I’m not fully there yet since this summer has been more reasonable this year here, but I’m on my way to wishing it would go by quicker.

Words cannot express how much I hate walking out of the gym after a workout, already pouring sweat, exhausted, and out of breath, into essentially an outdoor sauna, and then into my car with all-black interior that you can’t even breathe when you get in because it’s so hot. Such an all-around awful feeling.

Also, like you, I really don’t like the super long days. I don’t like the super short days either, but right now it’s still bright out when I go to sleep and it’s annoying. I like having a couple hours where it’s dark before I go to bed as it feels like a nice wind down and perfect for watching TV or gaming without glares on the TV or just my space being lighter than I want.

Not to mention, the “just google it” comment is also terrible even if it was made in good faith considering how bad Google seems to have gotten at providing actual useful search results. Hence, why so many people add “Reddit” to the end of their search query, just making everything full circle. You’re providing the content people are googling by making your post.

I’d say I’ve like 70% degoogled.

• For search, I mainly use DuckDuckGo, but will use Google if I can’t find what I’m looking for on DDG.
• I do watch a lot of YouTube.
• I use Apple Maps primarily, but I use Google Maps to check reviews and to see how busy a place is. I also use Waze occasionally which is owned by Google.
• I use E2EE iCloud - Files, documents, spreadsheets, photos, notes. But I do have some Google Docs from years ago still in my Google Account.
• I use a combination of iCloud Email and ProtonMail primarily for email, but I still have my Gmail for receiving random things that still have that email attached to it.
• I use Safari and Firefox primarily as my browsers. Only use Chrome if I’m forced to, and I don’t login to it.

That makes sense. Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective.

May I ask why? That seems unsustainable to expect to be able to get the same amount of entertainment and utility from creators without helping compensate them.

Also, I would argue monetization has had to increase because of people using adblockers and the Silicon Valley mentality of “grow first, make money later.” Now that interest rates are high, social media companies are being forced to make money wherever they can since money isn’t cheap anymore.

If this is purely companies already being profitable and trying to just suck as much money as possible from their user base, then I would agree with you. But Twitter has been rumored for months to be close to having their lights shut off, and Reddit apparently isn’t profitable. Idk about YouTube, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re not profitable and/or wouldn’t be able to exist without Google being its parent company today due to their other businesses diversifying their revenue streams.

I guess this will be an unpopular opinion, but YouTube is justified in doing this imo. Video hosting isn’t cheap, especially providing 4K & 8K. They’ve gotta be able to support costs somehow, and if you’re not paying for Premium, you should be paying with ads. You’re also preventing the content creators from being compensated for content that you find valuable, useful, and/or entertaining.

I know ads are annoying, and I hate them just as much as you do. But a big reason why we have people who make super niche videos that help you learn how to fix something on your car or those regular videos that you watch every week is because the creators are able to get compensated for their work. Are you really saying that utility and entertainment isn’t worth 30 seconds of ads and it’s better to not support them at all?

Part of the reason we’re in this enshittification era of social media is because of the expectation of social media to be free. We need to learn from our past mistakes. It’s not sustainable.

DuckDuckGo. Google if DDG isn’t cutting it.

Same. I’d love to have a 64 ouncer because it feels like I’m constantly filling up my 32oz bottle, but my 32oz is already annoying in terms of it not really fitting in cup holders. A 64oz bottle wouldn’t fit in my backpack side pocket either.