girlllllllll. the surveillance state is HERE
i wish more of you had a govt contractor programmer acquaintance or two... or at least a semester of basic IT/internet 101 under your belt. ignorance may be bliss, but a reality check can be very healthy once in a while
the shit feds can do to interact with you online just because you're a convenient tool to them is absolutely terrifying and goes way beyond merely finding you
while the consumer experience of tech sinks into the enshittification quagmire of corporate greed, surveillance, influence campaign, and data mining tools continue to grow ever more refined
there's no total escape short of going entirely off-grid, but... just do what you can to protect yourself, to stay safe, and to be aware of what you reveal about yourself and what you "just happen to" see online. a little thoughtfulness can go a long way.
protecting yourself (from independent bad actors, government overreach, bogus revanchist charges, corporations, scammers, hostile foreign agents) won't look the same for everyone — everyone has different risk factors and risk tolerances — but:
you need to have some idea of what sort of content you absolutely won't let agitprop you, even if it pops up when you're at your most distracted, angry, emotionally compromised, fragile, desperate, confused, panicking, eager to please, smitten
e.g. "maybe i won't always be a perfect ally, but i will never participate in saying anything transphobic. period. if i'm not sure if something i want to say is transphobic or not, i will consistently err on the side of shutting the fuck up and thinking of a different post/comment to make. similarly, no matter what news articles keep popping up on my dash or what narrative those articles try to push upon me with "reasonable" words, i will never allow myself to take the easy (and cruel!) route of believing racism has any legitimacy. i will never let myself send anyone death threats or harassment no matter how upset i am by circumstances outside of my control. none of this is who i am and it's not who i wish to become."
you need some idea of what subtle propaganda or social engineering approaches might work especially well on your particular psychology in order to turn you into an unwitting tool who could eventually betray everything you currently hold dear. to this end, be aware of influence tactics, be aware of what methods you see working on others who have already gotten stuck in ideological quicksand, and know yourself
e.g. "i have a history of falling head over heels for handsome men with silver tongues. in the past, i've done some things that were embarrassing and wrong in order to keep the attention of such men. i will not allow myself to drift on moral principles just bc i hear someone with a pretty face, pleasant voice, or impressive credentials saying something i strongly disagree with on ethical grounds but which sounds intelligent, reasonable, or sympathetic enough. i will consider new ideas from such smooth-talking individuals with utmost caution and from different angles to make sure these ideas are not harmful to marginalized communities, society, and our planet. i will discuss these ideas with my friends or research substantiating evidence from reputable sources if i have trouble examining ideas on my own. i can be an open minded and flexible individual while still being very selective about who i allow to influence me. i am aware of possible catfishing and won't let wishful thinking cover up red flags or conflicting information."
you need to formulate some idea of what you will never say online or participate in when you don't know who might be watching so that when the urge to do something risky unexpectedly arises, or when you've been flustered by a friendly fast-talker into participating in something i'll-advised, you can recognize the behavior (whether a concrete action or a passive reveal of your sensitive information) as something you have no business doing, and having recognized it, think twice and even thrice before going down that path
e.g. "i will never threaten or express anything that can be interpreted as threatening language, even if my friends do. i don't have to always do what they do to stay friends with them. my friends love me even when i abstain from making showy public declarations of agreement. people who demand shows of loyalty to an in-group do not have my best interests in mind, and i should reconsider whether we are actually friends, or if i've been hesitant to come off as rude or, worse, afraid to break ties with someone who displays very aggressive behavior when rejected. i will not participate in any bloodthirsty discussions that i come across, even if reading the discussion stirs up excitement or righteous anger; i know i don't want to indulge such sudden strong emotions when they could lead to a dangerous situation. i will research how to process those feelings safely and privately. i will back out of situations that feel as though someone is trying to pressure or influence me. if i can't figure out how to do this bc my brain has short-circuited under the pressure, i will urgently ask a friend or family member for advice and reassurance that backing out is the safer option."
interacting on the internet is the same as interacting in real life. to maintain principles, to grow resilient to peer pressure, to learn on past mistakes, you have to draw lines somewhere. if you wouldn't threaten a person with violence irl just bc they said something that made you angry when you were having a bad day, that should transfer over to your internet behavior. if you wouldn't trust a stranger on the street with your home address, don't play loose with your personal information on the internet. if you wouldn't share information with or take the advice of someone you don't know very well bc their ugly shoes have set off all your inner alarms, be just as aware of the ambient presence of feds online. integrity and not falling into the falsehood that the internet is somehow less serious than real life will go a long way to keeping you safe from abuse, exploitation, and harm. consequences for online behavior can be just as serious as consequences for offline behavior
ask yourself — "who benefits if i don't take my online integrity and security seriously, and why the hell did i buy into this belief that these things don't matter if the beneficiary of this oversight isn't me, people i care about, or groups i advocate for?"
give a thought to the boundaries you would like to establish between yourself and the world wide web, and then, enforce them
don't ever let your hubris make you vulnerable
annaxmalina
snowghoul
discoholicmusic
jbbartram-illu
areudirty
stormborns
