling facebook pages and like. I'm not sure how to explain this exactly, but some of them have a frankly unhealthy relationship with preservation and recycling. People will photograph an ancient threadbare shirt that's full of massive holes and 30% mould by volume and say "this was in my mum's basement and she wanted to throw it out! How do I save it?" People will show a stack of thirty empty margarine containers and say "what use can I find for these? I don't want to throw them out." Someone detailed their strategies for making sure that they only walk around their house barefoot or with slippers, never walking int heir socks, in order to make sure the socks wear out as slowly as possible.
Responsible reuse and care of your belongings is one thing, but for some of these groups, if they monitored food and exercise the way they monitored general consumption it would be an eating disorder.
Right after this post was somebody bragging about how they're freeing themselves from consumerism by giving up manicures and pedicures so it's. A very mixed bag of standards.
I walk a very thin line between recycling/anti-consumerism and my hoarding tendencies (don't think it's ever reached the point of full blown disorder but I'm very aware it's a constant lowkey battle to keep it that way) and my perfectionism paralysing me into keeping stuff until I can dispose of it in the Absolute Most Optimal Least Polluting way.
Any obsession can become disordered (I don't necessarily mean pathologically, but extreme to the point where it does you more harm than good or more harm than is safe/justifiable), and I think we forget that.
Unless it's made of easily recyclable or compostable materials like metals, glass or organics (NOT recyclable plastic, that doesn't count), it's basically all landfill. Dispose of chemicals and electronics in the appropriate way, put the glass and metal in the bins appropriate for whatever your local area's recycling system is, and everything else is landfill. "Oh, I can save this boot" it's still landfill, just a bit later than it would otherwise be. "Oh, I can recycle this old shirt into a bag" still landfill, just in your cupboard for a bit first.
For products for which a large-scale, practical and economic recycling system does not exist (recyclable plastic doesn't have such a system, it's a grift; recyclable metals and glass very often do have such a system but it depends on the material and product and where you live), there is no such thing as optimal disposal. There is only optimal production. Your environmental impact is measured in the effect you have on new things being produced and shipped. Once it is made in a factory, it is already landfill, it's just staying in your house for a bit first.
Trying to repair old boots at home doesn't save them from landfill -- the question is, did your repairing the boots stop you from having to buy new ones, and if so, did that stop new ones from being produced and shipped to your country? Does buying a new pair instead help because you don't have to buy the materials you'd use to repair them, and if so, did that have any effect on whether those materials were produced and sent to your country? In a modern economy, your effect re: repair vs. new is likely to have absolutely no environmental effect at all for most goods, though it does depend on specifically where you live and what the good is and how it's made. Either your old boots go to landfill and you buy a new pair, or you fix your old ones and the new pair goes straight from the warehouse to landfill because the company bought one too many pairs to sell. (It'll probably go on sale and mope around warehouses for a few years first, same as it otherwise would in your closet; this is a completely irrelevant temporary stop).
Depending on the industry, your individual shopping choices can have an impact, especially if it's part of a larger organised movement like a proper boycott (or even just an unorganised drop in sales as lots of people simply decide to stop buying so much). Your individual shopping choices can also have a big effect on your own budget; repairing old shoes is usually much cheaper than buying new ones. But if you're focusing on the optimal way to dispose of something (again, unless it's something dangerous that requires specific disposal methods or something that's part of an existing large-scale recycling network), you're focusing on something way too late in the game to be environmentally relevant. What matters is the impact on production and shipping; once it's produced, it is already landfill.
The realisation I had that helped me out of this mindset was "I'm not preventing this from polluting the environment by keeping all this stuff, it's just polluting my environment"
it's so frustrating to look up if something can be recycled and find "eco friendly" blogs and videos talking about how you can reuse yogurt cups as storage containers around the house! it's actually not helpful for anyone to encourage people to keep and "reuse" trash. if you're wondering what project you can do with something to prevent it from going into a landfill? searching for someone who might still want this despite-? you are making your house the landfill and you deserve better. throw it out and see if you can find a longer lasting or non-plastic replacement.
Adding these tags too. Saving things doesnât stop them from becoming trash. Theyâre still trash. Be a better steward of things you allow in your home. Everything will be trash. There is no good way to dispose of it.
My guide to Internet warfare and taking back control
By which I mean minimizing screen time and wasting your life on making Zuckerber rich. Scrolling Instagram doesn't seem to be dangerous, but there is probably nothing less hurtful than wasting time of milliards of people on things they don't care about. Using willpower to work on this is a lie â you will need real weapons, technologies and strategy.
