Libb @ Libb @piefed.social

A 50-something French dude that's old enough to think blogs are still cool,

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We don't. Our simple kettle with its whistle is working great, despite its age. And its much nicer to look at than a microwave too ;)

First, I take a breath. More often than not, I will take more than one.

No matter what I'm doing I will always make some room to breathe. At the very least, I will go out for a long walk every single day of the year. Just walk. No distractions, no social noise, no music, no podcast, no nothing but me, my head, and that tiny thing called 'the world outside' ;)

Even better, when whatever it is I'm doing is stressing me out, I will make it multiple times a day because I don't work well when I'm stressed, so it's not a waste of time. And it also helps me stay in shape so it's even less a waste in that regard.

Last but not least, I learned to work less. It's not how hard you work or how tired you end up being that should matter, it's what you have done and much you like it ;)

I would set it back to the early to mid-90s, when I first experienced it...

Am I one of those old fart trying to say it was better in the good old times? Yes, and no.

Back then the Internet was limited, it was hacked together and there was no professionally designed website with pretty animations, security was... not much, there was no mobile web and, as a matter of fact, no 'app' at all since smartphones were not yet a thing. There was not even script languages like Javascript or PHP to develop all those shit... amazing dynamic features we're now surrounded with. So, yeah, it was limited. But...

There also was also no social media, no monetizing, no tracking, no corporate mafia-like CEOs trying to took us hostage or to milk us to death, and hands in hands with their politicians friends, trying their worst at transforming our free societies into some fascist dystopia that if they succeed (and it looks like they could) will make look all the XX century monstrosities mere child-play.

There were already evil corporations and assholes politicians back then, sure, but for the most part the Internet was people, not businesses. And it was not populated by those armies of braindead, tantrum-obsessed and hysterical morons we now consider the normal 'user'.

Trolls were already a thing, obviously, but there were not millions of them waiting to be mobilized through social media like a good army of haters ready to go stampede into oblivion anything nice or daring anyone could be willing to do. It was ok to not be nice, to not be liked, and to take risks.

I mean, it was actual people with their qualities and flaws, people that were willing to share content they were interested in and to discuss it. People that were not expecting to make a fucking cent out of every single fart they would make online. Nor to gain any Likes...

So, yeah it was rougher, so much more limited and a lot less cool. It was also a lot less polite. But it was so much more free and less full of shit.

(end of that old fart rant, promise)

I don't understand why this matters that much

Maybe because some apps will only work on certain phones (say on iOS or Android) and maybe because depending the phone you are using maybe someone could suggested another solution than switch app? ;)

Spend less time online, do less digital activities.

I do more IRL, in-person, activities. Any kind of activity most of us somehow forget we used to do well before Internet and digital was a thing can still be done without the Internet and without a computer of any kind.

In-persons is intimidating but it also helps keep away the armies of online trolls and haters that online thrive to hurt other people. Provided one behaves like a decent human being, it's very rare people IRL will hate on anyone for goofing up or for not agreeing with them. It's ok.

I also do as much as I can the analog way, without anything digital. It helps. Be it to write or sketch, or do stuff with my hands. Heck, even me using a paper agenda instead my phone will regularly trigger surprised/interested questions from people that otherwise would probably never have talked with me to begin with ;)

I suppose you're asking if I'm French? Yes. And, yes, it's a French operator (Bouygues Mobile)

And, yeah, I used to use one like that.

Anyone have any advice?

• Ask them for their number, and see how it goes? Worst case, they will say 'no', end of the story. Maybe the will ask why you don't have IG and that will be the start of an interesting conversation.
• Try to meet different kind of people? I mean it seriously. I know a lot of people around me who have IG/Facebook/X and so on but at the same time none of them make it a requirement to use it.
• Use a second phone/number for that crap content only? I barely use my 'real' phone (I have nothing installed on it beside what I'm required to use) still I do own a second phone just so I can easily share a number with all the services and various craps that ask for one. It's a phone I never answer to, despite it being constantly harassed by callers. And that peace of mind (my real number is almost spam free) only costs me the 2€/month (plus the phone, I purchased used). You should be able to do something similar for social networks: have a second phone without anything personal on it, just with IG.
• Accept that you're doomed to use IG because it's with those 'IG people' and no others you want to spend your time with? I like to spend time with people reading books, it's kinda expected we indeed read books. Would I not like to read, I would not spend as much time with them.

