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?
Travel to the U.S. again. To be fair, it’s not just about the surveillance. It’s also a about the political dystopia that goes with it. But these two are connected.
I love you people and I love your country - you’re alright. But fuck the technofascist dystopia you’ve allowed yourselves to slide into, and fuck the criminal sacks of shit a lot of you have put back in power. I wish you all the best for removing them. Until then, I stay away and help you starve your regime and its corporate enablers of any Dollar I might otherwise have spent there.
I agree but the US is far from the only spy happy country.
True, but very few of the others bullshit themselves into believing they’re “the land of the free”. The fall of the U.S. into illiberalism and authoritarianism is remarkable because the nation claims to be founded in opposition to both - and many U.S. citizens still hold on to that old self-image.