I'm leaving X. Outside of a few people, it felt like I was talking to an empty wall there. I probably will still 'read" and write a few messages to the few friends but will spend less time there. They took away my account that had 700 followers, even though the password was never lost. "Arbitrary termination" [see their new list of rules] has already kicked in. I have a second account that stayed at around 80 followers. After a period of time observing X, I felt like most on there were "owned" or "agenda" accounts or blatantly fake accounts.
I searched for my own name, and noticed they started a number of fake accounts under the fivehundredpoundpeep name. One insulting one claimed to love Only Fans. I hate Only Fans. This irritated me.
No one was reading my posts anymore and there was no way to recover my old account. Here's the new rules that kick in on January, they are awful.
It's just not worth it. Some of these places are addictive, I have to be cautious myself of internet addiction and dopamine hits. I am working to withdraw more from the internet. I will still post here, and still do messages to friends and emails. I watch a lot of Youtube too, since it's part of my TV, I'm not sure how much of that I can lower. Being deaf, it is far easier for me to communicate via text than the phone and I need to transcribe speech to communicate with people so I can't leave the internet completely. My husband still will be doing some work on it.
There have been some nasty changes to the internet where they seem to want to make the "dead internet" theory come to life. All the bots are ruining it. Many are noticing the level of manipulation too. Long ago, I noticed a lot of people online didn't seem real, there was too many bots and astroturfers. Free speech barely exists anywhere, everything seemed to have an "agenda". This is one reason I greatly reduced my involvement with Reddit, even on obscure boards like one dealing with bible conspiracy, There were fake people all over. Too many had the same opinions and the round-about dishonest way of writing. This reminded me of my banning from the raised by narcissists board even after years on there for having one line that questioned Covid vaxxes in 2024. Some of the stuff got silly.
On X, I have noticed anyone who is spontaneous and "real" is left with a small account, there were even a few excellent researchers and commentators, who were being left with very little audience. Some talked about shadow-banning, that may explain some of it. As you can see from the new rules below, my losing my first account probably was early arbitrary termination. Elon Musk is not trustworthy. How will our information be used by a trillionaire "tech brother?" Some of these characters remind me of the villains on James Bond movies. X was a good source of information about certain topics like Covid, though sadly most of the medical freedom movement appeared to sell out to Trump.
They are trying to build data centers. They are popping up like mushrooms in my state, every small town area is getting one, even my own. They already are making the electric bills skyrocket, and they use tons of water. Some say the system is being collapsed, but who knows. Why are they building so many data centers? I joined groups online against them and if a real world local one starts, I plan to go.
I do not support AI, I hate it, it has brought us endless bad art, fake pictures and poorly written books, and it's full of errors too. I am not AI pure being online at all, but I refuse to use ChatGPT, or any AI knowingly where one goes and looks for a AI tool to use. Some people find my anti-AI stances weird. One guy told me this is progress and it will improve humanity. I don't agree.
AI seems to be making people dumber and even more shut down. Protect your paper books, it seems they are making paper magazines and books obsolete, there isn't a magazine stand for hundreds of miles now within my apartment. The lack of a soul in AI deadens everything it touches, and sadly most disconnected humans don't even see it. I have noticed there are a lot of artists and religious people who hate AI, and we hate it for a reason.
How come so few are asking why we need a data center every 50 miles? You think those digital IDs have something to do with it? I do. It would shock you if I told you how many of these places they want to build and they are going into rural remote areas. They can't even get a working job system or money system as Americans are falling into homelessness or keep a steady source of power without constant war. Some believe and I've mentioned this theory too, that they are shutting down industrial society and the Covid vaxxes are working their depopulation "magic" though far slower than predicted. Maybe the data centers are a boondoggle. I have read articles and posted them here and there about how AI is a hoax. What does it actually DO for us? A whole lot of nothing. Garbage in, Garbage out. Why is AI almost always a woke liberal too and always loves vaxxes?
If I find most of the newest internet developments dissatisfying except for this blog, and some forced shopping online and speaking with online and IRL friends because I am deaf, wouldn't that apply to others? I've been ordering old books from inter library loan for real education like reading "History of Great American Fortunes", from 1936. This book will tell you what is happening now is almost an exact repeat of the Gilded Age. I've read to page 177 but plan to finish it. I suppose the internet is still useful for somethings since I found an archive of it but I want to order a paper copy as soon as I can afford it. I loved the internet for years, like a magic library but everything that is good about it, the tech brothers and other soul-less idiots running this society seem to be wanting to take out of it. However that said, many of us do feel the electronic cage being built around us.
