Online, but not like that.

[rogueslayer452]

I sometimes wonder if I'm strange for not really getting into social media.

Aside from DW (and formerly LJ) and Tumblr, I don't use anything else. Sure, I'll browse other places for content and whatnot, but I don't have accounts anywhere else. Mostly because it's easier to maintain without having to constantly keep track of a dozen other places, but also I just never had any desire to sign up for anywhere else unless it appeals to me, which the majority of social media doesn't. I always felt like this was kind of the norm, that while people can be online not everyone uses social media, but it seems like people are expecting you to have a Twitter account or an Instagram or something along those lines, and when you say you don't they'll be confused. I'm online but for fun, not for networking, and I prefer the anonymity of that and no, I'm not comfortable sharing with some random strangers in real life what I use because it's none of their business and yet somehow they seem to think is.

Similarly, I prefer to have control of the things I consume in regards to media. I don't use Goodreads. I don't use Letterboxd. I still use an MP3 player instead of Spotify. I prefer buying physical copies of books/CDs/DVDs. I am not a Luddite, obviously, I just don't want to be beholden to an unreliable algorithm or things that will inevitably be taken away at any given moment.

This is kind of all over the place, but yeah.

Comments

[author_by_night]

No, that makes sense. We all have our spaces. I think people are just so used to the idea that everyone "has" to be into XYZ.

I wish I'd kept my CD player or DVD player, honestly. I might buy one. I bought all my music on iTunes eons ago (when it first became a thing), then eons after that iTunes decided to eat all my music. I got a new phone and bought
a few songs on Google Music. Then Google Music went away. Now I just listen to music on YouTube, but there are ads, or sometimes you end up getting the live version of songs, which I generally hate. I was finally going to cave and get spotify, then Joe Rogan happened.

I'm with you on physical books. I prefer those.

Also, I still use a laptop for internet things. I have no idea how some people mostly or even only use their phones. That being said, as I begin to bid adieu to ANOTHER laptop, I also kind of understand it? Plus, phones are easier to travel with. I just find typing on my phone difficult for writing. But a lot of people aren't into the interent to write, so... there you have it. Or they figured out how to type on their phones quickly. I think a lot of people actually only know how to use the internet on their phones, because they never used it much - if at all - before using your phone for internet stuff was a thing.

Also, a lot of people default to using what we called "netspeak" or "chatspeak" back in the day. I regret how snobby I used to be about it, but I still have trouble taking it seriously. I'm sorry. I just do. My brain will not compute "u" for "you" or "ur" for "your," no matter how profound your point is. I don't judge anyone, I just don't follow.

[rogueslayer452]

I wish I'd kept my CD player or DVD player, honestly. I might buy one.

Oh, definitely get them when you can. For a DVD player, I'd say get a Bluray player since it plays both Bluray and regular DVDs.

Unless necessary, we never really throw anything out, because even if it's considered "obsolete" if it can play things that I have, why not still use it? I mean, we still have old VCRs because I have tons of VHS tapes (I recorded like crazy back in the day before we ended up getting a DVD player) so hopefully we can do the transfer from VHS to digital to preserve them.

Also, I still use a laptop for internet things. I have no idea how some people mostly or even only use their phones.

I barely use any apps on my phone, to be honest. I will use the Internet to look things up (and my Kindle as well) but otherwise I use my laptop for pretty much everything.

I cannot for the life of me know how to type quickly on a phone. I type relatively fast on any other keyboard, but a digital touch pad? It's impossible for me. And I've tried, and while I'm not exactly bad it's always frustrating when I press on the right letter and it gives me the letter right next to it instead. I can manage, but I personally prefer the tangibility of keys on a keyboard.

My brain will not compute "u" for "you" or "ur" for "your,"

Eh, I do, mostly because I've gotten used to it. Of course I pronounce the words in my head as what they mean versus how they sound (ex: for me it's "oh my god" for "omg" instead of "oh em gee" as some would phonetically say it aloud).