^this is the lost future you are fighting for. Technology can be good.
Remember, that wars are rarely won in a week, I am in trenches since last summer when i ditched my phone, when i say "It takes time" i mean 5â10 months. It is still hard, but the improvement is amazing.
This is a list of things I have been doing for more than a year that improved my life. Ranked with ease (EAS) + effectiveness (EFF) from 1 to 10.
It is still not perfect, but this is a warzone and you will adapt and not be allowed to surrender, soldier!
Remove the smartphone â 5 eas + 15 eff
Sorry. This is a military grade weapon that milliards of dollars are put into to make you waste your time as easily as you can. You can move forward with your phone, but nothing is as effective in taking control back during your commutes, breaks, walks and free time etc. and it is a very important part of learning to deal with stress without mindless scrolling and games. There is no real phone hacks to help you. We and the enemy know that timers don't work. If you can enable all enemy weapons with one switch it is not enough.
You will need a dumbphone or a custom rom to use this technique and stay in society.
It is not as hard as it sounds, actually you don't need it that much. Check out #dumbphone or r/dumbphones for inspiration and support. Me and many of my friends who done it as well don't look back.
Buuut i can't â 9 eas + 5 eff
Yes you can. But if you insist, still, buy a dumbphone or find one in the drawers and put your sim card there; carry them both. Now you can use the Internet only when you have wifi, but you can use offline maps, listen to downloaded music and watch downloaded movies, read pdfs etc. Check your email, bank, messages, memes at work or at home. You will regain control over walks, commutes and socialising. But if you still have any social apps, at home or during breaks, you are still cooked. It is still a very good first step to moving away from phone dependence.
Smartphone substitutes
Email, socials, work, school â all will now be done on a pc or a laptop. This is good. It allows you to distance yourself from stress, tiring family members, school, work and problems of others and engage with them only when you want to. It allows you to take a break. It is not your duty, to engage all the time and the ability to do so at your own pace is the biggest advantage you can get on the battlefield. If something important is going on â someone will call you, don't worry. Just inform others that WhatsApp is not a place to discuss emergencies.
Fun, music, reading â you will need to get a dumbphone that supports some music, pdf viewing, photos and maybe light web browsing, they do exist. Or just buy an mp3 player, some books and a notepad. An e-reader and a camera for the high tech soldiers. Y2K is back in fashion anyway, and you will be much cooler and people will start conversations. Having everything in one place was convenient, but, if it means having timeâwasting hazards in your pocket, it is not worth it.
Libraries are here to support you on your journey.
Block the feed â 10 eas + 4 eff
Hopefully you got rid of your phone, the biggest danger now is your web browser.
Use LeechBlock to block or regulate access to the biggest dangers â youtube, instagram, fb, reddit. On the weak side it is no better than the timer in your phone, supportive, but not really effective and fills you with guilt. Guilt is bad.
On the strong side you will block all access, allow very rare and short usage, put as many defenses as you can, put blockades on your blockades. Your brain is very effective at overcoming barriers, but they need to be put in place.
It is the first step, but it is not enough to win the war. Real psychological effects will show only after months of usage and well adjusted settings that acknowledge how your brain works and as you adapt your barriers will need to adapt as well. On the flip-side it requires no real conscious work or wasting your willpower if your filters are good.
You will sometimes need to bend the rules, to fix something or watch a lecture or a tutorial or just for some well deserved Forgotten Vines Compilation. Remember to put them back in place later and spot the times where you never did â and do it then.
Warning: nerd shit! (3-6) eas + (7-10) eff
If your friends sent you a funny video â don't unlock the site to watch it. Use external software like MPV or VLC to watch this video using only the link, without getting rid of your defense line. This is easiest on a linux machine.
You also have the nuke â block websites on your router and gate settings. You will need the support of the rest of the war room members in your house to use it and it will cut access to actually useful things. But this is a war for your life and every sacrifice is worth it.
Block the biggest hazards â 6 eas + 9 eff
Sorry, but you will need to use some nerd tactics.
Shorts, reels, tik toks, explore, for you pages. They need to be blocked immediately and for good. No access, no overrides, no fiddling in options. LeechBlock browser addon will allow you to block specific pages with harder barriers. Do it and never change them.
They are the biggest danger and you know it. Your brain will not be mad if it won't get dopamine this way, it knows you would never find the perfect 1 minute video that would make you happy. The urge to scroll some shorts will go away real fast.
This will allow you to fight only the easier fights â against the normal infinite feeds.
UblockOrigin
Is a double edged sword. Removing ads makes your life on the internet easy and fun. It is only a good thing to a certain extent â our fight is to make some parts of the internet as hard and painful to use â but it will help you keep your sanity.