Some points about the internet:
1. Have you noticed how blogging has died? I am one of the die-hards. I can't even find a new ACON blog out there. Most shut theirs down. I'm glad one blog I have co-written with, survives. Maybe I will run out of things to talk about one day. Blogging seems to have disappeared. Only the sponsored and corporate still seem at it. I save copies of this blog since I fear even this platform being taken down one day. I do want to get paper copies of the best articles but money has stood in my way there.
2. Have you noticed how those with independent opinions are ostracized and banned? I can find some real independent outposts of the internet but that got harder and harder. I really wish I could find independent message boards, if anybody knows of any share them with me here. I haven't been able to find those. I think of how Twitter banned me years ago for questioning the vaxxes, I got back on under Elon Musk's sojourn, but I've been "banned" just more via the backdoor. I talked about politics, conspiracy and religion too much for their liking. How come every message board has a control freak moderator that seems to reject all independent posts? You don't have to insult anyone or do anything wrong but if you don't go with their agenda, out you go. I've noticed this on boards for a variety of subjects.
Free speech isn't in vogue anymore in the USA. The left is worse with this, but the right wing can be just as bad. I am tired of being told by rich friends on Facebook, except a few who are conspiracy aware, that the economy is doing great. A lot of opinions out there are programmed out there. The internet is erasing individuality and testing things by the real world. Control of information definitely is an internet agenda.
I'm keeping my hobbies and paper books!
3. How come there hasn't been a back to real life movement, where people disengage off the internet. Maybe it's happening and it's overdue. It's not like they will announce it online! I had discussions with my husband where I have said, "we should return to regular life!" I dream of "going off the grid" so to speak but practicalities have made this impossible. I do force 24 hour periods on myself where I am not allowed to go online except for necessary speech transcription.
I could be forced off the grid one day because I will not take a digital ID, due to religious and other beliefs. One day there could be those who have been ousted from the system. You always saw this theme in many dystopian novels. I refuse transhumanism and other things they seem to be cooking up. If they plan for deindustrialization and returning the peasants to the land, there probably would still be some digital control mechanisms that could be left in place. Remember what I said about that Arch Druid guy who warned of deindustrialization as early as 2012, the job lay-offs and shutting down of companies may be happening for a reason.
4. How come everyone ignores how much WORSE everything has become? The whole Covid thing broke social ties and connections we once enjoyed. Life is harder and more overwhelming. Everyone is scattered. I still feel nervous in crowds from all of the crap and feel the deadening of the vaxxed. They just don't talk as much. People have far less emotions, for the new tech dystopia, they certainly don't want emotions muddying up everything. Do any of you pine nostalgic for the conversations of the 2010s, when people still seemed to have critical thinking skills? I meet fellow awake people, friends with a few, like floating islands of relief in a sea of the braindead. One thing I notice when I talk about the damages from tech and AI, is the majority defend it. Why? Some eagerly await all this nonsense, but the few changes I've seen have been for the negative and for more control and economic ruin.
I found this interesting, I SAW it YEARS ago myself around 2013, and it seems to have happened. This was a post from 4chan,
That said, I started feeling detached from the real world myself. It's a problem. Because I am housebound and in bed often from illness--I'm removing water from myself now in bed, I became addicted to the internet. Disability makes contact with the real world harder.
My worries have been about how much of the real world am I getting to experience? I do have a few friends, I go to an art club, I'm supposed to take a scholarship art class soon. A friend promised to help me get there in late winter weather, the place is near my apartment. How much of life is being lived anymore? Lack of money blocks me from everywhere. Americans didn't notice but they basically charge for everything, there's no free third spaces anymore. Church costs money. One evangelical friend told me I have a hang up about money and finding a church. She owns a home and is able to appear far more together, she didn't experience what I did in churches. The ability to give some money is expected. If you don't have money to support yourself even, it doesn't work.
Many Americans live in a fantasy too. I notice how few notice the growing numbers of homeless and "ruins" everywhere and closed businesses, because they can turn on the internet and be told "Everything is great!" Sure there's a few outliner voices on Youtube talking about the economy, but the mainstreams are maintaining the false reality via the internet. This is 1984/Brave New World crap. I worry "Oh maybe I am too isolated, I need to see more of the real world", but I can't ignore memories and what I see in front of my own face.
