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Abstract

rks out great.Anyway, here’s a thought for you to keep in mind while you browse the marvelous world of the internet: every second you spend on a social media platform you’re making them money. It’s a no-brainer and quite obvious but I’ll repeat it, changing a couple of words: every second you spend on Twitter, you’re making Elon Musk money. Not a lot, mind you — he’s trying his best to sink that ship — but still.It’s interesting to see people talking about how stupid Elon Musk is while they use his website. I mean, if I were him reading those tweets, I’d be laughing my ass off. That’s engagement! That’s content! That’s the only thing that dumpster fire of a site has to offer, it’s the only value it has as a product: the stuff people post there.A part of me thinks Musk knows this very well, and every single play he makes is just a stunt. There’s a saying in Brazil that goes “Well or ill, speak of me.” If people are talking about him, he’s winning.What I’m trying to say is Twitter only exists because people are there, and if you hate Elon Musk, talking about it on Twitter is not your best move. But I know, it’s hard to quit because everyone is there, people have built communities, they’ve built an audience there. Which brings me to this next point:“Can it be possible? Can they really not have heard that Twitter is dead?”Twitter is dead. Twitter remains dead. And Elon Musk has killed it.The experience is ruined. Everywhere you look in that thing there’s a reminder that we’re on this dude’s website. People didn’t use to go to Twitter to be on some guy’s website, they used to go there to be “on the internet.”The people keeping the machine running are supposed to stay behind the curtains if at all possible, it’s all supposed to be invisible, transparent. But Elon Musk is unable to stay behind the curtain. He has to remind us — constantly! — that this is his website, that he is in control, that he makes the rules, and you are most definitely not on your internet, you’re on his internet.It’s over. Twitter has died. The experience is gone. It will never be the same. It can’t be the same. The thing that was Twitter is deceased. And you might be experiencing different stages of grief, but at some point the mourning period has to be over, and you’ll need to move on.But here’s the thing, moving on doesn’t mean going to a different platform to talk about Elon Musk. There isn’t a single day (okay, maybe there are days, but definitely not a single week) when I don’t see someone complaining about Elon Musk. It’s exhausting! And I feel people are talking about him because they think it’s important to point out that he’s an asshole and stupid and so on, and

Options

since so many people care about what he has to say, it’s their job to inform everyone about his qualities — or lack thereof.What they don’t seem to notice (and, again, this feels obvious but I’m trying to be clear) is people only care about what Elon Musk says because people care about what Elon Musk says. This is a truism, I know, but can’t we realize that, the moment people stop caring about what this dude has to say, the things he has to say become irrelevant? I mean, isn’t it obvious that what he has to say is only important because we make it important?Every time we talk about him, we’re quite literally giving him voice. Alright, not literally giving him voice — not his vocal voice, anyway — but something a lot more valuable: power. We’re his audience in the crazy circus that he has put up.It’s 2023, the age of short attention spans, of doom scrolling, of anxiety, of empty days and empty lives that run through our fingers, of disappearing hours, taken away by the flashy movement of the magician, who guides our gaze to a closed hand. Then he opens his hand and we see a stinky pile of shit, and some people applaud, and some people rage, and the magician laughs as he pockets our hours away with his other hand, and the limited time we have on this planet vanishes before our eyes.To paraphrase the lyrics of a song I quite like, “he who possesses your mind, also possesses your soul.” Attention is your most valuable gift: it’s power. Who are you giving it to?The saddest part to me is this: why are we letting this dude inhabit our minds? Who is this guy? Why does he deserve to be here? Why do we spend time thinking about this guy when we could be thinking about the things we want to create in life, about the people we love, about different ways in which we can enjoy our limited time in this universe? Why are we spending time hating some rando?I mean, I get it, hate can be a bonding agent and create communities. “Oh, you hate Elon Musk too? High-five!” And hate can also be fulfilling. We’re primates. We’re tribal. I get it. I’m right there with ya. But still, I wish we could bond over good things, and find fulfillment in our lives through positive experiences, not through hate.In a way, this entire post is me asking you to leave the guy alone. He doesn’t deserve your attention. He sure as hell doesn’t deserve mine, and this is why I’m so annoyed that I had to write this thing. The irony that asking you to stop caring about him is me caring about him is not lost in me. But alas, this, ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between and around and above, is how I’m also just a monkey, for I too doom scroll, and I too crave, and I too hate.Hell of a drug. I’m trying to quit, though.</article></body>

We Need To Talk About Elon Musk

By which I mean we need to stop talking about Elon Musk

Image created by the author with the help of AI, or maybe the other way around.

16/Nov/2023 Update: given the latest news in Muskland, I think we absolutely need to talk about Elon Musk, although not exactly about him, but about the systems that allowed someone like him to be one of the most powerful people in the world. This man is an amazing study case for future generations. In a span of a little over a year, he turned from a pseudo-genius into an internet bozo with nazi inclinations. I don’t know where he will go from here, but right now, it doesn’t look good.

I hate that I have to do this, but I haven’t seen anyone say this yet — which is a wonder considering the last year.

First, I feel I need to recognize Musk’s merits, by which I mean he has money. Having money means you can afford to make mistakes, you just need your hits to pay for your mistakes, and with a diverse enough portfolio, the statistical chance that you’re gonna find success increases. I guess what I’m saying is, if having money is a skill, Elon Musk is a skilled guy.

