In this electrate era, we are constantly engaging with the digital world. We constantly exist online, even if we try not to,
the world around us is so entrenched with the digital that we often have no choice but to exist online in many ways.
So that begs the question: What is the best way to be online?
To understand how we should be, we first need to address what we are. When we are online we are at all times either a
consumer or a commodity. As bleak as it seems, the internet often breaks us down from individuals to mere algorithms and
numbers, and that number will always turn into profit for someone else. Evil, or sin, is human nature, and to those particularly
affected by greed, the pure unlimited potential of the internet was too alluring to not completely change the fabric of online
existence. Everywhere you travel on the internet, you are often inflicted by advertisements, even if you don’t realize it.
Or even if the ad is dressed up in a way to make you want to watch anwyay.
Now these advertisements on their own can generate revenue for the website by encouraging (or forcing) you to watch them.
However, an obvious next step is that the intention is for you to buy the products being advertised, (or to pay for the ads
to go away),therein lies the goal for you to be a consumer. However, the site itself is not often making money from your consumerism,
so they also need you to buy something for them, or be a product they can sell. Afterall, even if they claim not to, sites need
money to exist, so even those with the best intentions cannot resist this cycle. They may simply lock features away to encourage
you to support them, or they can make you the product by selling your information. This doesn’t really have to be your
personal information, so much as your activity on the site, so that way they can sell to advertisers and continue the cycle
anew with the ads becoming more and more targeted.
So then, if you are always either a consumer or a commodity, what options do you even have to be online?
Well you can be aware.
Never being online isn’t really much of a choice. Going to restaurants, movies, or any other common activities are starting
to rely on the digital, and many things are intentionally made easier online, such as paying bills and checking your bank.
Not to mention, the wealth of resources and knowledge accessible online that can be used for personal betterment.
So mindful digital usage seems to be the best option that exists. But what does that look like?
When you see a fun new product online, do whatever you need to prevent impulse buying and overconsumption. There are
some who make lists to help differentiate and impulse buy, but I personally know I wouldn’t take the time to do that,
so I avoid ever saving payment information. The ease of payment is intentional to prevent time to think, so before you
know it you have an item you regret and wouldn’t have gotten if you had taken longer to think.
Make sure you are aware of how much time you are putting into the digital world, and how beneficial that time is.
Find strategies to prevent doom scrolling. Instagram has a take a break function, but for me I know it is too easy to
dismiss the notification, so something like an alarm forcing me to exit the app is more effective. Take that time to
think if there is something you would rather be doing. Know that it isn’t necessarily the time spent in the digital
that is negative, but the quality of the time. Being aware of how you feel in certain spaces is invaluable.
It is all easier said than done, and can seem hopeless at times. It is easy to fall into a pit of despair or become apathetic
accepting rampant consumerism as how the world works. But small steps can help us break the cycle, afterall, part of digital
intention is making you unaware of the strings affecting our actions. Though, do not feel bad or hopeless if you slip up,
after all the system is designed to break us down to our base behaviors and exploit them.
The Digital Panacea
Exploring Electracy
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