"Inconvenient" Freedom

Some time ago, Douban Neighbor "Lower Lei and Other 6 People" posted a diary "What I Know About Avoiding Qin"[1], listing a lot of practical suggestions related to daily digital life. From the selection of Internet tools to the management of mobile phone permissions, from the source of information reading to the output form of writing, there are many things. I don't want to continue to discuss the trade-offs of specific tools or the pros and cons of methodologies. It's not to say that these are not important. In today's simplified Chinese world has actually become a local area network, giving people a fish [2] is an urgent matter. But a few days after the article was published, I saw a lot of disdain in the discussions on Douban radio and Weibo [3]. So I just took the opportunity to sort out the sporadic ideas that I had accumulated before, and talk about it a little bit. The core principles behind the article "Avoiding Qin" can be roughly summarized as attaching importance to personal privacy protection and insisting on using the open Internet for information input and content output. In fact, this is the insistence and defense of basic freedoms in the current digital age, even if it is an "inconvenient" freedom.

Convenience may cost more than you think

The convenience discussed in this article mainly refers to some habitual choices of people in modern digital life, especially in the world of Chinese Internet. For example, if you use Baidu, you can open the SMS, photo, camera, and other permissions to the mobile app at will. For example, you only need one password for all websites. For example, you don’t want to install other software or use a browser, but only read articles and write things in WeChat, and so on. After the rise of the mobile Internet, all aspects of our lives have been penetrated by various technological products. Many times it seems that we get convenience, such as not having to spend money or saving time, but behind these conveniences there are also costs we pay.

A popular saying is that the Chinese are used to trading privacy for convenience. Many rebuttals focus on privacy, which is equally important and inviolable, so I won't repeat it. But it is worth noting that there are also many people online who agree with this "exchange" approach. There are two very deceptive points of logic here. First of all, the exchange of privacy for convenience seems to be an active choice, but in fact, many times people do not choose. That said, business magnates or public power don't really give you the right to say no. From the overlord clause in the user agreement to the various scheming bundles in the permission application, merchants will use all kinds of small favors to let you fall into the options they set. For example, the bundled membership of Taobao 88 yuan seems to be super cost-effective, but at the same time, it also traps you in various services under Ali. Takeaway, video, e-commerce, you are thinking about the convenience of your membership, and you unconsciously block other possible options. This is no different from the barber shop on the street urging you to apply for a card and then binding your consumption for the next six months to one year. And as the monopoly of such giants intensifies, the right of choice that we should grasp by ourselves is increasingly influenced by “convenience” [4].

In addition to the compromise of choice, more so-called convenience is based on the excessive personal data we hand over. In Weapons of Math Destruction , the author shows us many cases of actual evil in the name of big data (or AI, algorithm). This is even worse in the country. A large number of companies are searching and hoarding users' private data without bottom line for commercial interests, and at the same time, they do not pay enough attention to the security protection of basic information. So we can continue to see more and more serious data leakage incidents .

In addition to the visible damage to privacy and data security, this lure of modern social convenience can pose a threat to both mental and physical health. The more convenient it is, the stronger the inertia will be, which will be directly reflected in the unhealthy lifestyle. Takeout, convenience food, and less walking due to convenience. But physical fitness often requires us to overcome various inconvenient factors and achieve by strengthening self-exercise [5]. The mental aspect is similar. Healthy informational recipes require your own energy to find, read, and digest. Just for the sake of convenience, then the public account, today's headlines, Douyin, etc., the endless timeline, you don't even have to do it yourself, the next one will be broadcast automatically. However, does such convenient dopamine stimulation really make our lives better?

Zhou calamus also said before:

Sometimes I wonder why China's big cities can enjoy so many convenient services, but it all seems more like shackles than improving people's happiness. ... The first impression is that the service industry in Beijing is really convenient. Even after get off work so late, there are people who serve you, no matter if you are repairing computers, delivering food, washing and cleaning e-bags, etc., there are supplies after 23:00, and I feel happy. But the next thought found that such happiness is not the "unhappy" of service industry practitioners? They are equivalent to leaving get off work later than 24:00 every day. ... and is this a paradox? Because my work is busy and stressful, I need more "extreme" service, so I need to squeeze the server. But the reason why our work is busy and stressful is also because we are all serving others, because they are also busy with work and stressful, so they also need me to provide "extreme" service. For example, Didi Taxi, if the dispatched order exceeds 3 kilometers or 8 minutes, passengers will usually be scolded, and we have to do everything possible to solve this problem. And the reason why passengers are so irritable is precisely because they are under a lot of pressure. If they don't have time to clock in at work, it will affect their ability to "extremely" serve other people.

The convenience brought by capital and technology is indeed desirable, but we need to know the story behind it. Compared with passive "convenience" without a sense of control, I value the active freedom of informed decision more.

Hack yourself the hard way

At the end of the second decade of the 21st century, data privacy, electronic devices, information access, content output, all of these things have actually become very complex. Passively accepting other people's solutions for convenience and without thinking will bring about various problems, so I encourage everyone to actively face these things with a hacker spirit, and use a systematic thinking to gradually build and optimize their own. All kinds of digital life. For example, establishing an account security system, or establishing a workflow for information collection and sorting. Although the process in the middle will be very "tossing" in the eyes of some people, and it seems that it is not as convenient as the ready-made methods, but in fact, once this kind of self-hack mindset is established, the final effect will be more efficient. We will also regain more autonomy, think and learn more important things in the process.

Here, I will briefly talk about what can be "tossed" from the three aspects of data data security, information intake, and content output.

