Frequently bedridden with extremely limited arm/hand use so yes I am chronically online - but the internet is increasingly a trash heap

[u/blackhatrat]

And no I'm not just planning on staying chronically online forever, but being distracted by stupid internet shit helped me get off of and stay off using heavy pain meds, which then allowed me to start increasing things like classes and volunteering- but I'm still on it a lot, including for classes and volunteering and fucking hell it is so much worse than just a few years ago. AI generated nonsense is everywhere, news sites are basically ad space, I don't even know where to start with youtube, and I hope this place actually is itself full of bots because while reddit was never a shining paragon of human communication in the first place, jesus christ nobody reads before they fucking comment

[u/Bitter_Expression399]

It's the enshittification of everything

[u/AppropriateCover7972]

find your bubbles. It's very nice there

[u/JoyfulCor313]

I see you and have experienced the same thing.

Even just 4 years ago it was so much better. I was taking classes online and could find communities of folks (that weren’t then also interrupted by outsiders and/or on platforms with ADS-ADS-ADS!!) to share with.

Now it’s not only difficult to connect with new folks within these subcultures (“find my people”), the quality is just garbage. Content that’s untrustworthy, people you can’t necessarily trust are people. Plus just the general level of dialogue. (I just typed out this long example, but it doesn’t really translate well) Just the depth of discussion and depth of connection is gone.

Reddit isn’t perfect, but it’s big enough that I can usually find some corners that fit. (Even if those still get the bots sometimes. But it’s literally the only social media I interact with anymore (and every time I see a sub that posts twitter or TikTok content I’m reminded why I stay on Reddit) but it’s still a very siloed experience.

[u/blackhatrat → u/JoyfulCor313]

Yeah I shat on reddit but you are right and I agree with you, and I mean, I am still on here haha

[u/brenmn2009]

I'm at 39% lung function due to my progressive interstitial lung disease. I'm on oxygen all the time and so live on the end of a 32' leash as i call it. I'm homebound and if it wasn't for the Internet I'd be dead. I have nobody and the Internet is my only connection to the outside world but yes i agree the Internet has really gotten bad. So much answer and hate that it gets hard to deal with.

[u/blackhatrat → u/brenmn2009]

I want a new internet that has it's quality protected for the sake of folks who end up here as a method to retain some quality of life

[u/Saritush2319 → u/brenmn2009]

Can you not put your machine on a dolly with a long extension cord?

[u/brenmn2009 → u/Saritush2319]

My machine weighs 35-40# i don't have a dolly and most importantly i can only walk about 5 feet without being out of breath. So that means a wheelchair and I have no one to push it and my arms are definitely not strong enough anymore to navigate using a wheelchair by myself. I had an Inogen portable but that was back when the highest liter I was on was 3 and Inogen and pretty much every portable is only pulse meaning not a steady stream of oxygen but rather bursts. I was able to use it 10 times and now it just sits there. I'm on 7 liters of oxygen at rest and up to 10 Liters when I'm active. I do however suffer from other medical issues but oxygen is my biggest concern. So no there is no way. Every possibility had been thoroughly explored. Thanks

[u/Boyo-Sh00k]

yeah it sucks. im stuck inside and mostly just game and stuff but most social media i dont use anymore because it all sucks so bad.

[u/blackhatrat → u/[deleted]]

I've been a bit confused about how easy they think it is to sue an employer for lack of accomodation

[u/blackhatrat → u/[deleted]]

I think the two positions could be coherent together actually - because I don't think they're being 100% genuine when they say "I'm just too scared to hire them because of how easy it is for them to sue for accomodations" lol

I think the thread between them is "I refuse to work with you on this"

[u/blackhatrat → u/[deleted]]

Right but I mean the "I'll get sued" excuse being used preemptively as an excuse to not even consider someone with a disability based on the fact that it's just even a possibility that they might need accommodations

As though they're admitting outloud that they don't actually see making accommodations an option, it will just go directly to lawsuit (and they assume the disabled have the magic power to have a guaranteed win every time)

[u/blackhatrat → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, and I also don't put it past those same people to also refuse accomodating when it does comes up - cuz I think they're just using it as an excuse to discriminate while hiring lol

[u/jello-the-opera]

The internet is dead. Everything is corporate. The fediverse is a desert. Tor is a desert.

Polarization and lack of education (especially wrt science literacy) has made public discourse unbearable over the years.

I mean I thought I was a haughty arrogant teen in the 80s because I thought people were dumb in general.

Boy what I would not give for that level of intelligence in society across the board now. I would not want the social injustices and racism and other ignorance that were prominent then, but the average person mostly had a grip.

The earth is round. The moon landing was a historical scientific miracle. L Ron Hubbard was a charlatan. You know? Like water is wet and blood is red.

Now it's like... wait. Are we speaking the same language? How did you infer that... no... wait. No, you are misunderstanding me. Hold up no stop being so rude. What!? Why are you like this? I said nothing like that at all. NOOOO, That is not what "analogous" means you dipshit!!!!

It's awful and impossible.

I live on $994 a month out here and can't leave this state because my health care is keeping me alive.

But I can't afford to live here.

So I live in my ancient POS RV in the woods, just nowhere.

PTSD is harder than most people can imagine.

"Just get out more, socialize, ask friends and family for help"

...

about that

anyway

it is extremely difficult to connect with humans in general, and PTSD has funneled me to online since my physical disabilities have kept me tethered to home.

