# Liked: Rebecca Toh - The Old Internet...
"...for now we can take back the internet by going back to creating our own websites and blogs and even newsletters and relying less, far less, on the cursed social networks."
I'm definitely all for taking back the web! I may have sworn off social networks for my own reasons but I think cursed is a bit much; there is undoubtedly good that can come from their use. My wife, for example, is the reverend for an online church holding services, other events, and performing sermons via Facebook Live video. Now, that couldn't happen very easily without such a network.
But there are a lot of problems, not least the image painted by Rebecca of a "faceless person scrolling down a screen endlessly for all eternity, but yet for whom satisfaction never comes."
Use of social media should be intentional, not be the default fallback when bored, the mindless time sink through which we compare ourselves to others and, due to the perils of manufactured perfection, so often come up short.
It is good, therefore, to see when folks like Rebecca state that her site will continue as:
"... A repository for my thoughts and my internet identity... my private playground, my own little corner of the neighbourhood... where I can document my obsessions and do pretty much anything I want."
Also, that "there are no rules" governing what she will post.
Brilliant! A perfect #indieweb attitude.
As I have said, my blog and email addresses are the canonical representation of me on the internet and that's just how it should be, not allowing the public facing version of ourselves to be at the mercy of a third party.
I was put on to Rebecca by Patrick and subscribing was a no brainer.
Comments
# I've gotten so used to seeing the blog in dark mode that it always comes as a shock when it's not. I also had to re-theme the wp-login page. I just HAD to.
So that happened: I rejoined Facebook yesterday against my better judgement but needs must. I swore to myself I would never do it after deleting my Facebook and Twitter accounts so why? And why now? I was raised and confirmed as Catholic as a child but despite denouncing my faith while still young I have always been interested in religion from an academic standpoint rather than from one of belief. Looking back I think this was even the way when going to church and taking Bible classes as a kid. You can't criticise something, justify your own position or understand someone else's unless you first understand what it is you're having an opinion about. As I mentioned a little while back, my wife is the reverend for an online church and is always firing theological questions at me or using me as a sounding board. It was, therefore, only natural for her to want me to be named as a consultant to the church and I am more than happy to be so. I may not be a person of faith but I see the joy it can bring to those who are; I have seen the radical change in my wife, how she has blossomed, since she started walking this path and couldn't possibly do anything but support her. What's all this got to do with rejoining the Big Blue? As I said, most of the services and sermons, events and activities are planned, organised and delivered via Facebook, if I'm going to know what's happening and have some kind of input, I need to be where the church is. I've put my personal feelings about Facebook aside so that I can support my wife, her work, and her congregation. Good things can and do happen on social networks. I've locked down my profile, added the bare minimum of information, won't be scrolling down the news feed, and absolutely won't be installing the Facebook app on my phone. I will only be using it for specific, targeted purposes and won't be accepting friend requests apart from immediate family, the church leadership team and, possibly, members of my World of Warcraft guild that I actually know in person (I've been added to a Messenger group used to help plan guild events - another app that won't be installed) but that's it. I still believe that social networks are toxic when used in an uncontrolled manner, the tactics they employ to make you use them, the emotional blackmail they use when you try to leave and the general state of what passes for discourse; yet, with mindful, purposeful intent I hope to help one tiny corner of it all do something positive.
The internet still allows for great innovation and connection today, but it’s just not the same. Social networks like Facebook and Instagram and Twitter constitute “the internet” for many people, but they are not. They are only a pale version of what was and what could have been. The social-network-internet of today is best understood when you hold in your mind the image of a faceless person scrolling down a screen endlessly for all of eternity, but yet for whom satisfaction never comes. From The old internet by Rebecca Toh (via Colin Walker)