Post #2699343

2026-03-13 14:59 UTC

But I think there’s also a quieter, more immediate question we can ask ourselves. How do we reclaim our humanity inside these systems? How do we build boundaries around our emotional lives? How do we recognize when our attention is being harvested? How do we create spaces, personally and culturally, where manipulation simply stops working? Because ultimately, the real issue isn’t technology. It’s whether we allow human experience, our curiosity, our empathy, our relationships, to become just another resource to be mined. The encouraging thing is that once people begin to see a system clearly, they begin to resist it. And that awareness is already growing. People are learning to recognize outrage bait. To question what they see online. To step away from systems that demand constant engagement. These are small acts. But collectively, they matter. Because preserving our humanity in an age of optimization isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s a cultural one. And the first step toward solving any cultural problem… is realizing that we are allowed to change the rules.

Replies (2)

@discontinuity@infosec.exchange 2026-03-13 15:12

@bittner@hachyderm.io thanks for posting this Dave. I agree completely. I think one hard question is that of network effect. To a very great extent, I've found my own either fully private, or run by a few dedicated nerds spaces which aren't full of this, and that really helps. But I don't know if those spaces are visible or accessible to everyone. I also know that for me, with a firehose of even non AI information, I'm fully capable of building my OWN dark patterns: it's tempting to follow people who are angry but CORRECT AH YOU'RE SO RIGHT I WILL FOLLOW. I'll build my own rage feed without the algorithm's help. But that is really bad for me, so I'm doing my best to mute those triggers and unfollow negativity. That's hard, but worthwhile for me. Not sure how everyone can learn how and why to opt out. It takes repeated work and accepting FOMO. I rely on podcasts to give me the news, but that means I rely on functioning news media. which also doesn't seem like a safe bet. I pay for as many as I can but still. I do see more friends and acquaintances thinking this way and working together to find other ways, so hopefully you're right. I'm really curious about what options will work for not so tech nerds folks. Mastodon and signal are my happy places, but I don't think the network effect is there for people with different interests? And I worry that as soon as there is enough of a network effect then the bad actors will find us there. Have you found other options that work for you and the folks in your life?

Open ##2699344
@Grimghost@hachyderm.io 2026-03-17 23:37

@bittner@hachyderm.io this is well articulated.

Open ##2699348