The promise of technology was to expand our horizons. In many ways, it kinda did. We got a lot of awesome shit. But we also got {waves hands vaguely at everything} this dystopia.

I love tech! But I hate techno-surveilance. There are things I don’t do b/c of it. Or things I do less now.

For example. I wanted to volunteer on a trail maintaining crew. But they’re all TF over FB and Tiktok. They put everyone’s photos on there. Vids of ppl working. They coordinate on FB groups.

I give up conveniences like google maps. Esp when those conveniences come with baked in surveilance. My friends mock my paper map. But w/e.

I take less road trips than I want. I hate having all my travel logged by ALPR. Even driving an old ass car without onboard GPS.

Are there things you would do, but you don’t, b/c of techno-dystopia? Or you do them less?

  • Libb@piefed.socialEnglish
    11·
    13 hours ago

    I love tech! But I hate techno-surveilance.

    Great summary of my own stance.

    What do you NOT do, that you would do without privacy violation?

    Since the day I realized I could not trust (high) tech to respect my privacy, I decided to use tech as little as I can.

    There is not much I can do to change tech beside using Free/Libre software that do respect my user rights, or to resist that dystopia our leaders seem so willing to make our reality (probably thinking they will able to escape it for themselves, their families, and their friends), but I still have the choice to not actively contribute to making it a reality by not using the very tools they’re using to eradicate our privacy.

    • Moving back to analog, wherever I can. Things like pen and paper, print instead of digital, and so on. And also to physical media I could fully own, instead of streamed ones I don’t own.
    • Moving back to low-tech wherever we could too. And yes that means not using a lot of things one may want to use. There is no smart gizmo at all in our home, none. And we try to keep tech at bay as much as possible everywhere. For example, we barely use our phones and store nothing personal on them.
    • Also, rekindling in-person encounters/chats/etc. instead of doing those online.
    • We also constantly try to improve our ‘de-reliance’ on high-tech. I mean, my voice recorder is now a 90s Sony thingy that works wonder, that do not spy on my personal memos, needs no Internet, no subs and comes AI free.

    Small things like that. And there are a lot available.

    Edit: typos/clarifications

    • FineCoatMummy@sh.itjust.worksOPEnglish
      2·
      1 hour ago

      Moving back to analog, wherever I can. Things like pen and paper, print instead of digital, and so on. And also to physical media I could fully own, instead of streamed ones I don’t own.

      Love this! That’s my approach too.

      Paper books, not e-books. Oldschool non-connected mp3 player, not a phone app that sends my listening habits in real time to who TF knows where. Oldschool non-connected digital camera. Only has usb.

      I actively avoid any consumer tech that wants to phone home. Unplugging is good. Wrestles control back from BigTech. Puts it back in OUR hands.

      I believe one of the best things the privacy community can do, is help our friends and families unplug too!

      • Libb@piefed.socialEnglish
        1·
        32 minutes ago

        I believe one of the best things the privacy community can do, is help our friends and families unplug too!

        100%. at least help them realize it’s still an option in quite a few circumstances and the ‘drawbacks’ aren’t that bad, if there are any.