A while back, I took a sabbatical from social media. The must-watch videos that, at the onset of the pandemic, seemed fun (bread, yoga and political debates) quickly became overwhelming. So I switched out the apps for the great outdoors and actually making phone calls. Spoiler alert: Chatting with friends when you haven’t already been scrolling through their feeds makes for more interesting conversations.
Of course, I’m not alone. Even as the number of social media users grows, an ever-expanding tribe of disillusioned humanity is turning its back on these data-hungry, privacy-shredding platforms. Increasingly, people are turning to outdoor community activities and privacy-friendly social media platforms. Read on in today’s Daily Dose to see what’s beyond social media.
— featuring reporting by Josefina Salomon
HEY YOU, LOOK UP!
Allergic to Cookies (and Ads)
The world wants its privacy back, and the social media giants are not happy about it, since they make much of their money by selling personal data to advertisers. Top of their list of worries is a European Union law that has put control of tracking tools, or cookies, back in the hands of users. The ruling could also spread to other territories. With millions opting out of putting their personal data in the hands of Facebook and other platforms, targeted ads are failing in their objective. But that’s not all. Apple has been rolling out changes to its iOS with this same ned goal in mind, allowing users to say no to tracking and implementing the Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) feature, both of which also protect iOS users from unwanted data sharing.
Dopamine Please
This isn’t to say that users are abandoning social media in massive droves. Many platforms are doing better than ever — and they have the recent pandemic-induced lockdowns to thank. As soon as our doors shut at the start of the pandemic, the gates of our Facebook, TikTok and Instagram feeds opened so wide that no one seemed able to shut them. For many, the addictive platforms became a lifeline, a forum for community, entertainment, news and even social protest. “In the pandemic we’re constantly looking for that social stimulation,” Kellan Terry, director of communications at Brandwatch told Recode. “Social media somewhat filled the gap but not wholly.”
OK, Now Stop (Please)
But what happens after you watch hundreds of hours of home cooking and yoga posing while trying to have a life and find love? Experts call it “social-media fatigue. ” Andrea Vera, a humanitarian worker from Mexico, calls it tedium. “I was very active on dating apps during the first months of lockdown, but after a few months it just got boring. So I stopped using them,” she tells OZY. “Now, I spend more time going out to the parks, doing other activities.” Another reason people are dropping the platforms? They say they make you dumber.
TOMORROW’S (PRIVACY-FRIENDLY) SOCIAL MEDIA
Comfort in my Own Social Media Platform
French startup Yubo may be the TikTok of the future, especially with younger people keen to keep a close hold on their privacy and digital safety. The app, targeted at the under-25 market, offers options to broadcast live streamings and join like-minded users. Two more reasons why this newcomer is already proving a hit? First, Yubo’s data collection and privacy policies are spelled-out and easy to understand. Second, the platform separates users into two age groups and prevents those under 18 from interacting with adults. That’s a relief for parents everywhere and a roadmap for how to safely make friends online.
Extra Large
Despite your best efforts and warnings, most of your friends and family are still on Facebook. Every click and post is monitored and analyzed to feed Zuckerberg’s algorithm, right? While not a social media replacement per se, Jumbo can help you rest assured that those among your network who can’t quit Twitter are able to continue to use it safely. The app notifies users what information of theirs is being shared, and with which websites. It also allows you to erase that data, and social media posts, and to control what information you want to share in the future. Even better? Jumbo doesn’t store any of your user details. Now go tell mom.
WANNA GO OUTSIDE?
Parks, the New Social Space
For all those social media deserters who are vaccinated (and even those who haven’t), the new social platform is the outdoors. That’s right; walking, cycling, skiing and camping are making a huge comeback. In Norway, a study found that recreational activity increased by 240% during a five-week lockdown in 2020, while interest in indoor attractions is declining fast. Once outdoors, people are forming new social networks and clubs, making ditching the phone that much easier.
Skiing in Surprising Places
With many team sports that were previously off the menu during the pandemic, some people have resorted to new, creative ways to get their kids out of the house and away from their screens. In the American Midwest, an unlikely hobby is proving a hit: cross-country skiing. Catherine Curley, who teaches at the Hilltoppers XC ski club outside Cleveland, tells OZY that three times as many people signed up in winter of 2020 than in 2019. Travel limitations and weariness of close-contact team sports have given good old skiing the edge it’s been looking for.
