Goodbye, Big Tech
After years of willingly overlooking the negative psychological impact of social media and big tech, this week was the last straw for me.
In the past, I've referred to social media as "the new cigarettes." If you haven't seen The Social Dilemma on Netflix, go watch it. The documentary does an amazing job of detailing how platforms like Facebook are addictive by design. There are societal ramifications from the rise of social media that we will be dealing with for years to come. I'm finally ready to say goodbye to the big social media platforms. More than that, I'm actually ready to say goodbye, big tech.
America has a problem. Big tech is too powerful. I think as a nation we should be seriously concerned with the Silicon Valley oligopoly. Despite never having an account on the platform, I don't like what just happened to Parler. Am I a card carrying MAGA member? Nope. Not even close, actually. I still did not care for Twitter suspending a sitting US president. What deeply disturbed me though is what Facebook did to Ron Paul on Tuesday.
With no explanation other than "repeatedly going against our community standards," @Facebook has blocked me from managing my page. Never have we received notice of violating community standards in the past and nowhere is the offending post identified.
Ron Paul via Twitter
This is Bad
The Ron Paul situation speaks to me most of all because unlike Parler or Trump, I actually like Ron Paul. I've been a fan for a long time. He is the most non-aggressive, mild-mannered former politician I can imagine. I've never seen anything from him that would justify suspension. He does, however, frequently speak out against the Fed and central banking. I actually joked about the prospect of Fed antagonists getting silenced just a few days ago.
What I thought was jest seemingly came to fruition within just 48 hours. This is scary because I say the same kind of stuff Ron Paul says. If Facebook thinks his message is dangerous, they probably also think my message is dangerous. And apparently whatever Facebook thinks, Google, Apple, Twitter, and Amazon also think. What is my message? It's pretty simple. Don't spend money you don't have. Make smarter personal finance decisions. Take an alternative approach to your investing. Oh, and central banking has done significant harm to middle and lower income Americans. It seems this is now a radical viewpoint.
Was the Parler takedown even legal?
I totally understand the argument private businesses can do what they want. Truly. I do. Actually, I agree completely. I don't have a problem with Facebook taking down bad actors. I have a problem with arbitrary guidelines, suspensions without explanation, and coordinated takedowns. How can three companies in the big tech oligopoly seemingly break anti-trust law and eliminate a competitor in a period of just 24 hours? How is that okay? Is that not what just happened to Parler? One of the best journalists on the planet seems to think so. Glenn Greenwald is non-partisan. His opinion matters. And it's not even like these outlets are trying to hide that they're working together at this point.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter because nobody is going to do anything about it even if it did violate anti-trust law. So what can be done? Just as any private business has the right to refuse service, consumers also have the right to boycott products and brands. Though I wasn't a user on Parler, or a fan of Trump for that matter, I'm so disturbed by the ability of big tech to coordinate the elimination of a new market entrant or to silence political adversaries, that I now find myself aggressively trying to create distance from these monopolies and duopolies as a consumer.
What I'm doing
Adjusting my own behavior is the only thing that I actually have the power to do. Ron Paul is the straw that broke the camel's back for me. It's the ever changing goalpost of what is allowed and what is not that concerns me. This week Ron Paul found out he's been repeatedly going against "community standards" on Facebook. Silenced today for something he's apparently been doing repeatedly without issue over time.
Did we ever find out what he did wrong? It turns out nothing. Facebook said it was a mistake. Yeah sure, Facebook. Ron Paul got his page back because he's Ron Paul. Normal people don't get their access back with the standard "oops" explanation because normal people don't get the same widespread criticism of these heavy handed decisions like important people do. I don't like it. It could happen to anyone. All this stated, I feel strongly enough about my feelings on what has happened in the last few days to actually put a plan into action.
I already deleted my Facebook several months ago and I haven't missed it even a little. This week I deleted my Instagram as well. I deleted my Amazon account Tuesday night. Google Chrome has been removed from my devices. The only browser I use on a personal PC or phone is Brave. DuckDuckGo is the only search engine I use. Those outlets are doing more to address my general concerns around privacy. This is why I have been using them for months.
I have deleted all social media apps from my phone. My YouTube channel is gone. I deleted Gmail and Google Analytics from my phone. My spam Gmail account is gone entirely. All accounts linked to that email have been moved to a different more private service. I am phasing out my regularly used Gmail account and that will be eliminated in time as well. That's proving to be quite the process. I deleted my Yahoo account. I will be deleting my Twitter account shortly. I'm still going through my follow list and making sure I subscribe to all of the newsletters and substacks from my favorite tweeters. After that, Twitter is gonezo. Since I have an iPhone it's a little harder to duck Apple. But that's now a long term goal as well.
Where will I be?
I still have StockTwits. That's a hyper-focused stock market social platform that reads like a scuzzy boiler room message board. If you're interested in the charts I shared on Twitter, those will now live there. Of course, unless my server host shuts me down, I'll still be right here at Faybomb.com. I may check out Flote. I may not. SOCIETY2 looks very interesting. We'll see. For now, I'm pretty much unplugging. I'm genuinely not worried about what my next social media platform will be or if there will even be one. I told this to a friend this week; "I was alive before social media and did just fine without it. I'll do just fine again."
What will I do instead?
Probably stop and actually look at the world around me rather than my phone. Try new things. Cook cuisine that is more difficult to prepare. Learn how to play piano. Maybe take up painting? Finish the book I started writing 2 years ago? I don't know! I'll definitely play with my daughter more. My dog will get more out of me. I'll be a more present husband. I'll support more local businesses rather than just relying on Amazon when I want something. I'm going to just live my life.
I have a hunch my life is going to greatly improve by minimizing my digital footprint. I can't even fathom the opportunity cost I have unknowingly endured the last decade or so by willingly giving away my attention and my privacy for free. Not anymore. Lesson learned. Goodbye, big tech.