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Sep. 26th, 2019 06:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
roselightfairyYou know, when I first got into fanfic and fandom stuff (really mostly fanfic; I didn't know about all the other trappings until later), it sent me into an existential crisis because of how much I was suddenly online, how much I suddenly wanted to use the Internet, when that had never been a particularly big thing for me before. And given the way we in general talk about technology lately, I've dealt with that existential crisis for a long time-- with that internal guilt about how much time I'm spending with the Screen of Evil.
But as social media grows even more prevalent, and companies take our data and spy on us, I've started to realize that I'm using the Internet in... one of the best ways you can use it, really. I'm surrounding myself with writing, art, and thoughtful critique; engaging with other people who enjoy the material; doing things that make me happy. I'm hardly ever reduced to aimless scrolling of social media (well, Tumblr, sometimes, but because I know that my scrolling time on Tumblr is limited until I find something that makes me really upset, I've tried to reduce that as much as possible). It's not perfect, of course, but it's pretty good.
And best of all, targeted ads have no idea what to advertise to me. When I bought a laptop, I got ads for that laptop in my Facebook for weeks because I hadn't purchased much else. The fact is, advertisers simply don't know what to advertise to those of us who spend time in fandom, I think. The stuff we engage with (not always, but often) isn't the corporate trappings of huge franchises-- we produce our art all our own, and share it free of charge or middleman. I like to imagine that the Google salesperson in charge of selling my data to advertisers is regularly going "????" and thunking their head down on their desk before shrugging helplessly and offering me to the Dove soap people.
I mean, I'm certainly not saying my use of the Internet isn't excessive, or that it's in any perfect-- or that fandom is at all without flaw. But I am saying that I think, if you're going to be using the interwebz, fandom is a pretty good way to spend your time.
But as social media grows even more prevalent, and companies take our data and spy on us, I've started to realize that I'm using the Internet in... one of the best ways you can use it, really. I'm surrounding myself with writing, art, and thoughtful critique; engaging with other people who enjoy the material; doing things that make me happy. I'm hardly ever reduced to aimless scrolling of social media (well, Tumblr, sometimes, but because I know that my scrolling time on Tumblr is limited until I find something that makes me really upset, I've tried to reduce that as much as possible). It's not perfect, of course, but it's pretty good.
And best of all, targeted ads have no idea what to advertise to me. When I bought a laptop, I got ads for that laptop in my Facebook for weeks because I hadn't purchased much else. The fact is, advertisers simply don't know what to advertise to those of us who spend time in fandom, I think. The stuff we engage with (not always, but often) isn't the corporate trappings of huge franchises-- we produce our art all our own, and share it free of charge or middleman. I like to imagine that the Google salesperson in charge of selling my data to advertisers is regularly going "????" and thunking their head down on their desk before shrugging helplessly and offering me to the Dove soap people.
I mean, I'm certainly not saying my use of the Internet isn't excessive, or that it's in any perfect-- or that fandom is at all without flaw. But I am saying that I think, if you're going to be using the interwebz, fandom is a pretty good way to spend your time.