The Gym Alternative We Always Had
Remember all those flashy gyms with loud music and fluffy towels? In the U.K., working out indoors was so popular before the pandemic that 1 in 7 people were gym members. When lockdowns arrived, however, people realized they could instead walk in a park or cycle (if they could find a bike, as those sold out fast). Many gyms began closing their doors and struggled to reopen. But as gyms did open back up, they recognized a significant dropoff in membership rates due to the wide adoption of the digital fitness options and accessible home equipment.
The Great Outdoors
Getting outdoors is great for everyone, right? Not if you're in a national park. Unable to cope with record numbers of visitors, some of the most popular outdoor attractions in the U.S. have had to turn tourists away. Many national parks received more visitors than they ever received during the pandemic. To visit some parks, you need to make a booking first. In Europe, park employees are particularly concerned that many of those exploring the outdoors are inexperienced and unprepared, which has put some adventurers in great danger.
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Texas Congressional Contender on The Carlos Watson Show
ADVERTISING, REINVENTED
Outdoor Advertising, Reimagined
Aware of people shutting down their laptops and putting their phones away as they run outside, advertising firms have already pivoted: They are bringing outdoor campaigns back. But gone are the days when a company could simply pay someone to wear a sandwich board and stand on the street corner. The post-COVID-19 street advertising world promises expanded digital and interactive offerings and will even employ facial recognition technology so the content on billboards can match the demographics of onlookers. Do you see what I see?
Walls, Baby
What’s the one thing you can’t escape when you go out for a stroll in the city? Walls. Brands from Gucci to Louboutin, Adidas and McDonald’s teamed up with street artists to create “mural ads” in some of the most popular neighborhoods in cities across the world. Colorful, bold, tech-free and in-your-face, they might be the best advertising strategy for the post-COVID-19 world. Not everybody is happy, though. Some artists are pushing back, “warning that paint ads” have little to do with their art.
A Tale of Two (Small) Shops
As we all know, the pandemic caused financial mayhem, with millions of small businesses forced to shut down (think of those cafés situated in or near office buildings that were empty during the pandemic). But there are some who spied opportunities in the changes in peoples’ social habits. In the U.S., startups are experiencing a great revival. Businesses that managed to adapt to new consumer trends, like the independent retail giant Etsy, are going strong.
SOCIAL CHANGES BORN OF PAST PANDEMICS
Spitting in Public
Gross, right? Well, in 19th-century Europe, North America and China this was an acceptable, even facilitated social behavior. Walk into a public venue where people would traditionally socialize and exchange words on the news of the day, be it a hotel, pub or even the U.S. Capitol, and you’d see a bowl called a spittoon. Often placed in the middle of the floor, the spittoon was used mainly by tobacco-chewers. But by 1889, medical experts had caught on to the fact that saliva was a deadly transmitter of disease. Germ theory was in its infancy, but spurred by a global tuberculosis epidemic that killed millions of people, health warnings and leaflets were posted in public places for the first time. Spitting was no longer cool.
A Safer Shade of Pale
For centuries, English nobility sought to maintain a pale complexion to distinguish themselves from the working class who toiled for hours in fields under the sun. How’d they manage it? By staying inside their stale mansions, away from natural light and the outdoors in general. Afternoon tea parties, social activities and gossiping all took place in rooms filled with stagnant air. What’s more, some even sought to emulate the physical attributes of tuberculosis victims. But by the turn of the 20th century, with tuberculosis responsible for millions of deaths in Europe, medical science had caught on: Fresh air and getting outdoors would save millions of lives.
Thirsty?
For centuries, right up until COVID-19 struck in 2020, it was common for drinking cups to be shared at public water fountains outside mosques, on street corners and at natural springs in countries across the world. Families would use the street water taps, though there were known health risks, as a gathering point to collect all the “social media” they could consume. The pandemic resulted in the closing of many of these drinking areas. In India, however, the state of Kerala was ahead of the curve when it announced in late 2019, months before the pandemic struck, that it would close down all public water drinking spots (to promote private water use). Had it not done so, we may have been looking at an even greater number of COVID-19 fatalities in India.
