I’m starting to wonder what the real benefit even is anymore. Between the technofeudal landscape we live in, where billionaires own the means of communication, data is constantly mined for profit, and surveillance is baked into every layer, it feels like I’m standing at the beach, using my bare hands to push back an endless tide.
Even when I take the so‑called “liberated” path through Linux, self‑hosting, and privacy tools, it often feels futile. The web itself is poisoned. Browsers are turning into tracking engines. Sites rely on manipulation and dark patterns. Social media is full of misinformation and ragebait.
Even open-source projects are being pulled under corporate influence (ex: Firefox adoption of AI).
It feels exhausting to route around a web that’s already been captured.
So I’m asking myself: what’s the point? Why not just step away?
Why not trade the illusion of digital control for actual peace, get a dumb phone, a CD player, and check out books, movies, music, and games from the library as my entertainment?
Does anyone else feel this way? Have you found ways to reconnect with technology?
Edit: Don’t hesitate or wait for my validation, live life the way you want, with as much or as little modern tech in it as you please.
My rule is that I interact with technology on my own terms and volition. I get upset if I get led or ‘tricked’ into an app or consuming some form of media. I access tech when I want to and am looking for something, and try to reject the idea that content should come to me in a steady stream. If I am watching brainrot it will be because I want to click and scroll through brainrot videos, not because it was the next one to play after the video I actually wanted to watch.
If you want bliss at this endless beach, build your own little FOSS sandcastle. If it washes away, build it somewhere else, and find other people that like to build FOSS sandcastles.