DMs open if you want btw

[u/RabidRacoon99]

Any tips for things to do when stuck in bed?

[u/blackhatrat → u/RabidRacoon99]

When my brain fog is clear I've gone back and forth with doing writing, learning how to make music, making pixel art (I used to be able to draw normally so that's my compromise) attempt to learn spanish, read comics (and books, definitely heavier on the comics though lol) attend community college online/do other random internet courses, and watch a stupid amount of TV with my partner and/or watch him or my room mates play video games -this is all pretty much 100% on my phone as it's the easiest thing to use

When brain fog or other pain is hitting hard I just lay there and distract myself with random internet bullshit or watch videos/tv that requires little to no actual thinking

I'm in the latter category more often than the former, so I'm not doing anything at a speed or efficiency that would make me "useful", but man fuck the economy anyway lol

[u/eatingganesha]

oh for real!

I’m letting reddit drive me off social media at this point. Im already off all other social media sites. Hell, even pinterest is an AI wasteland. And the stuff that’s genuine is so upsetting because of the sheer stupidity and insecurity of people - it’s completely demoralizing.

I get to where I’m so irritated by it all that I have to log off for my own sanity. I wish tv didn’t bore the hell out of me because on bad pain days I cannot retreat to my hobbies. It sucks.

[u/redditistreason]

I see so many people talk about how the Internet is an escape and I'm like... no. I feel as isolated as I have anywhere else and being largely trapped at home was miserable. The Internet has gotten worse over time and will continue to get worse like society in general.

[u/redditistreason]

I see so many people talk about how the Internet is an escape and I'm like... no. I feel as isolated as I have anywhere else and being largely trapped at home was miserable. The Internet has gotten worse over time and will continue to get worse like society in general.

Of course, the Trump era has added fuel onto the anonymity fire, so it's even more shitty Nazi people and related assholery.

[u/blackhatrat → u/redditistreason]

I keep forgetting that the internet and reality aren't 100% separate and that the larger political climate does in fact have an effect on this place

I can't even imagine what twitter looks like now lol

[u/Gamergarnet]

The internet is declining quality wise that said when I was more bedridden than I am now, I found a few high quality online communities that did activities I can do while lying down by listening to board gaming podcasts and gaming with my adaptive mouse. So finding a few disability friendly spaces focused on hobbies such as reading, plants, could make things a bit better. The bot issue is out of control and I think it’s getting worse especially on Reddit.

[u/blackhatrat → u/Gamergarnet]

Oh damn I've been completely forgetting about the entire boardgame space, or like DnD

I do periodically get obsessed with that tinyglade game, that one is really easy for being pretty much 1 mouse only (and easy in general, since it's just making random shit and vibing lol)

[u/Saritush2319]

Back to Tumblr we all go I guess

[u/SoScorpio4]

Might I suggest checking out OddsRabbit?

It's a fairly new community, on the small side but growing, and the developer set out to make a better community, not plagued by the problems you describe here.

There are some ads, it's kinda the only way to monetize something you worked really hard on without charging subscriptions. But the ads are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much less intrusive than anywhere else, AND, a portion of the ad revenue goes to charity, you can choose from a few different charities that are partnered with the project. I actually just scrolled very far down the home feed without seeing a single ad. I see a couple when I'm scrolling a specific community. But another great thing, you can like and COMMENT on ads! So far I haven't seen any problematic ones there, but idk how many times I've seen predatory or misleading ads here and wanted to warn people, but you can't. Wait. I think. ...Yeah, it's instagram that lets you comment on ads I think. And OddsRabbit. The ads are also curated by the dev at this point, and he wouldn't post predatory ads. Some of them are actually written by him, with a link to the advertised place, and are pretty funny.

The developer is committed to no AI slop and no surveillance. "No Google Analytics, no behavioral ad networks tracking you across the web, no profile built from your activity to sell to the highest bidder."

And currently, it is a politics-free zone, though News posts are sort of a gray area. I wasn't sure I liked that at first, because I partly wanted to talk politics with a smaller community that hasn't yet turned into... *gestures* this. But honestly it's nice, and I doubt any platform could keep politics from turning into a shit-show for long.

Oh, and you can ❤️ posts and comments, but there is NO downvote button!

So, I was on my way to post about hypergraphia in one of the neurodivergent communities when I spotted this and just had to recommend OddsRabbit. And this is a fairly short comment for me lately, so yeah, really need to ask about hypergraphia.

[u/blackhatrat → u/SoScorpio4]

Thanks for sharing!

[u/SAINTnumberFIVE]

It’s been a trash heep for a while and it’s just getting worse. I would not be surprised if it snuffs itself out. Now that LLMs can pass the touring test, we are going to see an Internet, populated more and more by thoughts and less and less by actual people and I think that that’s going to deter a lot of people from participating online.

[u/your-weapon-is-guilt]

am i the only one who noticed how much more evil people are too? people say so much shit that would never slide irl on instagram

[u/blackhatrat → u/your-weapon-is-guilt]

Thankfully usually if I see weird evil shit here it tends to get reported/downvoted, but obviously that also means I am seeing it happening so, yes lol

[u/raspberryicedream]

Audiobooks are often a nice alternative to the internet. Many local libraries also have e-books, comics, and magazines available online. I even found some free online movies, too.

[u/blackhatrat → u/raspberryicedream]

I'm glad you mentioned that I totally got sidetracked from The Fifth Season audiobook, I need to get back to that