Most people from my circle use mainstream apps and see me as that “alternative” weirdo/geek.
Most alternative options are being used by geeks and males quite often. Its hard to find normies here.
Do you think there will be a shift in perception?
I do not want to be the pessimist or no guy, and I want to reply in the flow of @CHEFKOCH@lemmy.ml’s comment.
You are right and wrong at the same time. Right, because you are right. But the wrong part stems from not realising the cause of why ordinary people are so stubborn or adamant.
Firstly, the last sentence you say is very apt, and I appreciate this attitude. Never use normie or such terms that make people feel bad, just because they want to get shit done in life and have worse things to worry about.
Secondly, this is my point. People are so passive and ignorant about the situation because they are not tech literate, and they are not made tech literate and self sufficient. Common Sense Internet Edition (a term I made myself and use) is something that needs to be installed into people’s brains. The inspiration for the term comes from antivirus suite softwares that people used to buy a lot, and still do for Windows PCs. People used to get these and still do the same things as before, instead of adopting good internet/computer habits.
Computer habits are like sanitation habits in real life – wash your hands, use soap properly, wash hands before eating, clean earwax from ears, bathe daily, cut your hand and feet nails and so on. For a computer/phone, these become:
- Do not open random URL links in emails and SMS anywhere.
- Always check if website has HTTPS
- Always crosscheck first few words of URL when doing electronic payments or banking transactions and see it is the same companies you want to deal via or with.
- Do not click on ads.
- Install uBlock Origin in your browsers on computer and phone
- Install software from trusted sources, and prefer open source software
And many more such habits, I could go on and teach a lot to people, just like I do threat modelling.
Education and awareness are an unsolved hurdle since the desktop PC days and is the root of most problems today. Machines and software are quite secure, but if the user is uneducated, how many protection layers can you put? You cannot stuff up the airbags up to the throat of the driver in a car for security sakes. They have to drive the car as well and see through windshield properly.
It seems like I missed OP’s post question quite a bit, so for that this is the answer. I do not care. I have a WhatsApp and Discord and I am reachable enough. People get puzzled when I tell them I do not have a Google account on my Android phone. I do not have Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Messenger, Tiktok, any of that. I tell them I read and watch a lot and prefer peace instead of chaos. And it shows in anything they like to discuss. When I talk, everybody listens. And I earned that by not engaging in social media traps, and exchanging that with learning things and stuff.