Re: <nettime> So what's the use of art, theory, activism?

[Verónica via nettime-l <nettime-l@lists.nettime.org>]

Hello Simon,

I liked your opinion, and it made me remember something that I always think
about,
how significant it was for me, my first interaction with someone I didn't
know at all,
 from another country, via Microsoft Messenger at that time (not that of
Facebook) I'm Xenials.
It is difficult to see how these corporations depend on a single opinion or
decision, and yet, they are the ones that direct an important part of the
intellectual growth of almost everyone. I don't know why we always end up
in the hands of 3 or 4 people, deciding our future, our thinking and our
culture. In this aspect, this space seems to me today, more relevant and
necessary than, for example 2 months ago, precisely because of its
different character, outside the mainstream of social networks and the
contamination of excess images.
Finally, as Paul says, don't worry about the waste of other people's time,
let's be free.

Thank you for this space and for the critical thinking.

Verónica

El vie, 31 ene 2025 a las 18:46, Simon Deutsch via nettime-l (<
nettime-l@lists.nettime.org>) escribió:

> Hello everyone,
>
> This is my first time contributing here, so bear with me in case of a
> formatting mishap. With the risk of sounding naive, I hope to add
> perspective on the ubiquity of communications platforms and maybe address a
> snippet from one of Andreas' contributions earlier this week.
>
> On 1/26/25 Andreas writes,
> >My suggestion is that the resistant thing to do here, on Nettime, is to
> >rise to the occasion and to not just live right (that's also very
> >important, and I think that Stella's examples are very inspiring), but
> >to discuss how "the nets" impact "culture and politics". Perhaps with
> >the ambition to understand what is going on, so that we can think about
> >ways to influence the how-things-go towards the better...
>
> I arrived in this corporeal form in a moment that would place me firmly in
> the tail-end of 'Gen Z' but what this means is that I had a Facebook
> account starting at the age of 10. The question of how the aforementioned
> "nets" impact culture and politics is hard for me to wrap my head around
> because, by and large, for someone my age, the "nets" *are* culture and
> politics.
>
> Even considering the fact that a majority of my developmental years were
> spent in Zuckerberg's psyche-melting apparatus, I was still sentient enough
> at a time when interaction with this particular technological form was more
> easily avoidable. I fear this is not the case for those who are one, maybe
> two years younger than me.
>
> For those who spent 100% of their time growing and developing in the
> post-Facebook web environment (compared to my 95%) there may not even be a
> conception of a web without these malignant actors. I think it is that 5%
> outside that led me to this mailing list. I've found this to be a place of
> reprieve from the constant bombardment of ragebaiting and engagement
> farming that constitutes so much of the rest of the web today.
>
> I think the Zoomers are capable of engaging with art, politics, and
> activism via the web, but so much of our experience is characterized by
> infographic slideshows and memes contained in these walled gardens of
> corporate social media that are ultimately shallow and ineffective.
>
> Perhaps this time on the web before Facebook that lives in my mind is more
> based in a nostalgia for a time that never truly existed. It is one,
> however, that feels more genuine. It feels capable of facilitating real
> connection and maybe even defiance in the face of burgeoning fascism
> worldwide. Maybe we have just lost the recipes.
>
> I hope this perspective feels useful, or at the very least, not a total
> waste of time.
>
> Earnestly,
> Simon
> --
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> # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
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>
-- 
# distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
# <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
# collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
# more info: https://www.nettime.org
# contact: nettime-l-owner@lists.nettime.org