[1,880 words, 10 min estimated read time]
There were several factors that led me to making my own website – like I mentioned in my first blog post on here a big factor was briefly loosing my Tumblr account, the only social media I was really having much fun with anymore.
But even if just for myself, I’d like to talk about the additional factors that pushed me to make my own website, and eventually led me to the conclusion that as long as social media companies prioritize advertisers over its users, it will never allow for a truly safe digital social space.
The Dead Internet Theory
If you haven’t heard of the Dead Internet Theory, I recommend watching this video. It gives a brief rundown of the theory and takes ai generative content into account.
[16 min video] Dead Internet Theory: A.I. Killed the Internet by Kyle Hill, 11 July 2024
While the Dead Internet Theory started as a conspiracy theory, for users on the internet nowadays parts of it just sound like the current state of things. Less and less of the internet is being influenced by humans- human interaction, human creation, human thought.
According to Imperva, a cybersecurity company referenced in Kyle Hill’s video:
“The 2024 Imperva Threat Research report reveals that almost 50% of internet traffic comes from non-human sources. Bad bots, in particular, now comprise nearly one-third of all traffic.”
– Imperva, 2024 Bad Bot Report
Even though the internet at large was meant to connect people, it seems more and more difficult to connect in any meaningful way, especially through social media.
While your discord servers may feel safe at least, how many times has a bot joined and needed to be kicked after spamming messages with malicious links? Or for that matter, groupchats in general? Even WhatsApp groupchats I’m part of for clubs and societies have been hit by waves of bots.
A Deep Dive into Tumblr Ads
[33 min video] How Did Tumblr Ads Get So Weird? by STRANGE ÆONS, 20 September 2024
While this youtube video started as a deep dive into why Tumblr ads are so weird, it ended with the acknowledgment that Tumblr is a massive money-sink for whoever buys it, and can’t last forever.
Social media platforms are stuck in the tricky position of choosing to favor their users or their financial backers. And with Tumblr it’s clear the direction a platform will eventually go in if it finds itself unprofitable. Stuck relying on bottom-of-the-barrel advertiser options and still loosing money.
While there’s no indication Tumblr is going anytime soon, I began to wonder what I would do if it was suddenly gone. It’s certainly not unheard of for websites or platforms to suddenly disappear. Would I look for a replacement? Would I even be able to find anything that had that same feeling? For all of its flaws, Tumblr has prided itself on its unique inability to be marketable, and it’s Tumblr’s strangeness that I love.
I enjoyed hearing Strange Aeons’s plan:
“Do not suggest to me other platforms that I can jump to when Tumblr dies. When Tumblr gets deleted, I will be throwing my phone into Lake Ontario once and for all. And I will put all of the energy I formally put into posting into growing kale on my apartment balcony. And I will not be telling the internet about it, because I will be covered in dirt and thriving, as I want to be.”
– Strange Aeons
What is Happening to Youtube’s Comments Section?
I came across these three videos below talking about the situation with Youtube’s comment bots. While thankfully I hadn’t been unfortunate enough to stumble across the comments they were talking about before being warned about them, it still grabbed my attention by having three creators in different spheres of Youtube discussing the same issue around the same time.
[8 min video] Finally Talking About This Problem by penguinz0, 10 July 2024
[22 min video] Hey @YouTube these comments are illegal. Maybe DO YOUR JOB? 🚨 by D’Angelo Wallace, 6 September 2024
[21 min video] So YouTube Is Getting Worse… by Saberspark, 28 September 2024
All these creators expressed how tired they were of trying to stop the never ending flood of bot comments spreading genuinely disgusting and disturbing messages. And it made me wonder how the problem could have gone ignored this long by Youtube.
As this comment under D’Angelo Wallace’s video succinctly puts it:
The idea that Youtube’s priorities right now are focused on making as much money as possible over ensuring their own platform is even safe is pretty easy to see.
Being Online doesn’t mean being on Social Media
[34 min video] Walking you through my CALM, social media-free, marketing strategy by The Calm Creative, 30 May 2024
This was the first video I saw that really started to connect all these scattered thoughts I’d had. It’s geared towards creatives marketing their artwork, but regardless of whether this applies to you, I think it’s worth watching. If anything, it might shift how you engage with creatives you enjoy and want to support.