Cultivate basic data security awareness

Privacy is a luxury, but we shouldn't lose our basic security literacy in this emptiness.

For example, you can start by learning basic password knowledge. Learn the difference between strong and weak passwords; stop using the same set of passwords for all accounts; learn what two-factor authentication is; start experimenting with password management software, and more.

For all kinds of software and mobile APPs, don’t give permissions that can’t be given. The more exposed, the greater the area of being attacked by criminals. Learn some basic concepts of networking. Know what cookies are, and know what browsers are (please don't laugh, many Chinese who only use WeChat have really forgotten the existence of browsers, the most basic tool for open web). By the way, in addition to Chrome, which is about to become IE in the new era, also understand the advantages of other browsers such as Firefox in terms of privacy protection.

A lot of our private information is communicated through chat software, so you need to understand the concept of end-to-end encryption. Knowthe basic situation of common chat software in terms of security . And not just for yourself, you need to educate your friends and family about these basic concepts. Because once their chat software, mobile phone/computer system is invaded, your data security will also be threatened.

Filter Your Own Information Recipes

At the information input level, "convenience" is represented by recommendation algorithms like timeline/newsfeed. WeChat, Weibo, Toutiao, and Douyin have grabbed most of the attention of ordinary people. Just like eating food for nutrition, eating only junk food, only eating food from a certain store, or only eating what a black box machine feeds you is hardly a healthy behavior.

Recommendation algorithms are of course of great value from a macro audience level or a business perspective. But I think this value has its limits.

There are two scenarios where recommendation algorithms can play a big role. First, when you just enter a new field, a good recommendation will use the similarity or context information to help you quickly shorten the entry time from point to point. The second is for some scenarios that only require a shallow understanding or participation, such as background music when writing or typing codes, and boring instagrams when queuing; such tasks are not worthy of our own attention. The convenience of the algorithm to fill in the blanks is a good option.

However, the recommendation algorithm cannot satisfy advanced users, and it is also stretched in serious professional fields. Although in theory recommendation algorithms do not necessarily lead to filter bubbles, in practice less-than-ideal situations always occur. And once the effect of the filter bubble is introduced to some extent, the integrity of our information intake will be compromised. So fundamentally, in many scenarios, don't hand yourself over to the algorithm, that's not an efficient approach.

We need to rely on trial and error and painstaking sifting to finally build a recipe of our own information. In terms of content, I suggest to give up official accounts and headlines in closed local area networks, watch more professional media with more reliable sources of information, and pay more attention to some high-quality blogs. In addition, compared with Chinese, more high-quality content on the Internet comes from the English world, which should constitute the main body of your daily reading.

When doing academic research, in addition to paying attention to journal conferences, we often keep an eye on some important scholars and research groups in the field and track their latest work. This practical technique also applies when sifting through information sources. Consciously sift through a group of content creators, subscribe to their blog or newsletter, follow them on social media, and try to understand their habits of mind. Sometimes such attention comes with "noise" . After all, not every article and every tweet is about a professional subject matter, but many times this is just a virtue. For example, in Yihui Xie's blog , in addition to R and statistics, there are also poems and recipes; for example, Bill Bishop not only talks about Chinese news, but also talks about his daughter's football game and misses the barbecue in Beijing. These seem to me to be a healthier omnivore against algorithms.

At the level of tools and methodology, I recommend that you use RSS-based information workflows to bring together the various information sources you have selected. There are already quite a few articles talking about how to optimize this kind of workflow [6], and the specific approach varies from person to person. The more important thing is to establish this awareness, and for each scenario and requirement, take the initiative to toss with various tools and try a variety of ideas, and finally form a systematic solution that suits you.

Adding Quality Content to the Open Internet

After talking about the input, finally talk about the output briefly.

Choose an open platform . The choice of medium/platform itself also affects your creation, both in form and content. Choosing a WeChat official account also means that you must accept the aesthetics and tastes in its ecosystem, accept censorship, and give up the right to freely add links. Choosing Weibo or Facebook means that you have to accept the fiddling of its timeline algorithm, and whether your text can be seen or not is left to an opaque machine algorithm.

Use an open format . Maybe there is a technical threshold to ask everyone to build their own blog, but at least we should have the awareness of refusing to be kidnapped by the platform. At its most basic, all output content should be linkable and indexable [7]. This is the essence of the open Internet. I'm firmly on the side of the open web, and I encourage everyone to stick with open formats and generic tools for creating and accessing content. An open format will give you more freedom than a closed format.

Independent thinking, has something to say . Everyone's writing level is different, but if you can avoid clichés and communist Chinese . Basically it's sincere. In addition, sometimes too much pursuit of watertightness will damage the character of the article. I prefer to read the truth with a strong personal opinion rather than "proper bullshit".

All, start with some small habits around you to change. If possible, try to share these views with friends around you. This "inconvenient" freedom will give you more control over your life.

[1]: The original text has been changed by the administrator to be visible only to the author himself. The author himself posted the picture in the broadcast and gave another public link . The original text can be seen from there. As for the specific measures listed in the article, most of them agree that there are better options for individual programs.

[2]: One Day in the World "After WeChat was "blown up"

[3]: For example, those who secretly change concepts , and those who have a very poor level and do not like to think .

[4]: ONES Piece: The Tyranny of "Convenience"

[5]: Cai Zhihao: "Convenience" is not the only value

[6]: Minority: Online Reading Process: From Requirements, to Methods, to Tools

[7]: Everything should have urls: https://ben.balter.com/2015/11/12/why-urls/