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Principled? A massive red flag? Simply idiotic?

Deleted User

Two questions;

  1. Do you adopt any of the same choices around digital data, that I do (as lettered below)?
  2. Do you think there is any 'value' in sticking with 'a principle' even when you can see that it is broadly meaningless in effect?

 Choices;

  1. a) I don’t do social media.
  2. b) I avoid data collection wherever possible.
  3. c) I don’t store in the cloud.
  4. d) I avoid apps, despite knowing that they are invariably “cheaper and/or easier and/or quicker” than other means of doing 'a thing.'
  5. e) I don’t volunteer any accurate personal data, ever, unless it is officially required.
  6. f) I don’t “sign in” nor "sign-up" if that is at all possible.
  7. g) I hate visiting shops but I prefer it to online purchasing.

 These choices make things lonelier, more expensive and more inconvenient for anyone who adopts them.

My reason for these (arguably pointless and daft) choices is that I don’t want to contribute towards a centralised and automated system that chooses how to ‘target’ or ‘feed’ information and services to individual humans, because I think that it allows very effective (but subtle) control over “what happens next.” Voter manipulation and Clearview AI are two exemplars of my concerns.

I'm interested in any feedback on these questions.

Parents

  • I think that sticking to principles is sensible and valuable as long as it doesn’t interfere with your life. It’s all about the cost-benefit ratio. Sticking to principles gives me a sense of reliability and it also keeps me from making a lot of mistakes. For instance, I also refer from using social media platforms like instagram, Facebook or TikTok, mostly because I think, I’m very prone to addiction. I would likely interfere with my life by throwing that principle out. Even though this is a positive example, there are also a lot of negative ones. Although being pretty open-minded I can be quite intolerant when it comes to sticking to certain principles. For a lack of a better example: My parents raised me to always be aware of how others perceive me. As a result, I always make sure to be extra careful while interacting with others and apologise a lot. This keeps me from socialising even more so. Additionally, I can’t cope when someone I’m out with does anything that disturbes my sense of etiquette even though I know I’m far too easily embarrassed.

    So in this context I would think it to be over the top and quite annoying for myself and others.

  • in reply to Emmalephant
    Emmalephant said:
    I think that sticking to principles is sensible and valuable as long as it doesn’t interfere with your life.

    OK - but what is the difference between "shaping your life" and "interfere with your life?

    What is the difference between shaping and interfering when we talk about how 'principles' affect our lives?

    [ - please feel no obligation to respond.  - please know that this is written as a question, not a challenge to what you have written -]

    Like you, I am also prone to addiction (in a weirdly autistic way) too.....so you are right that this is probably an additional reason why I have a "zero tolerance" for social media.  I have watched it change people before my very eyes.  It is powerful stuff, for sure.

  • in reply to Deleted User

    I appreciate your question! It is a really good one too. It’s a pretty individual process to determine the line between “shaping” and “interfering” so yes, there is no real answer to that. Let me set an example to show what I mean: Social Media usage. I, personally am not willing to give up using WhatsApp because of personal and school-related communication. So my data is already out there. Now, I still refuse to use the big social media platforms, because I principally try to avoid addicting behaviours. The consequences are that I often feel left out since many of my close friends communicate via those channels and oftentimes I don’t know about certain phenomenons or common gossip topics. Those things alone do not affect me, but the social consequences of being left out or deemed “not cool” or “nerdy” do get to me sometimes. 
    In this case, I’m still deciding to stick to my principles, because I think that falling into bad habits would affect my executive functioning to a point where it lowers my quality of life. For me personally that would be worse than the current social consequences and I guess, the older I’ll get, the less important it’ll be. 

    I know, it’s not always that easy, but shaping (in a positive sense) , for me, always means making the decision that “interferes” less with your day to day life.

    I hope I understood your question correctly. It’s so nice to talk to people who are actually interested in discussing a topic!

  • in reply to Deleted User

    This is an interesting sub-thread.

    I have recognised this potential addictive trait in myself, and I try to nip things in the bud.

    Examples:

    • When I dabbled with 'recreational pharmaceuticals', I kept a chart of everything that I took (reading this I see another obvious autistic moment that I've only just recognised as I typed this Joy). I set an upper limit, and stopped when I hit it (I mean a hard upper limit for life, not a weekly/daily one)
    • I have refused to do online multiplayer role playing games. I love computer role playing games and recognised beforehand that if I did any online ones, no one would ever see me again!
Reply
  • in reply to Deleted User

    This is an interesting sub-thread.

    I have recognised this potential addictive trait in myself, and I try to nip things in the bud.

    Examples:

    • When I dabbled with 'recreational pharmaceuticals', I kept a chart of everything that I took (reading this I see another obvious autistic moment that I've only just recognised as I typed this Joy). I set an upper limit, and stopped when I hit it (I mean a hard upper limit for life, not a weekly/daily one)
    • I have refused to do online multiplayer role playing games. I love computer role playing games and recognised beforehand that if I did any online ones, no one would ever see me again!
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