5. The internet changed people. It made us too performative. This applies to me. We all want a voice. Maybe this became a way for us to try and gain one. Millions all yelling "Look at me!", the influencers really running with the drive for attention. Maybe I am guilty too. In times past, most lived and only knew people around them, now we are on here, because our social worlds got so compressed except for a few lucky ones of us with friends and mates. We want to be noticed and remembered. We all treated ourselves like brands. I made jokes about how I had this identity online, as the Peep for years, a more outgoing personality. I find myself wanting freedom from the pressure to "perform" and "impress" or show enough intellect to have people take an interest. This blog did get some interest, it hit over 3 million views long ago, and I know it's not just me reading my own stuff but now it is getting kind of old. I've been at it on here since 2010. That will soon be 16 years. I did change a lot of stuff and stayed alive which this blog was started to find out what was wrong with me with my severe obesity. Even last year gave more answers with the celiac diagnosis. I am now in the 460s so at least weight is stable, and going down a little bit.
Even in real life on social media, I had the thought maybe I "show" off too much art, like I am trying to sell myself as an "artist" online. Artists do want to show their stuff, and get satisfaction selling it but I had funny thoughts about this. I do admit some bad stuff on my social media, people there know I am "poor", but I thought about this kind of thing. I don't relate to a lot of people even on economic lines, their lives seem so busy and full, but then you wonder how much do you really know all those friends on social media? Some I am close to, we talk like real friends enough to KNOW each other so some are obviously REAL friends. However I have names I don't even recognize anymore on my social media, when did I befriend them? It's kind of weird.
Most of my high school ended up more financially secure than I did with closer knit families, I could see the root of their non-abused lives. Most never left the town I went to high school in and are surrounded by family, they didn't become a weird economic nomad with no family.
The internet changed a lot of stuff socially. One thing I am contending with, due to the autism and deafness, I am far better in text than I am in person. One close person even told me they noticed this difference. I am not operating at full speed in person, even keeping my balance takes some of the brain power away. The deafness is getting harder too, the transcribe phones can miss things especially if one is in a room with more than 2 people. What does it mean for a person to be a different person in person than online? Some would say the internet was a help for you then. I do worry about coming across as "slow" and "boring" in the real world, there's like thoughts I don't get out, it's hard to explain. One wants to be a good listener too, once the number of people goes over 2, it's like my brain shuts down.
6. Has anyone noticed all these tech advances are not improving our economic lives whatsoever but making them worse? Reading about the monied in the 1936 book, I noticed everything is the same. The ultra rich rip off the poor and suppress the working class. All the wins of the 40s-80s have disappeared with gig employment, lack of jobs, disappearance of unions, and other "worker rights". Do you see AI improving the lot of the ordinary person? It's not and this is never commented on except on anti-AI or conspiracy boards. Few too even analyze the level of control all the technological advances will bring.
I miss the internet of the 1990s, then it was fun, spontaneous, creative, I remember how fun chat rooms were before the advent of power mad moderators. I felt like I was talking to real people on message boards. Remember those self designed web pages with cartoons and personal photographs? Not all of it has been bad. I definitely have enjoyed blogging and the internet allowed me to find out about narcissism and offered the ACON community. The internet allowed me to stay alive and find out about Lipedema, and find out the existence of functional doctors.
There's changes now that are not good. I feel like they are stripping the internet of everything that gave it meaning. It's become so MONOPOLIZED with everything run by giant companies. I don't like talking to machines instead of people and even when you get a person you wonder if it is a real human. Tell me what you think. I do wish I got more action in the comments on here, it is kind of weird I get numbers of tens of thousands of page views per month but so few comments. What do you think of the internet, AI and how it's changed life. Are you against data centers?
I found this interesting, I SAW it YEARS ago myself around 2013, and it seems to have happened. This was a post from 4chan,
That said, I started feeling detached from the real world myself. It's a problem. Because I am housebound and in bed often from illness--I'm removing water from myself now in bed, I became addicted to the internet. Disability makes contact with the real world harder.
My worries have been about how much of the real world am I getting to experience? I do have a few friends, I go to an art club, I'm supposed to take a scholarship art class soon. A friend promised to help me get there in late winter weather, the place is near my apartment. How much of life is being lived anymore? Lack of money blocks me from everywhere. Americans didn't notice but they basically charge for everything, there's no free third spaces anymore. Church costs money. One evangelical friend told me I have a hang up about money and finding a church. She owns a home and is able to appear far more together, she didn't experience what I did in churches. The ability to give some money is expected. If you don't have money to support yourself even, it doesn't work.
