Instagram (Why We Don't Need it and Won't Be Using it) #29
Description
⚠️ WARNING: PLEASE DON'T READ THIS ❗️
(if you live for the "likes" of fake friends & followers ...)
The question of how we will "promote" @home online came up in casual conversation today ...
Someone mentioned using Instagram to post "stories" as a "good" way to share the mission ...
I made it immediately clear that we won't use Instagram to promote @home under any circumstances.
People protested arguing that it's "good for social outreach" and would not listen to reason. 🙉
The people in question are addicted to using Instagram and cannot see that it's a dystopia disguised by fancy filters that brainwashes people and is systematically causing anxiety and depression.
So ... rather than trying to reason with people verbally I will summarise the facts in writing.
So that I can easily refer to them when anyone else asks this question.
Hopefully by the end of this page you will realise why Instagram is a terrible idea
for "promoting" what we are doing in the Braga @home.
(if you still think Instagram is a "good idea", please share your thoughts via comments below).
@dwyl's Manifesto Clearly States:
"Your time should never be wasted."
If we base our decision to not use Instagram purely on the fact that it's encouraging people to waste hours of their lives, we would be complying with our first "Manifesto Point".
Time Spent in App: 53 minutes per day ⏳
According to similar web (reliable source quoted by recode), the average Instagram user spends 53 minutes per day in the app in 2018 https://www.recode.net/2018/6/25/17501224/instagram-facebook-snapchat-time-spent-growth-data
Note: you might not be the "average" user, you might (think) have your usage "under control", but the reality is that in order for this number to be the "average", there must be people spending considerably more than an hour per day mindlessly scrolling through the app...! ⌛️
By contrast the average person reads books for less than 20 minutes per day.
(not counting reading email, messages or "news" ...) http://time.com/2909743/americans-reading
Reading books is the single best time-investment you can make to improve your life. 📚
You can learn a new skill, practice your imagination/creativity or even find inner peace! 💭🌈
https://www.inc.com/christina-desmarais/why-reading-books-should-be-your-priority-according-to-science.html
People are passively wasting their time looking at manicured pictures of the world others want you to see. Completely ignoring the reality that there is still a lot of work to be done to help the billions of people in the world live sustainable, healthy and happy lives!
"Families in developing nations are paying half their income for water" ~ Water Aid 🚰 💧
Meanwhile people with iPhones are worried they aren't getting enough "likes" on Instagram ... 🙄
If you are a regular Instagram user, ask yourself a simple questions:
- "Is this moving me toward my goal?"
- Is there something
elseI could be doing with this time that would accelerate my progress? - Am I forming a real human connection with like-minded values-driven people?
Or am I just "liking" someone's posts as a proxy for a real relationship while sacrificing meaning?
Chose Meaning not Instant Gratification and Constant Distraction
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
~ Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
A Poor Substitute for Real Human Connection
We know plenty of people who check Instagram first thing in the morning before even greeting the person/people next to them and then continue checking multiple times during the day. They are addicted to checking the feeds, posts & "stories" of complete strangers - while ignoring the real humans in the same room as them - and use the excuse that they are "staying in touch with friends" to justify their behaviour.
A Machine for Anxiety, Depression and Loneliness
Instagram specifically has been identified as the "social media" most linked to depression.
People use the app/network to post artificial images of themselves and their "amaze" lives.
However it's been demonstrated as a major harm to people's mental health.
Instagram rewards use of filters to alter images, encourages flattering angles and
https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/social-media-use-increases-depression-and-loneliness
Obsessed by the popularity of their posts, Children/Teens actively DELETE posts that don't get "enough likes". Some of the most popular apps on the Apple App Store in 2018 are "Facetune", "Snapseed" and "TouchRetouch" all specifically designed to re-touch photos with dedicated "selfie enhancement" features. Kids are being brainwashed that they have to present a "perfect" image of themselves.
https://www.businessinsider.com/teens-curate-their-instagram-accounts-2016-5
https://www.quora.com/Why-do-so-many-people-delete-good-Instagram-pictures-for-apparently-no-reason
"Instagram users reported a high negative impact on Sleep, Body Image, FoMo, Bullying, and Anxiety." https://petapixel.com/2017/05/22/instagram-worst-app-young-peoples-mental-health-study-finds/
"Social media use increases depression and loneliness":
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/11/181108164316.htm
"using Facebook can lead you to feel a little bit sadder—a phenomenon popularly known as “Facebook depression.”