Now, is the last paragraph downplaying his abilities? Possibly. But, as a Brazilian, I lost respect for the guy last year when he questioned the legitimacy of the Brazilian presidential elections (I can’t find the damned tweet for the life of me so I’ll just stop trying because I have better things to do with my life).

But, getting to the point of this post, here’s the main message: stop listening to what Elon Musk has to say. Stop talking about him. Stop caring about him. Stop being his audience.

Allow me to elaborate.

I stopped using Twitter — I refuse to call it anything else — a few months ago, which, to be fair, was hard because everyone is there (I’ll get to that in a bit). I first moved to Mastodon, and some people used to talk about Elon Musk there. After a while, I stopped using Mastodon, and when Threads came to be, I moved there. Guess what? People talk about Elon Musk there too. Constantly!

So, here’s the reason why I don’t use Twitter, and I’m gonna try to be very clear. The way social media platforms make money is (mostly) through ads. The more eyeballs you have on your social media, the more ad slots you can sell. It’s genius, really: users create the content, and you get the money. If you’re “smart” enough, you charge people to create the content. Works out great.

Anyway, here’s a thought for you to keep in mind while you browse the marvelous world of the internet: every second you spend on a social media platform you’re making them money. It’s a no-brainer and quite obvious but I’ll repeat it, changing a couple of words: every second you spend on Twitter, you’re making Elon Musk money. Not a lot, mind you — he’s trying his best to sink that ship — but still.

It’s interesting to see people talking about how stupid Elon Musk is while they use his website. I mean, if I were him reading those tweets, I’d be laughing my ass off. That’s engagement! That’s content! That’s the only thing that dumpster fire of a site has to offer, it’s the only value it has as a product: the stuff people post there.

A part of me thinks Musk knows this very well, and every single play he makes is just a stunt. There’s a saying in Brazil that goes “Well or ill, speak of me.” If people are talking about him, he’s winning.

What I’m trying to say is Twitter only exists because people are there, and if you hate Elon Musk, talking about it on Twitter is not your best move. But I know, it’s hard to quit because everyone is there, people have built communities, they’ve built an audience there. Which brings me to this next point:

“Can it be possible? Can they really not have heard that Twitter is dead?”

Twitter is dead. Twitter remains dead. And Elon Musk has killed it.

The experience is ruined. Everywhere you look in that thing there’s a reminder that we’re on this dude’s website. People didn’t use to go to Twitter to be on some guy’s website, they used to go there to be “on the internet.”

The people keeping the machine running are supposed to stay behind the curtains if at all possible, it’s all supposed to be invisible, transparent. But Elon Musk is unable to stay behind the curtain. He has to remind us — constantly! — that this is his website, that he is in control, that he makes the rules, and you are most definitely not on your internet, you’re on his internet.

It’s over. Twitter has died. The experience is gone. It will never be the same. It can’t be the same. The thing that was Twitter is deceased. And you might be experiencing different stages of grief, but at some point the mourning period has to be over, and you’ll need to move on.

But here’s the thing, moving on doesn’t mean going to a different platform to talk about Elon Musk. There isn’t a single day (okay, maybe there are days, but definitely not a single week) when I don’t see someone complaining about Elon Musk. It’s exhausting! And I feel people are talking about him because they think it’s important to point out that he’s an asshole and stupid and so on, and since so many people care about what he has to say, it’s their job to inform everyone about his qualities — or lack thereof.

What they don’t seem to notice (and, again, this feels obvious but I’m trying to be clear) is people only care about what Elon Musk says because people care about what Elon Musk says. This is a truism, I know, but can’t we realize that, the moment people stop caring about what this dude has to say, the things he has to say become irrelevant? I mean, isn’t it obvious that what he has to say is only important because we make it important?

Every time we talk about him, we’re quite literally giving him voice. Alright, not literally giving him voice — not his vocal voice, anyway — but something a lot more valuable: power. We’re his audience in the crazy circus that he has put up.

It’s 2023, the age of short attention spans, of doom scrolling, of anxiety, of empty days and empty lives that run through our fingers, of disappearing hours, taken away by the flashy movement of the magician, who guides our gaze to a closed hand. Then he opens his hand and we see a stinky pile of shit, and some people applaud, and some people rage, and the magician laughs as he pockets our hours away with his other hand, and the limited time we have on this planet vanishes before our eyes.

To paraphrase the lyrics of a song I quite like, “he who possesses your mind, also possesses your soul.” Attention is your most valuable gift: it’s power. Who are you giving it to?

The saddest part to me is this: why are we letting this dude inhabit our minds? Who is this guy? Why does he deserve to be here? Why do we spend time thinking about this guy when we could be thinking about the things we want to create in life, about the people we love, about different ways in which we can enjoy our limited time in this universe? Why are we spending time hating some rando?

I mean, I get it, hate can be a bonding agent and create communities. “Oh, you hate Elon Musk too? High-five!” And hate can also be fulfilling. We’re primates. We’re tribal. I get it. I’m right there with ya. But still, I wish we could bond over good things, and find fulfillment in our lives through positive experiences, not through hate.

In a way, this entire post is me asking you to leave the guy alone. He doesn’t deserve your attention. He sure as hell doesn’t deserve mine, and this is why I’m so annoyed that I had to write this thing. The irony that asking you to stop caring about him is me caring about him is not lost in me. But alas, this, ladies and gentlemen and everyone in between and around and above, is how I’m also just a monkey, for I too doom scroll, and I too crave, and I too hate.

Hell of a drug. I’m trying to quit, though.