(Although now it's become more complicated because, with certain social media platforms now suspending/deleting people for using specific words, you'll get people purposefully using netspeak to avoid getting flagged, which is doubly annoying for obvious reasons.)

[author_by_night]

I also prefer keyboards as I have the same problem you do on phones. Of course, I also took keyboard typing/computer classes in school. I never learned how to type on a cellphone. That probably makes a difference.

Of course I pronounce the words in my head as what they mean versus how they sound (ex: for me it's "oh my god" for "omg" instead of "oh em gee" as some would phonetically say it aloud).

Ahh, see, no, for me it's just "OMG." And that may actually make a difference. I also have a learning disability that's kind of all over the place in terms of tangible diagnosis (keeping in mind it was in the 90's, I'm sure now there's a precise label), and there are definitely dyslexic traits in there. So that actually could be part of the problem - my brain takes a few extra seconds to compute "u" being "you", by which point I've already kept scrolling. I don't know that that's it, it might just be subconscious leftover snobbery, which isn't great but hopefully I eventually get past it. I will say, however, that entering in codes with strings of letters and/or numbers also kills me inside. After the first three letters or numbers, it's babble. But maybe everyone has that problem and it's just a side effect of living in a technology based world. Codes that 020421185-103032-WTF. Or entering in my credit card number if it doesn't allow me to space it out.

I know YouTube has been censoring. Drives me nuts. I appreciate trigger warnings, but you know that's not even remotely what YT is concerned about.

I'm not sure if my dad kept any VHS tapes, but I honestly doubt it. Which is maybe a shame. It would be cool to watch movies from the 90s (and earlier!) on a converted platform instead of trying to find them online, which isn't always possible. I wanted to rewatch Home Alone last Christmas, and it wasn't on Netflix, and I wasn't going to buy it all over again when I saw the movie 600 times back in the early 90's. (Which is also the problem with paid platforms, you're still not necessarily paying for what you actually want. I don't even pay for Netflix, actually, I'm a user on my dad's account. Shh.) Last time I saw our VCR collection, Home Alone was definitely included. But I bet he threw all of them out.

[rogueslayer452]

I also took keyboard typing/computer classes in school. I never learned how to type on a cellphone. That probably makes a difference.

This could probably be it as well, yeah. I mean, I also took computer class in school, but I learned how to type fast without looking at home on my own time, so that's also another factor. I knew people who learned how to type fast on their phones with only their thumbs. It's all a learned skill, regardless, and depending on how much practice you have you can get the hang of it. I actually was getting the hang of typing on my older phones (not as fast as on a regular keyboard, but close enough) before forcibly switching to ones with a touchpad which is by far harder.

I also have a learning disability that's kind of all over the place in terms of tangible diagnosis (keeping in mind it was in the 90's, I'm sure now there's a precise label), and there are definitely dyslexic traits in there.

Ah, that makes sense, and definitely makes a difference.

I know YouTube has been censoring. Drives me nuts. I appreciate trigger warnings, but you know that's not even remotely what YT is concerned about.

The fact that I watch videos where they have to either silence a word, actually bleep it out like it's network television or use substitute words/acronyms to get their point across so their video doesn't get taken down is absolutely stupid, imho. But, y'know, censorship is stupid as a whole.

It would be cool to watch movies from the 90s (and earlier!) on a converted platform instead of trying to find them online, which isn't always possible.

Yeah, also I like looking back on what the television era was like back int he day. One of my favorite things is going on YouTube and looking up the commercials someone has graciously uploaded from converting their old VHS takes onto digital from different television stations and seeing how times have changed, or seeing what was advertised, etc. It's preserving a kind of history in our culture. Also, especially when it comes to shows or even movies that were televised, you get to see the songs they used that they probably couldn't use for any kind of official DVD/digital release. I've gotten DVD sets for shows and none of the songs that I remember during the original airing made it and they replaced it with something else (or have it completely silent which is just awkward, ruining the flow of the scene).

Which is also the problem with paid platforms, you're still not necessarily paying for what you actually want.

Yeah, and that's super frustrating. :/