Use it to block the feed! Click on Ublock icon and use the little pipette to add a rule that blocks the infinite feed on webpages of your choice.
Select the area and click the blue button to create a rule on the main page. Now you will not be distracted with algorithmic content, but you are free to not block groups important for you or your work or still see notifications, messages and other functions.
Cons: sometimes your rules will break with time, you will need to make many of them. Removing ads from youtube is dangerous as the reward is easier to obtain, thus making the boobytrap more effective.
Don't use apps and don't use the browser. 10 eas + 6 eff
Minimize a chance of getting distracted while doing something else.
For messages, school and work remove the browser from the equation. Use desktop clients for messaging, microsoft office, Teams, email etc. They have exactly what you need and are often more convenient to use. No chance of opening Instagram in excel.
For social media and online entertainment use the browser, don't use the apps! You are going into the warzone, you will need the armor â Leechblock and other addons are here to help you. Time wasting apps are engineered to remove your personal defense â never use them.
No Screentime before coffee â 1 eas + 10 eff
This one is behavioral and requires actual brain work, but give yourself some time and it will give you great effects.
Do not check memes, messages, mail etc. before waking up. Easier said than done.
Going to school or work will be easier, waking up will be easier, you will start to eat and have more energy during the day.
It will require you to plan your day in advance, check the calendar and your plan for the day the night before. I never learned it as a child and it is very hard to work on it, but the effects on my psyche are immense.
If you got rid of your phone, you are halfway there. If you can remove your laptop from proximity of your bed â do it. If you have an ability to put your pc in a seperate room â it would be perfect, but not many are able to, including me.
Separate your working, from sleeping, from entertainment spaces, we worked on it during COVID soldier, don't forget your training.
Remove the noise â 1 eas + 4 eff
somewhat. You probably don't actually need podcasts and music to work, walk or sleep and regaining your ability to focus there is also important. Maybe substitute them with white/pink/brown noise at least sometimes, especially for brain heavy tasks this is very helpful to get work done in a reasonable amount of time. Blanket app is a good desktop noise generator that won't require the browser.
But I will not blame you if you won't, this is the least problematic part and humans have always met to do menial tasks while hearing others talk and many conditions are easier to live with some background noise.
Pick your allies
Internet is a meadow and a minefield. Place for art and support and knowledge filled with weapons designed to use you as an revenue generator. Watch content only from curated, quality places and people you follow. Never look at the algorithmic feed. Tumblr is a prime example of a site that can be your ally, but don't trust it â block the For You page.
don't lose your steam
Do not engage emotionally with things beyond your control. This was the twitter's weapon of choice. If you do not have the money or time to support a cause, you know about it and you know all your mutuals already support it â don't let the algorithm put it down your throat against your will.
Do not follow war hashtags, do not look at pages when you can see hate and violence against your will. Educate yourself, do as much as you can, follow people who inspire you and do real work, but allow yourself to move on if it is beyond your abilities or strength. Your local anarchist group will do more good in a month, than you reading political posts for years. If you honestly care â join them and focus on real work. If you can't contribute, just learn about it and move on. There will be more opportunities in the future and then we will need all your strength. This is the sad part of winning the war. Some sacrifices have to be made.
^you soon
Wish you luck soldiers. This is a fight worth fighting.
share your weapons of choice if you can and tell me about your experiences.
Absurdist video urges policymakers and users to resist deliberate deterioration of platforms and devices
âItâs not too late to turn the tide,â said LĂŒtzow-Holm Myrstad. âServices donât need to be enshittified if we have real competition, if you can choose as a consumer which services you use, and if the market will better regulate all these practices.â
The global campaign is backed by an 80-page report by the council, delving into how enshittification steadily became the norm.
While the council has a long history of taking on big tech companies â in 2018 it was among the first to accuse them of deceiving users into giving up their data â LĂŒtzow-Holm Myrstad acknowledged that its efforts were akin to pitting David against Goliath.
âBut in the story of David and Goliath, David won in the end, right?â LĂŒtzow-Holm Myrstad said. âThis is also why this international action is so important. Groups, transatlantically, are all speaking with a common voice: it doesnât need to be this way. We donât want it to be this way.â
Their hopes for the campaign have swelled as they watched the video rack up millions of views across multiple platforms, with more than 9,000 comments pouring in on YouTube alone, while the report was downloaded more than 6,000 times.
âWeâve never experienced anything like it, it really strikes a nerve with people,â he said. âThere seems to be an incredible amount of support to do something about this.â
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