Today I took a few baby steps. I switched my browser from Google Chrome, changed my default search engine to DuckDuckGo, unliked most pages on Facebook, removed a good chunk of my personal information from the site, created a protonmail account to test out for personal correspondence, and uninstalled Messenger, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter from my phone.
When I mused to my husband that I am having a difficult time deciding how much of my Facebook account to dismantle, and that I'm exploring options for a dumbphone, he asked skeptically whether I was "going dark."
The answer is no. Even if I wanted to leave "the grid" – and I don't – I couldn't.
I was raised with the internet, and I love it. I use it for fun and I use it for my work as a writer and editor at a local arts and entertainment magazine – there's another point: I couldn't do my job without using many of the services I want to cut back on personally. And tracking down and removing every trace of my web presence would be herculean, if it was a possible end.
What I take issue with is the massive power some companies have over the web, which they are now using to suppress information and opposition. I guess we – I – earned it. I gave Google and Facebook and YouTube my small part of their near-monopoly.
So I'm "going dim." I'm trying to decentralize my web presence and be more judicious with my personal information. My husband turned me on to Steemit. From what I've seen, it appears to offer a lot of what I'm looking for in a social network: genuine, thoughtful conversation and unfiltered opinion and information. Hopefully, it'll give me some of what Facebook doesn't, anymore.
I'm looking forward to talking about liberty, community-building, personal sustainability, decentralization, and so much more.
