Beating back the oligarchs
It's been strange, to say the least, watching the aftermath of Donald Trump's election victory. A boatload of rich white men have the feeling that they've been vindicated, that they are finally able to reclaim their rightful place at the top of the pyramid (which they'd never actually given up!).
On some level, it's understandable how they got to that way of thinking. The oligarchs that are leading us all down a pretty terrible path right now share some defining characteristics:
1. They never had space to develop normally. From Donald Trump's regrettably sad childhood and life among the 0.0001% to Elon Musk's desperate drive to accumulate riches to Mark Zuckerberg's adult years being dominated by his "I'm CEO, bitch" lifestyle, these people simply have no clue of what it's like to be normal. And that's not necessarily a problem, if they'd just sit around on their yachts and leave the rest of us alone.
But they don't: for whatever reason, they seem determined to use every lever of power at their disposal to mess with our lives.
Seriously, just do stuff like this, stop messing with politics and obsessing over how to squeeze another three minutes out of our day.
2. They're surrounded by people who won't tell them the truth. The "yes man" syndrome is strong with these ones. Any criticism is taken as a personal attack, not as a moment to reflect and think about whether the criticism is well-founded. Over the medium-term, that leads to them only interacting with people who nod their heads vigorously enough as they agree with them; over decades it completely separates them from reality.
3. They're highly un-curious people. This is obvious for someone like Trump, and for others it's hidden behind a professed desire to learn new things. But even when they claim to be curious, it's just a gimmick, like when Zuckerberg decided to give himself the weird challenge of only eating meat that he'd killed.
It's not that such an act can't come from a place of genuine curiosity or ethics (our modern ways of sourcing and eating meat are, after all, problematic); it's that they only come from a place of excessive comfort. Being truly curious and thinking about other people on a very real level often leads to discomfort, such as wondering whether your skin color or gender have been extremely advantageous to where you end up. But the only discomfort these guys ever face is fake, and that only further encourages their lack of curiosity.
5 ways to quit Meta
Given that rot will always flow downwards from the top, it's not surprising that the Meta universe, with over two decades to develop, grow and now stagnate, isn't doing much to benefit our lives anymore. Yet even as the benefits are dwindling, with Meta collecting data on over 3 billion monthly active users across its platforms, the company's influence on our lives can feel inescapable.
Still, it's hard to break those habits. So let's go through some steps to help you stop feeding Meta's coffers; hell, if we all do it, maybe we'll build a world that can help Mark Z. come back towards reality a bit.
1. Delete your Facebook account
Go take a look at your feed. Now: Given the massive amounts of data that Meta has vacuumed up, on you, your friends, your family, and every other stranger on there, how do they know so little about what's actually important to you? Why is the feed filled with such... junk? And what will you really be losing by leaving it behind?
Why it matters: Studies show the average user spends 35 minutes daily on Facebook (meaning 18 hours per month!), often leaving them feeling worse than before. Meanwhile, alternatives like Discord communities - or even your local café! - can offer more meaningful connections without the algorithmic manipulation.
2. Take a break from Insta
Is watching Reels really giving you what you want out of your online experience? It might not be possible to identify the exact moment when Insta went from being a social network to an addiction-based TV channel, but it definitely happened.
Still, habits are hard to break and it's definitely not easy to grab your time back from the attention merchants. Every little bit can help, even just listening to that little voice in your brain saying, "Why am I still on here? Just close the app!" So give it a try, see how it goes. At worst, remember that more help is coming (in Step 3! ;)
Why it matters: The average person spends another 30 minutes daily on Instagram, with many reporting the platform negatively impacts their mental health. Even a two-week break could help reduce anxiety and improve wellbeing.
3. Sign up for Sunslider!
Yeah, we're biased since we're building Sunslider to be the ad-free, privacy-friendly Instagram alternative that so many people are looking for. We want to keep everything that Insta was supposed to do (easily share photos and videos with your friends, see beautiful images from around the world, get a bit of dopamine from the likes) and get rid of everything that's driving people crazy (unskippable ads, never seeing content from people you know, Meta's general desire to extract more and more money from its users).
Why it matters: Instagram's algorithm has shifted to prioritize content from strangers over friends, with ads and promotions appearing constantly. New social platforms like Sunslider are designed to encourage connections rather than addiction, with a business model that isn't based on capturing as much of your attention as possible.
4. Get off Threads
Bluesky is right there waiting for you, it's the Sunslider for Twitter! 😉 With well over 30M users at this point, there's nothing on Threads that you can't get from Bluesky. It's an easy switch to make, just sign up for the main server on Bluesky, search for your favorite Twitter people and look through the starter packs, and you're off and running.
Why it matters: Threads is just another data collection point for Meta. Bluesky offers an algorithmically transparent experience where you maintain ownership of your content.
5. Quit Meta Horizon
Alright, this one's a joke, nobody actually uses Meta Horizon. So just keep doing what you're doing.
Why it matters: The tens of billions of dollars that Meta has invested in the metaverse still haven't done anything to make it appealing, which tells you everything you need to know about how out of touch they are with what people actually want.
The Whatsapp challenge
This list stops at five, because honestly Whatsapp has remained an extremely useful tool. But it's also a symbol of how the Meta universe ate up everything good, as Whatsapp was a giant lifesaver for people who live far away from our countries and communities of origin. Back in the early 2010s, Whatsapp was like a knight in shining armor, saving us from the extortionate international messaging rates of telecoms. And despite a growing amount of spam (at least for me!), it's still largely a good service.
If you must keep one Meta product: Make it Whatsapp. But consider gradually introducing alternatives like Signal for your closest contacts, creating a pathway to eventually leave completely.
We're taking it back
There you go, 5 steps – some easier than others! – to reduce the place that Meta has in our lives. Breaking free from Meta's ecosystem isn't just about personal privacy; it's about collectively showing tech oligarchs that we want technology that serves us, not exploits us.
The digital world we deserve isn't one dominated by a handful of disconnected billionaires chasing "masculine energy" and ever-increasing stock prices - it's one where normal needs in normal lives come first. Each exploitative platform we leave makes that world a little more possible.