I'm with Cheyenne Macdonald, "In 2024, using social media felt worse than ever. These days, it feels like every gathering place on the internet is so crowded with content that’s competing for — and successfully grabbing — our attention or trying to sell us something that there’s barely any room for the 'social' element of social media. Instead, we’re pushed into separate corners to stare at the glowing boxes in our hands alone."
Fittingly, Oxford announced at the end of November that its Word of the Year for 2024 is “brain rot”, a term that expresses the supposed consequence of countless hours spent on the internet consuming stupid stuff. Just as fitting, Australia’s Macquarie Dictionary chose “enshittification,” which describes how the platforms and products we love get ruined over time as the companies behind them chase profits. (It was also The American Dialect Society’s 2023 Word of the Year). Social media platforms were in theory designed around ideas of friendship and connection, but what’s playing out on them today couldn’t feel further from genuine human interaction.
I’ve restarted deep reading of my Stoopinbox, my Inoreader Special Feeds, and my Kindle Library. This focus is made much easier since I started using the Niagara Pro UI with its usage notifications activated.
And you?