Friends, don't use the tools of the enemy.

[erodriguez]

Social media is a plague especially Twitter and Facebook

Your Facebook friends are not real friends. You speak to real friends. You can text them your pictures. Or even take a good one and turn it into a card. I'm sure they'd appreciate it.
Facebook is run by a billionaire who loves to spread whatever disinformation as long as it makes money and doesn't care about the consequences.

Twitter is endless nonsense set up to waste your time. You won't miss it. It's run by Elon Musk, enemy of the American people.

I, like many, used to use Twitter regularly to keep up with what's happening. But it's all bullshit that is shown to you by an algorithm to keep you scrolling and wasting your fucking time. Time that could be better spent learning something. Spending time talking with family and friends, and helping your community.

Don't give these assholes anymore of your time.

Thanks for reading.
Adios!

[leftstreet]

1. Just stop. Social media is the people's media

Go after corporate non-interactive media instead

[erodriguez]

2. Are you saying that twitter and Facebook are the peoples media?

I thought they were owned by billionaires and corporations. I don't get it.

[leftstreet]

6. They're interactive. Powered by members. The MSM isn't n/t

[Ndp5]

47. Gotta be kidding

Twitter is now basically just endless volleys of outrage, which is what get clicks. And, because sleazy Elon is manipulating the platform, also swarms of bots and porn videos.

Facebook is a cesspool of rumor and misinformation. And Zuckerberg has done next to nothing to stop the networks of pedos operating on his platforms, as the traditional media have reported.

Social media contributed to this outcome and they are indeed owned by billionaires, who are not your friends. The OP is right.

[TheKentuckian]

3. Right...

[Basso8vb]

5. Lol

I got a bridge to sell ya.

[Coventina]

9. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, stop.....my aching sides!!!

[peregrinus]

11. it certainly is not

it is a brainwashing tool used by corporations to herd people into desired outcomes, mostly buying useless crap.

[Voltaire2]

17. There are democratically operated social media platforms, xitter and facebook and bluesky are not among them.

Mastodon and Lemmy, for example are part of the 'fediverse' of federated social media open source non-commercial platform systems, one for twitter-like messages, the other for reddit like link aggregation.

People new to either, but especially Mastodon, are uncomfortable with the experience if they migrated from the equivalent commercial platform (xitter) because there simply is no 'algorithm' stuffing their 'feed' to maximize gaze farming. You have to organize your feed, and that is apparently not providing the same addictive hit that xitter gives people.

I think the obvious fact is that facebook and xitter and tik tok are addictive, and as amply demonstrated by the election campaign, if the algorithms are manipulated by the owners to achieve desired political outcomes, really dangerous to the preservation of republican democracy. We've allowed an almost entirely unregulated array of addictive substances to spread through the population, and also allowed the suppliers of these substances to abuse their addict populations for their own purposes.

[littlemissmartypants]

38. What's wrong with Bluesky? I'll wait. ❤️

[Voltaire2]

64. So far nothing. I'm perhaps changing my mind about it.

However, at some point they are going to have to attempt to monetize the platform. At that point the simple fact that it is a private enterprise that can do whatever it decides to do will make it, like facebook twitter tiktok etc, a dubious proposition.

[alarimer]

57. Mastodon is too complicated

What I want is Twitter, without Elon, in a chronological timeline. I want the people I follow to be all in one place.

[John Shaft]

58. Mastodon and Lemmy aren't gamified?

that's interesting.

[The Wandering Harper]

23. that stopped being anywhere near true

when what you see was filtered by an algorithm

[SoFlaBro]

26. Shadow bans and other fuck shit spoil the experience.

[Skittles]

53. OMFG

SO NAIVE

[CousinIT]

4. There is better-run social media than Twitter and Facebutt - and Threads.

Mastodon or BlueSky for example.

[erodriguez]

7. The best one is right here the DU.

[CousinIT]

10. DAMN RIGHT! Been here for 23 years (different handles)

I don't know WTF I'd do without DU!

[taxi]

12. Um, acceptance and complacency gets us nowhere.

The tools used in recent conflicts against us may not have dismantled the master's house, but instead have repeatedly sent the master packing.

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice."

Like many of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous quotations, these words echo through the ages. They offer hope and give rise to a sense that progress toward freedom, equality, and—indeed—justice is inevitable.

But the arc of the moral universe is anything but. It does not bend towards justice on its own—no, it only does so because people pull it towards justice. It is an active exercise, not a passive one.

No one knew this better than Dr. King. His famous words are divorced of their broader context. Before delivering this famous line in his sermon at the Temple Israel, Dr. King acknowledged to reach the promised land, some people might get “scarred up” or even face death.

https://shontelbrown.house.gov/media/in-the-news/arc-moral-universe-will-bend-toward-justice-only-if-we-pull-it

[erodriguez]

18. You can't change the furniture in someone else's house.

These assholes unleashed their platforms on the American people. They set the agenda.