http://nautil.us/issue/31/stress/is-facebook-luring-you-into-being-depressed
"Instagram ranked the worst Social App for causing Young people to feel depressed"
https://www.forbes.com/sites/amitchowdhry/2017/05/31/instagram-depression/#4395b8197453
https://www.npr.org/2017/12/17/571443683/the-call-in-teens-and-depression
Further reading:
- US Suicide Statistics: https://afsp.org/about-suicide/suicide-statistics
- Loneliness is a serious public-health problem: https://www.economist.com/international/2018/09/01/loneliness-is-a-serious-public-health-problem
- Loneliness is damaging Britain. Can co-living help?
https://www.thersa.org/discover/publications-and-articles/rsa-blogs/2018/05/co-housing-and-loneliness - https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/17/world/europe/uk-britain-loneliness.html
You Will Never Read About this On Instagram or Facebook!
You will never see an article on the platform discrediting the social network or its' creators.
They actively filter (censor) any article about them using natural language processing and eliminate anything "negative" about Fb or any "executives" from people's news feeds.
- https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/11/facebook-censorship-news-feed-trending-topics
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2018/01/14/facebook-invites-you-to-live-in-a-bubble-where-you-are-always-right
- https://www.newscientist.com/article/2113246-how-can-facebook-and-its-users-burst-the-filter-bubble
Facebook has an army of Public Relations people whose one job is to paint the company in good light.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/technology/facebook-data-russia-election-racism.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/11/14/facebook-hired-pr-firm-that-wrote-negative-articles-about-rivals-nyt.html
It's the ultimate thought control experiment and people are falling for it en masse!
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/dec/17/russian-propagandists-targeted-african-americans-2016-election
It's often difficult for people to realise much less admit that their actions are part of the problem.
Each time you post on Facebook/Instagram you might think that you are "sharing your life" with others,
but the reality is that you are drip-feeding dopamine to people and perpetuating their addiction.
"Liking" and commenting on other people's posts is fuelling their addiction.
Read a book. Learn a Skill. Write a letter to someone telling them how you feel.
Don't waste your life giving your personal data to a sociopath who wants to control your mind!
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jul/29/has-zuckerberg-like-frankenstein-lost-control-of-the-monster-he-created
Instagram is Facebook! (But Much Worse!)
Instagram is Facebook. It's not separate, it's the same. It's a sub-brand of the same machine!
All of the data and interaction is being fed into the same data mining aparatus and sold to advertisers.
Those advertisers are convincing you to buy stuff you don't need and addicting you to consumerism.
Facebook gives anyone who will pay them access to your data and allows any advertiser to micro-target you with ads including discriminating ones.
I've been saying this for years and now the New York Times is confirming it
Facebook shares your private/personal messages with over 150 companies:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/technology/facebook-privacy.html
https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/18/18147616/facebook-user-data-giveaway-nyt-apple-amazon-spotify-netflix
As Cal Newport says in Deep Work (page 209) "Quit Social Media":
"These services aren't necessarily, as advertised, the lifeblood of our modern connected world.
They're just products, developed by private companies, funded lavishly, marketed carefully, and designed ultimately to capture then sell your personal information and attention to advertisers."
Even Techcrunch has "lost faith" in Facebook:
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/19/all-out-of-faithbook/
Instagram is one Massive Advert
It's clear to anyone paying attention that the "celebrities" are only using the platform to cash in:
This is the extent of the desperation:
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/12/influencers-are-faking-brand-deals/578401/
Unless You Agree With Systematic Racism ... 💭
There is no "accident" ... it's 100% Deliberate.
- https://www.newsweek.com/naacp-facebook-instagram-boycott-russian-influence-campaign-black-voters-1262149
- https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/14/technology/facebook-data-russia-election-racism.html
Helping People Connect in Real Life!
Part of @home's mission is to help like-minded people connect in real life.
Not to accumulate fake followers and "likes" from people addicted to pretty pictures ...
Instagram promotes non-presence and disengagement from the real world.
It encourages people to mindlessly interact with a screen for hours instead of connecting with the people around them. It's easy to allow ourselves to be convinced that interacting with screens is "OK" if you are alone, but the reality is you are swiping away your time/life and have nothing to show for it! If you're alone and bored, read a fascinating book or write in your journal. Passively consuming someone else's filtered (fabricated) photos is not moving you toward your life goals/purpose.