I revisited this video while writing this blog post, and pulled some quotes from it that stuck with me:
“…when we start our dream business…we feel ourselves forced into this nonstop shallow hustle culture that we didn’t sign up for…but the good news is, we don’t have to play this game, even if it feels that way and seems that way, because everyone around is playing the game.”
– Louise, The Calm Creative
“Social Media is like…standing on the side of a busy highway, yelling and throwing flyers at oncoming traffic, right next to millions of other people who are also yelling and throwing flyers.”
– Louise, The Calm Creative
After watching this video my view of social media’s role in sharing my own artwork began to change, and I reconsidered what I was gaining from it. It made me start to wonder- what does social media provide for me? How can I get the most out of it while still ensuring I’m not burning myself out?
What Is To Be Done? – A Manifesto To Return To Web 1.5 by CJ THE X
I recommend reading the article linked above, it was genuinely a really enjoyable and insightful read. In the article CJ the X goes into much better of an explanation and detail than I will, here I’m just discussing the solution they suggested for alternatives to social media.
“Independent websites, newsletters, blogs, email. Human to human contact, zero intermediary advertisers. We don’t need new solutions. We just need to use the ones we already have.”
– CJ the X
One thing I appreciate about their message is that it still recognizes the benefits of social media, and just how hard it is to pull away from it. They aren’t calling for people to completely distance themselves from the internet, instead its a call to redirect what methods we use to connect to people online.
What’s the Solution?
Louise (the Calm Creative on Youtube) and CJ the X (also on Youtube btw) both identify all of the issues with the modern web I have noted already. And both advocate for similar steps to take:
- Make a Personal Website → You have the freedom of customization, and a center for your online presence you an redirect people to. Whatever social media you do have, you can have them all point back to this one specific spot.
- Use Newsletters → The people on your newsletter email list have voluntarily signed up and want to be there. This isn’t desperately trying to grab the attention of strangers online, as Louise puts it screaming on the side of the highway with millions of others, this is a group who you know wants to hear from you. And they have the freedom to unsubscribe or simply not read the email if they don’t want to. The important thing is you’re talking directly to them. They don’t need to sift through content on social media to find you, and your message isn’t constrained by the limitations of a social media platform.
- Use Webrings → This is how you build community. Use your own website to link directly to others’ websites and email newsletters, share what you want in your own curated space.
So where do we go from here…
In one of my graduate school classes, we had a discussion about how to ensure a safe digital online social space for users, and what the possible role of public libraries could be in this.
In our initial forum responses, this is what I wrote as I considered this for the first time:
“Separation from commercial or political interests in a unified digital social space would promote safety for users. Online environments are becoming more hostile for users with the increasing influence and control of advertisers, as meeting the demands of monetary backers are being prioritized over users in social media spaces. Another thing to take into account is the need for social media companies to promote engagement for profit, regardless of whether it is harmful rhetoric, misinformation being spread, or bots interacting with users. A digital space like this could include standardized moderation and fact checking to make sure misinformation does not spread.”
– Yours truly, rushing to get a response out for class
Since writing this I’ve just sort of been mulling this over more. I’ve been thinking about just how hostile the internet has become, and what actions can be taken to redirect it.
I recently had a discussion that expanded on this as we considered the role of libraries. Should libraries be pushing to join social media to promote their services since this is where the people are? But would that be encouraging people to stay on social media longer, and do we really want to contribute to that? Alternatively if libraries build their own digital spaces separate from social media, who would be in charge of it? Would librarians be expected to be moderators on top of their jobs?
With all these questions and thoughts still bouncing around in my brain, I feel that right now I should focus on the changes I can make for myself- making this website, starting to blog, and stepping away from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. My main takeaway from all of this has not been to completely cut off the internet, but to think critically about how you use it, and what it’s providing for you.
I still plan to watch Youtube because I feel that I can learn a lot from the creators on there. I still plan to go on Tumblr because it brings me a lot of joy. And other social media like Bluesky and Cara I’m still thinking of critically, making sure they’re providing something worthwhile for me. And for all of these platforms I need to be ready to acknowledge when whatever they’re providing me isn’t outweighing the harm it’s causing.
Regardless of whether this post motivated you to make a similar change for yourself or not, I hope you got something worthwhile out of it.
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