It feels like all the joy I used to feel from being an enthusiast has been completely voided as computing has become the modern vector for fascism and surveillance. I find myself recoiling from all online spaces, even independent and open source ones that I’d loved and supported in the past.
It’s been an exceptionally strange impulse to go from having an elaborate online presence to now feeling like the only acceptable way to engage with the network is to have as minimal of an online footprint as possible.
This especially hurts when it feels like an issue of skilling, where I know how to do certain tasks with computers, but have to teach myself for the first time the analogue alternatives that my parents and their parents likely already knew well.
How have you chosen to deal with it? Do you find yourself moving away from computing and the internet, despite formerly loving it as a hobby? Have you replaced things that computers used to do for you with analogue replacements?
I’m curious how other people are experiencing this.
Thank you!
BTW, dont feel bad if it seems like it takes a lot of time to move forward through steps, its a very condensed 10 min video. Each step when done for the first time can take a while to grasp and learn
That’s fair. At least I got an starting point now even if it’s hard at first.
Definitely try things out on a little single board computer (SBC) like a Pi, or a VM (virtual machine), or even an old laptop. It’s harder to break things than you might think, especially when using containers and stuff, but it does happen.
Rolling back or reinstalling a VM is sometimes way less hassle than trying to decipher cryptic issues.
It’ll feel easier to play around if you can always just start over, as opposed to risking “I hope this works” with your precious data.
Oh yeah, whatever you do (and I know this is hard advice given the price of storage now, UGH), figure out what a 3-2-1 backup strategy looks like to you, for your most important things.
Most importantly: Have fun! Sounds cheesy, but having an exciting goal in mind will definitely encourage you to keep learning and enjoying the process. :)