Many Americans live in a fantasy too. I notice how few notice the growing numbers of homeless and "ruins" everywhere and closed businesses, because they can turn on the internet and be told "Everything is great!" Sure there's a few outliner voices on Youtube talking about the economy, but the mainstreams are maintaining the false reality via the internet. This is 1984/Brave New World crap. I worry "Oh maybe I am too isolated, I need to see more of the real world", but I can't ignore memories and what I see in front of my own face.
5. The internet changed people. It made us too performative. This applies to me. We all want a voice. Maybe this became a way for us to try and gain one. Millions all yelling "Look at me!", the influencers really running with the drive for attention. Maybe I am guilty too. In times past, most lived and only knew people around them, now we are on here, because our social worlds got so compressed except for a few lucky ones of us with friends and mates. We want to be noticed and remembered. We all treated ourselves like brands. I made jokes about how I had this identity online, as the Peep for years, a more outgoing personality. I find myself wanting freedom from the pressure to "perform" and "impress" or show enough intellect to have people take an interest. This blog did get some interest, it hit over 3 million views long ago, and I know it's not just me reading my own stuff but now it is getting kind of old. I've been at it on here since 2010. That will soon be 16 years. I did change a lot of stuff and stayed alive which this blog was started to find out what was wrong with me with my severe obesity. Even last year gave more answers with the celiac diagnosis. I am now in the 460s so at least weight is stable, and going down a little bit.
Even in real life on social media, I had the thought maybe I "show" off too much art, like I am trying to sell myself as an "artist" online. Artists do want to show their stuff, and get satisfaction selling it but I had funny thoughts about this. I do admit some bad stuff on my social media, people there know I am "poor", but I thought about this kind of thing. I don't relate to a lot of people even on economic lines, their lives seem so busy and full, but then you wonder how much do you really know all those friends on social media? Some I am close to, we talk like real friends enough to KNOW each other so some are obviously REAL friends. However I have names I don't even recognize anymore on my social media, when did I befriend them? It's kind of weird.
Most of my high school ended up more financially secure than I did with closer knit families, I could see the root of their non-abused lives. Most never left the town I went to high school in and are surrounded by family, they didn't become a weird economic nomad with no family.
The internet changed a lot of stuff socially. One thing I am contending with, due to the autism and deafness, I am far better in text than I am in person. One close person even told me they noticed this difference. I am not operating at full speed in person, even keeping my balance takes some of the brain power away. The deafness is getting harder too, the transcribe phones can miss things especially if one is in a room with more than 2 people. What does it mean for a person to be a different person in person than online? Some would say the internet was a help for you then. I do worry about coming across as "slow" and "boring" in the real world, there's like thoughts I don't get out, it's hard to explain. One wants to be a good listener too, once the number of people goes over 2, it's like my brain shuts down.
6. Has anyone noticed all these tech advances are not improving our economic lives whatsoever but making them worse? Reading about the monied in the 1936 book, I noticed everything is the same. The ultra rich rip off the poor and suppress the working class. All the wins of the 40s-80s have disappeared with gig employment, lack of jobs, disappearance of unions, and other "worker rights". Do you see AI improving the lot of the ordinary person? It's not and this is never commented on except on anti-AI or conspiracy boards. Few too even analyze the level of control all the technological advances will bring.
I miss the internet of the 1990s, then it was fun, spontaneous, creative, I remember how fun chat rooms were before the advent of power mad moderators. I felt like I was talking to real people on message boards. Remember those self designed web pages with cartoons and personal photographs? Not all of it has been bad. I definitely have enjoyed blogging and the internet allowed me to find out about narcissism and offered the ACON community. The internet allowed me to stay alive and find out about Lipedema, and find out the existence of functional doctors.
There's changes now that are not good. I feel like they are stripping the internet of everything that gave it meaning. It's become so MONOPOLIZED with everything run by giant companies. I don't like talking to machines instead of people and even when you get a person you wonder if it is a real human. Tell me what you think. I do wish I got more action in the comments on here, it is kind of weird I get numbers of tens of thousands of page views per month but so few comments. What do you think of the internet, AI and how it's changed life. Are you against data centers?