[taxi]

27. This election has driven that point home.

We continued trying to reason with people, to convince them that they could have better furniture. They don't want better furniture. They want what they have. Sometimes when you show a friend his shortcomings, he may correct them and never forgive you. It seems that many here have finally realized that trying to win votes from indecisive, opinionated people is a pipe dream. The first red baseball cap that they see brings them right back to square one. We reach out again and pat ourselves on our backs, thinking we have made a difference. The only difference has proven to be an increased risk of hurting our elbows.

[maxrandb]

13. About a week before the election, EVERY Reel on Facebook

was filled with Donnie Dipshit and Leon "or whatever the Fuck Musk his name is" positive clips.

It was so FUCKING obvious.

Despite going down hundreds of recipe, home/auto repair, funny cats and dogs and rock and roll "Rabbit Holes" on Facebook, and NEVER ONCE clicking on ANYTHING associated with Donny Dipshit or Tesla, suddenly the Reels that were showing up on my feed were full of fascist love clips of Musk and his new pet.

[Autumn]

16. You control what you see on FB. That's how it works. The only time I saw Eloony

was in an anti republican post.

[radical noodle]

50. The reels seem to be based on what you tend to watch

then they give you more of the same. For the last year or so, all the reels I've been shown are dogs, cats, and traffic accidents. I watch them and get more. I never saw a single trump or musk reel this entire year, but I've seen a lot of dogs and cats and a few traffic accidents.

[LexVegas]

14. You should stop using stuff you dont know how to use. Good on you. nt

[Autumn]

15. I have only friends and family on my FB . If you don't like FB

don't fucking use it.

[erodriguez]

19. FB profits off disinformation and hatred.

You can pretend you are siloing yourself from the rest of it but it's all the same system.

[Autumn]

20. You are the one who decides what you see on FB You see what

you look for and what you allow. I have friends and family only. I control ads that I see.

[erodriguez]

21. I think your missing the point.

[Autumn]

24. You haven't made a point.

[relayerbob]

35. Your only point is that you are as blind and biased

As the other side.

[EllieBC]

41. You've made no point.

Instead you have placed yourself as some kind of expert on how DUers ought to spend their free time.

[GoneOffShore]

62. Welcome to DU - Enjoy your stay, however brief

[Autumn]

25. On FB I can get on the messenger and face time them.

I can see them AND talk to them with a click of the mouse .

[Autumn]

29. Americans have no privacy. Ask the NSA and my IPhone.

If you don't like it don't use it

[relayerbob]

36. The items have off functions

Learn to use them and stop preaching to others what they should do.

Or to quote someone I rather like, “Mind you own Damn business “

[Emrys]

30. Nah, you use whatever media you want to in whatever ways you want, and I'll do whatever I see fit.

What I won't do is waste my and everybody else's time on this here social media site lecturing other folks on how they should spend their time online or elsewhere. It's beyond being a tired argument.

Listening to you, it seems you think everyone should just be glued to DU all the time if they're not out doing what you consider good works. If that happened, this would be a pretty boring place, and even more of an echo chamber than it is now.

I do use Twitter a lot, in a very calculated way which I reckon actually costs Musk money and gives me a lot of benefit. I never post there, and my main activity beyond reading a few select Twitter lists is blocking users and content I don't want to see. By using those lists, I steer clear of most of the algorithmic effects, as Twitter was never designed for users like me.

If I post a tweet here, it's valueless to Musk because advertisers only pay per view of their ads, and I don't post Twitter ads here, and nor does anyone else. If I hotlink a Twitter image, I and everyone viewing it are stealing bandwidth from Musk, so click away.

The only conceivable way Musk might benefit very marginally from anyone posting Twitter content here is in terms of Musk's overall site traffic. It's going to be a minuscule drop in the ocean, and given how many bots there are on Twitter, the days when raw traffic stats could be used to lure potential advertisers are long gone.

As long as there are worthwhile sources of information posting on Twitter, I'll keep on using it because it's a more effective use of my time than the ages I used to have to spend scanning MSM sites, blogs, forums etc. to gather information worldwide. If I find it's no longer useful, I'll stop using it.

[erodriguez]

31. Boy you wrote a lot about me wasting your time homey.

They got you.

[Emrys]

32. Is that it? Is that an example of reasoned argument that should keep people using DU?

Somebody's certainly wasting time, and it's not me.

[relayerbob]

37. Mind you own damn business, troll

[Emrys]

44. OK, let's waste a little more time (and whatever I am, I'm certainly not your "homey"), since I have some to spare

Last night (in my time zone) I posted two OPs.

