• 32 Posts
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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 31st, 2023

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  • There are different parties with opposing interests in any technology.

    I think the UK legislation is well-meaning on the part of lawmakers, who think they are only combatting CSAM. Which does need combatting. But remember that the average MP has no more technical education than their average constituent and they are dependent on advice from third parties. Because of how our economy is structured, rights campaigners and academics have far less resources to advise or lobby government (and shape public opinion through media) than corporations and wealthy individuals do.

    In an ideal situation you would have a working and middle class which is not only better educated but prosperous enough to have their interests properly represented and amplified to at least the level of business and finance. In a less ideal but better situation you would have business and finance reduced to the level of ordinary people, so that they can’t outcompete citizens’ at every turn.

    I wish more people understood that economic inequality isn’t just a problem when it manifests as poverty at the bottom end. It’s literally the size of the disparity that causes a continually worsening feedback loop of representation.

    That might sound complicated but it’s not and it’s as old as the hills: Better protection of your rights makes it harder for the wealthy to exploit you. You have more power and prosperity as a result.

    Edit: I want to add that it’s for the reasons above that Libre culture is radically valuable and empowering.










  • I know this isn’t directly answering your question and that lots of people will disagree with me on this but unfortunately I think the best option at the moment is to just not let kids go online. The supposed social and educational benefits and the relief from peer pressure/FOMO just don’t justify the damage to their future mental health and understanding of identity.

    I’m not personally confronted by this yet because mine are still too young, so take my view for what it is.

    I’m a millennial and remember a few kids when I was growing up who didn’t have a TV because their parents weren’t comfortable with the brainrot, even back then. That was thirty years ago and those kids are now successful and confident people, living full lives. And nobody even really noticed at the time that they were the odd ones out because they didn’t watch TV. They are more ‘functional’ than the rest of us.

    Things are way more intense now. The people who work for social media companies won’t let their kids on it, which I think says it all.

    It’s a shame that the internet as a whole has become what it is because it has/had a lot of positive potential. But even the more ethical and neutral parts of it get infected by the pathological culture and addictive format that has emerged from it. Just look at the judgement and antagonism that you often see here on Lemmy for example. Not to mention the loneliness.

    Personally, right now, I would look for a solution that isn’t a smartphone but that’s just me.