A pencil (edit: less than 1 dollar most of the time)

How would he live or what would he do in life? More importantly, what should be done with him to make him useful or at least neutral rather than being a negative on the society?

Are you a tool, or an object yourself? Can I throw you away because you're broken, or because a newer version of yourself has been released, or because I don't like the way you age?

Probably not because, at least in your own eyes, you don't consider yourself a tool or an object. You're not something, right?

Why is that? Because you're a person. You're a human being.

Well, good for you and, also, nice to meet you my dear fellow human being.

The thing is that with or without skill, we all are human beings too. We're persons, we're not tools at the disposal of some 'owner' who is free to break it and throw it away when not needed.

Given that, one realize that the fact of being alive is not about being 'employable' or 'useful'. It never was. Believers would say it's a miracle or a gift, I'm not a believer myself but I kinda understand that idea: it's... so much more than all we can understand.

Sure, each of us may need to be able to get food and shelter, true that, but then your question instantly stops being about 'what should we do with unemployable people' to become the, imho, much more interesting 'why is that civil society (aka, all of us) is allowing a handful of its own members, the billionaires and corporations, to decide they have the right to destroy the way society works for all of us and to render a lot of us unable to earn their living, just so that handful of billionaires and corporations can make more money? And why is that we should not object to their decision?'

Now, since I answered your question, allow me to ask you mine.

Why do you think people should be categorized by their 'usefulness'? And, if we were to accept your premise (which I obviously don't want to), would you happen to consider yourself one of those 'useful' that would still deserve a place in that new AI and robotic-powered society?

edit: typos + my usual poor English

Have you had your health checked recently? If there is nothing wrong, maybe you're like me: I was getting bald at a relatively young age and then my hair started greying out.

Instead of fighting it, I decided to assume it and make it simpler to live with for me. I shaved myhead and have not looked back since then ;)

Easy: destroying the world out of sheer stupidity and greed.

Writing things down, using the pen and paper I always carry with me. Doing so, I don't try to make literature or to sound smart, I just write things down as they come. Later on I'll read them back, that's quick, and decide if they're worth using or if I strike them out and forget about them.

• It frees the mind (no need to waste brain power to remember stuff)
• It helps brainstorming freely, even by oneself
• It helps remember stuff I would otherwise don't remember
• It helps mixing ideas I may not even consider mixing together

I would not be able to work as efficiently without the simple but so powerful pen and paper.

Like the others: jam.

No worries, I just wanted to make sure there was not some mistake. Here is my edited reply:

Two things:

1. why can't a teen not sleep? At his age, the body needs to sleep because its constantly growing and changing. That would be the first thing I would try to understand and fix. And if it is something the kid is not willing to discuss with his parents, which is ok too, maybe with someone else they can trust.
2. if you have discussed with your son and there is no ambiguity between you I would just make sure that you sleep under separated sheets or whatever (he is not a little baby anymore and the body of a teen boy can react in ways neither you or him would be willing to see happen), provided you made it clear this should not become a habit because sleeping with mom may not be the best way to develop good sleeping habits.

Hope this helps.

(end of the edited reply)

.........27 year old mother with a 12 year old kid equals 15

Thx a lot......... captain obvious. I wished for the op to answer the question themselves.

Edit: at what age did you have you kid?

Sorry for the edit, I just realized your son and your age and it raised some questions... I will put back my answer once this has been clarified ;)

I too am quite surprised so few people seem to have been reading that book. I'm not even American but I've read it.

So much of what has been happening recently is explained in it.

Being bored is not a bad thing. If by being bored you mean 'not doing something' and not being 'busy' because then it means one can start thinking by oneself. Something that seems to be severely lacking in our so modern and so constantly busy societies.

If you want to know what are my usual activities, beside welcoming boredom, I would say: read, write, paint, go out for a walk (that's amazing too, for the body as well as the mind), spend time with my spouse, making stuff with my hands.

But it has kings and queens and knights, armies of pawns and thick towers to defend them during merciless battles. It also has bishops, but I much prefer the French name: les fous aka the crazy ones ;)