One was in Latest Breaking News, about the long-awaited outcome of Gallego's senate contest in Arizona: Democrat Ruben Gallego wins Arizona US Senate race against Republican Kari Lake https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143338113

It seems it was good and worthwhile news to a number of DUers.

The other was in General Discussion, about the Kremlin denying Trump delivered a warning to Putin about Ukraine: Kremlin Denies Reports of Putin-Trump Phone Call Over Ukraine https://www.democraticunderground.com/100219707200

Both were sourced from Twitter, like much of the content I post on DU. I may not always post tweets, but I'll post from sources tweets have led me to. For example, pretty much everything I've ever posted on Editorials & Other Articles was found via Twitter because I use it as a filter, relying on accounts on there I've developed reason to trust over a considerable span of time.

In the first case, it was the Associated Press. The current guidelines in LBN state: "The Forum Hosts have decided to use the Associated Press as the gold standard for election calls. Once a race has been called by the Associated Press, the story may be posted in Latest Breaking News."

The second came from a number of different sources, but in the end I opted for an OP based on The Moscow Times, "an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper" (from Wikipedia), branded by Russia as "an undesirable organization". The same story, updating earlier widespread trumpeting of Trump's first brave stand against Putin, has also been covered by a number of reputable outlets.

Would I have found that information elsewhere eventually without Twitter? Maybe. But possibly much later, and at the cost of a fair amount of effort. Some of my Editorials & Other Articles content I doubt I'd ever have found at all otherwise, which is why I've posted it.

Without outside information, DU would just be a circular talking shop. How people find that information to post is less important than its reliability and relevance.

[Elessar Zappa]

33. I'll keep using them.

But thanks for your opinion.

[relayerbob]

34. Thanks for telling me my "real" friends are.

I would never have guessed it without you.

And btw, my friends on FB ARE my friends and family, I properly use the tools to select them, so tell you what, GFY.

[evilhime]

39. Bluesky (Bsky app)

Marc Elias and several others have been moving here from twitter… I signed up today and think it might be a good answer instead. I dropped twitter years ago, though will read a post if someone sends it and if Muskox allows a non member which generally he does.

[EllieBC]

40. Will I own nothing and be happy?

You sound like one of those psycho authoritarians.

If I want to waste my time scrolling sports and celeb news on Twitter I fucking will.

I’ll also comment on pics my friends and family post of vacations and weddings and shit their kids are doing in FB and IG.

But thanks for trying to tell me how to live my life.

[voteragain]

42. this

what was the uproar about banning books all about?

now I'm getting don't read/use this or that............

I think I'll make my own choices too. like I did when I voted for Harris.......

[orange jar]

45. +1

what was the uproar about banning books all about?

now I'm getting don't read/use this or that............

It's very interesting, isn't it?

[littlemissmartypants]

43. I just love it when we...

Protest information sources and their access while telling people not to access information of their choosing.

I'm pretty sure we're all grown ups, this is still America and DU doesn't exist as an advice column but a discussion board.

Our experiences are as varied as our opinions here. They deserve consideration and respect.

Plus, trying to direct behavior here is not just futile but way harder than herding cats. It doesn't go very far in winning friends either.

But nice try, erodriguez.
Adios!
❤️

[ancianita]

46. Dices la verdad. Es mejor utilizar la herramienta que ser la herramienta. Muchas bendiciones para ti, hermano.

[Bettie]

48. Actually, most of my FB friends are

indeed people I know in real life.

A few are from interest groups of people who I have things in common with.

I also have a group of women I met on a mailing list when we lost our first child nearly 26 years ago. We've all been raising our kids together even though we live all over the place.

Some are people I've kept up with from CafeMom.....and have met in person since then.

My "friends" list is carefully curated to make it non-toxic. Most of my family isn't even on there.

[drmeow]

49. Don't you dare

judge me and tell me who my friends are based on your reality.

[sakabatou]

54. And here I am, helping to run a TV show fan page on FB

Now, get off your high horse before someone shoves from the saddle.

[Skittles]

55. don't even try

they're addicted and do not fucking care

[erodriguez]

56. You're right.

[John Shaft]

59. As a Pre-Internet Human, I concur.

[GenThePerservering]

61. I'll use the enemy's tools against them.

That's how social media works, if one actually understands it.

[erodriguez]

63. So many people on this thread are telling me that I don't know how social media works.

I have a very clear understanding of how these companies make money off of you.

They rely on your engagement. The more you're on the more they make from you.

They learn your likes and dislikes. They learn what keeps you on their platform. They then sell that info to others. They have learned that enraging people is good for engagement. They profit off of lies and hate.

While maybe some of you have carefully curated your experiences to show pictures of your family and friends, there are a large number of people who share hate and unchecked lies.

For those of you who think that you are going to use their systems to fight the power, think again. Trump was elected off lies spread on social media and into the lives of Americans. Your fight to change the system within the system amounted to nothing.