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Yeah. If you don't use Twitter but everyone around you uses Twitter, you're still pretty much using Twitter.

Sort of. Yes, you're still living in the same reality that the others have influence over (their experience on Twitter can cause them to make decisions that affect you) but you can still benefit from the aspects of reality that you can control. Not using Twitter may still benefit your life greatly, even if not perfectly. My life IS better without Twitter even though many other people still use it. I can also mitigate the impact of other people choosing to use Twitter in areas I can control.

Everyone around me using Twitter doesn't negate all of the benefits of me not using Twitter. I still have some agency and exercise it to maximize my life in reality. This sort of viewpoint can quickly slip into nihilism if we aren't careful.

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Discussion

PABLOF7z 1y ago

yes, I'm agreeing with this view.

I'm just saying that the view of "oh well, I don't use it so it's completely irrelevant whatever happens there" is wildly naive.

but yes OF COURSE, not providing life to it and recognizing what you have agency over is absolutely fundamental to your own sanity and to living in accordance to your values.

[ARCHIVED] Jay 1y ago

I'm with you.

I guess the point I really want to make is not specifically Twitter, but all algorithm driven feeds (visual, aural, and textual) that people use affect their state of mind, what they think about, and what they eventually do.

We have a population of people who are being influenced in this way every day and then taking the state of mind they're left with to make decisions and act in the world. If you or I defect and take back control of our minds, everyone else is still "in the matrix" or "living under Big Brother" to varying degrees.

You still have to interact with them, and their thoughts and beliefs will still have an impact on you. Unless you're hyper-vigilent or completely isolated, you're still a downstream "user" of the algorithm, if that makes sense.