Goodbye Twitter. Goodbye Chrome.
Neither was easy.
I was there for early-Twitter, and it was love-hate from the beginning. I loved the ease, the networking, the linking, and, yes, the learning. I hated the fact that I knew blogging in the way that I’d been practicing it for about a decade at that point was done for. “Micro-blogging” didn’t leave space for deep thought, complex ideas, and extended attention. I really regret that I didn’t keep up with my longer-form writing, something I’m trying hard to recapture now.
My break with Twitter has been coming for a while. My Twitter politics addiction in 2016 nearly drove me to therapy. While eduTwitter was always pretty respectful, it’s been feeling lately like metaTwitter is just too much of a toxic stew to remain a part of. Elon didn’t help. So, I’m choosing not to feed that beast any longer, mostly because I don’t see it actually making any of us better. And Mastodon as a replacement? Meh, for how.
On the flip side, my replacement for Chrome, that privacy-killing, tracking and data-collecting browser monster from Big Tech is making me regret not getting off that train much sooner. Arc (arc.net) is a wonderful new browser. Private. Innovative. Pretty intuitive. From a company that has better intents. It has absolutely changed the way I browse and write and interact with the web. I’ve been committing a few minutes a day to diving into its intricacies, and I’m pleasantly surprised on a regular basis. If you have a Mac, give it a shot.
All of this is a part of a path I’m on to step away from technologies that aren’t serving the greater good and my individual wellness and ethics. This year will be one where I really interrogate how I’m contributing to the challenges we’re facing and how I can help mitigate them. So much of my tech life doesn’t feel like it squares with what the world needs right now. So…
My phone is next. (Ugh…)
Is anyone else out there thinking about their tech use through a lens or making themselves and the world a bit healthier?
I dropped off social media like six years ago…
Which is probably why this is the first time in six years we’ve connected. ;0) How ya doin?
I have to say- this is really encouraging. I have been looking for ways to cut out some technology in my daily life without completely. I think Twitter can be a good start!