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title: “social media fast: an ironic next post” published: 2019-11-27
DON'T PANIC
i haven't forgotten my ill-conceived promises regarding follow-up posts to
earlier entries. my next blog posts should include something along the lines of either a part: next for
my about me series only hopefully more interesting as i continue going
through the list or, more likely, a better written introduction to the fediverse based on the feedback i've received from the beautiful people on fedi
who read it and gave me their thoughts.
but first, let's talk irony
my last post was all about social media, quite literally. and since then i decided to take a fast from social media. not a long one, just a short one. i told very few people about it and the people i did tell got to know by virtue of them being online at the right time and in the right xmpp muc.
why would a hikineet need a break from social media? not like you've got anything better to do.
au contraire, バカ, if that's what you were thinking.
in fact, the potential
dangers of things like social media (or online games and so on) are, in all
likelihood, greater than for someone who is able to go to work every day and
meet people and have extra moneys for drinks or eating out or going to shops
and buying cool anime decor. it is much easier for someone not usually bound
the time of day in the location one is at to get lost in social media. i live in murabito dynamic time, for the record.
the problem is magnified tenfold if it's proprietary social media like f*cebook and tw*tter and inst*gram etc. which are specifically designed to be as addictive as possible and use secret algorithms to choose whose posts you see when and are riddled with ads and contaminated by the evils of systematic opaque data-mining of personal information for nefarious corporate ends.
the only conditions i set for myself that must be met before i can get back on social media (in my case essentially the fediverse and jabber) are 1: that i am well rested and 2: i get some things i've meaning to do offline done (basically, in one way or another be productive and at some point do some cleaning). i have yet to find out if these conditions are a good way to get out of this what i am hoping to but so far they seem to be serving some purpose: i have slept more, and the second condition has kept me from returning to my social media prematurely. this is a detox in a way and i still haven't found my groove yet.
my real reason for writing this blog post
other than it is something i wouldn't have found the time for if i was chatting in xmpp or catching up on fedi
i actually made an online purchase. of the monogatari series bundle that's on sale right now at humble bundle or wherever. i wanted all of it so i paid the 20 instead of a lesser amount. i hadn't a lot of experience reading translated (or untranslated for that matter) light novels and manga especially recently because i always worried they'd be too liberal with their translations. i know i am a unique case, but i don't want my japanese shit localised at all. don't change the smegging name order, don't remove the honourifics, and if something is said that is a japanese-specific pun or cultural reference give me TL don't change it.
did it deliver? how did it hold up to your creepy weeby standards?
well, i'll tell you. the name order is changed. there are no honourifics even when there clearly were in the original text. and really, so far that's
all i can tell you. that and they use the american spellings for everything (i
was expecting this, at least, though). i am trying not to let it bother me, the
localising. it's really, really difficult, though.
but hey, at least it didn't cost much, right?
wrong. that is a lot of money for me. i am well below the poverty line and the poverty line is already really low. and there are a lot of things i want to buy. but this was probably my only chance to get so much monogatari source content at a reasonable price. smegging would rather have physical copies though, and i am going to be spending less on food (yes, food) so i can make as if it didn't end up costing me anything. if i spend 20 less on food, i might be a little hungrier, but i will be happy with my purchase because i won't have that large number looming over it. i can think of it as costing me some food rations instead. so it's a trade, not a purchase.
in conclusion, i guess
i don't regret my purchase but i am not super stoked about it either. it feels neutral. but that's not bad, and no net loss is a good thing. i do look forward to reading more than the little i have so far. i will probably do this drunk or high to avoid the natural cringe of localisation. but i think it will be a good time.
and with this, palatable reader, i bid you adieu.
stay tasty o/