book chat - Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now

Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier, Published May 29th 2018 by Henry Holt and Co.

This book is about how to be a cat. How can you remain autonomous in a world where you are under constant surveillance and are constantly prodded by algorithms run by some of the richest corporations in history, which have no way of making money except by being paid to manipulate your behavior? How can you be a cat, despite that? P2

Ah, now I understand the kitty silhouette on the cover. This book is about disconnecting from apps and websites that control our experience so we can relearn to think for ourselves. We should be thinking independently like cats, rather than as a pack like dogs.

GO WHERE YOU ARE KINDEST
If, when you participate in online platforms, you notice a nasty thing inside yourself, an insecurity, a sense of low self-esteem, a yearning to lash out, to swat someone down, then leave that platform. Simple. P51

Always a good reminder. Take a step back, examine how using X platform makes you feel. Do you feel better after using it? Sad? Annoyed?

The version of the world you are seeing is invisible to the people who misunderstand you, and vice versa. P79
What's really going on is that we see less than ever before of what others are seeing, so we have less opportunity to understand each other. P80

What we are shown is driven by algorithms and we don't all see the same the things so we don't experience the world in the same way anymore. We've lost that shared experience. It's no wonder we all seem a bit off to each other. We just aren't living in the same world anymore thanks to all the filters and personalized feeds controlling what we're exposed to so much of the time.

If ordinary people were to get all happy and satisfied, they might take a moment away from the obsession with social media numbers and go frolic in the flowers or even pay direct attention to each other. But if they're all on edge about whether they're popular enough, worried about whether the world is imploding, or furious at morons who are thrust into the middle of their connections with friends and families, then they dare not disengage. They are hooked because of provoked natural vigilance. P91

I used to be much more connected through social media than I am today. Toward the end of when I was vlogging, I chose to hide all the "data". Viewers no longer saw the number of views or likes/dislikes. If I could have hidden that information from myself, I would have! I didn't like how those numbers made me feel - positive or negative. I didn't want what I shared or how I shared it to be influenced by the numbers in any way. I no longer vlog or podcast but I am still on social media. I quit Facebook years ago, but I'm still on Instagram (owned by FB). I hate what they've done to it - not just the ads (I do HATE the ads), but using algorithms to mess with our feed's timeline. I don't follow as many accounts there these days and mostly only log into my cat's account. Yes, I'm one of those. My cat has his own account. =) Those I follow with his account create feeds that makes me happy. I'm not trying to make him into an internet star, just hoping his photos and videos bring a few smiles and chuckles to those who see them. My personal one? I barely use it these days and when I do, I just feel so disconnected.

This book is a call to take back our lives and think for ourselves. Does the author say the internet is evil? No. But we need to learn to use it to better our lives and not let apps and devices replace real life.

Olive agrees, we should all think like cats =^..^=