The @dwyl/@home app will help you to find and connect with like-minded people who share the same values and goals as you.
Put Destructive/Unhealthy (Passive) Habits "Out Of Sight"
Once people understand/admit that Instagram is making them anxious, depressed and lonely,
they can realise that the "1 minute" of "catching up with friends/family" is actually multiple minutes of manufactured mindlessness, voluntary brainwashing, product placement and ads!
Constantly checking instagram is an unhealthy habit that creates an artificial and temporary dopamine rush that distracts you from your real focus work. It destroys your concentration in the pursuit of instant gratification.
If you are unfamiliar with James Clear's Atomic Habits, read:
https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/book-summaries/self-help/atomic-habits
Essentially, if you are trying to give up sugar, the best thing you can do is DELETE it from your life. i.e. clear out all your cupboards of anything containing processed sugar.
That way in order to resume the "unhealthy habit" of consuming sugar,
you will need to consciously walk to the store to buy it.
Adding in this "barrier to consumption" is a system for encouraging you to follow through on your goals of cutting out sugar.
The exact same thing applies to digital sugar.
Blocking Instagram!
For the people who are unable to DELETE the App from their phone,
we will need to give them a nudge to not constantly check the app.
That nudge will be to force them to turn off WiFi on their phone each time they want to check instagram.
This will be "controversial" because most addicts have a difficulty admitting they have a problem.
That is why it's the "first step" in the "12 Step Program".
Instagram will be blocked by the @home router DNS. If people want their daily dose of narcissism disguised as "staying up to date with friends and interesting people", they will need to disconnect form the WiFi and use their mobile data. There are plenty of local cafes with "Free WiFi" international visitors (without data roaming) can visit to get their "fix" of scrolling through the feed.
Q: Is Instagram "All Bad"?
Quick answer: No. (obviously not!)
But that question misses the point entirely.
This is like asking: is "fire bad" ... Fire burns forests, but it also cooks your food and keeps you warm!
We cannot say that all fire is "good" or "bad" just that fire can be used for destructive purposes.
Instagram is designed to keep you scrolling. It's a "variable reward mechanism" AKA "FREE Slot Machine" that is meant to keep you coming back multiple times per day to "check in" and see the latest updates.
Q: Isn't YouTube also a form of Social Media?
Yes, YouTube is a kind of "Social Media".
It promotes passive consumption and makes it money from ads.
YouTube is simultaneously better and much worse than Instagram.
YouTube has many learning channels where you can learn Maths, Physics, Engineering and Computer Science for free! Content that is only available on YouTube and nowhere else.
We will be embedding our YouTube videos into our Learning Platform
We will be releasing regular learning videos on YouTube, but the main way of viewing the videos will not be through the YT app or website. We will be embedding the videos on our own Learning Platform/Website where:
a) no ads!
b) no auto-play
c) no sign-in with Google/YT account required. (so YT does not harvest your data or make suggestions)
Instagram Account/Name Squatter 🎉
This random guy is name-squatting the "dwyl" handle: https://www.instagram.com/dwyl
The fact that it's private indicates that they haven't quite understood the point of the social network.
But the fact that the @dwyl organisation cannot get the "handle" is a major blessing because it means that we have not been tempted to waste time using the platform!
We have this account: https://www.instagram.com/dwylhq
But we will not be using it. If anything, we will post one image pointing people where to go for real human connection and meaningful relationships.
Why We Don't Need Instagram
Instagram is a good way for people who make unremarkable things to spread the word about what they are doing. Unremarkable products/services need filters, likes and (fake) followers to project the perception of popularity and boost their reach.
We are building an incredible product, service and community that solves a real problem! We don't need to artificially promote our mission with curated photos and "stories" on a data mining network.
https://wordx.press/why-your-business-facebook-page-waste-time-money/
Co-Living is "Hot" We Don't Need Marketing!
Something people are consistently forgetting is that Co-living is in demand!
We are building something with market-clearing target price! (1/3rd to 1/10th the price of others!) and we will have considerably better features designed by the people who live in the house not some token box-ticking exercise by "strategic consultants".
https://medium.com/nguyen/co-living-in-2018-a-rising-trend-of-intentional-downsizing-and-communal-living-3cbd18a43c35
Finally, remember that:
"If you don't stand for something you'll fall for anything"
Break free from the addiction to Zuckerberg's slot machines and create something meaningful that is remarkable and solves real world problems of shelter, hunger, water scarcity/recycling, learning and genuine human connection.