The way people are coping with the current hellscape that is 2026 is interesting to me. Somehow, it always seems to be internalization. Like, if only I can lock in using this distraction free method, if only I start buying more physical media, if only I use a dumb phone and an mp3 player for my music, etc. etc., somehow that will resolve the intractable shitstorm happening right now. And none of that is even going to be a drop in the ocean in terms of making your life better. Only collective action has the potential to do that at this stage.

> Only collective action has the potential to do that at this stage.

Nothing resolves the shit storm, but it is absolutely possible to not be in it. Don't need collective action for that.

Nothing opposes a setup like this to collective action. Given that most of modern technology or at least most of the internet is built to actively distract you as much as possible to extract profit, it's just a sane choice to disconnect from this every now and again if you want to work on things that actually matter. And this can totally include things that are for the collective good, and in collective efforts.

Some people merely have the urge to create -- For those people, it has little to do with coping. They would like a distraction free environment regardless.

I'm certainly one of those people :)

It's very meditative to solely focus on the one thing in front of you.

Me, seeing someone eating ice cream: “Here is one of several copies of The Permanent Revolution that I keep on my person for this exact situation”

> Only collective action has the potential to do that at this stage.

Yes in terms of surviving the full shit storm, and yes in terms of deriving security and comfort from community, but the things you mentioned are all valid steps on a path to joining the community of people working together on the issue you're trying to solo cope with.

Example: lately those paying attention here in Taiwan are getting the sense that our internet is fragile, and start looking into solutions for that. Many end up at reticulum and meshtastic. They might fiddle a bit, maybe get a Lora radio or whatever, but regardless, this weekend is g0v summit, where there's a lot of talks and a booth about this exact thing, and yesterday a lot of the people I met attending the talks or visiting the booth are brand new to this. But now they're in the scene, plugged in with people that have been spending years tying solar Lora radios to the top of trees throughout the city.

Getting into offline music, you get to the stage where you start trying to find good quality music, and stumble into the soulseek community, or you start wondering more about modding your dumb secondhand hardware, stumble into the mod community. From either of those into the FOSS/open hardware scene, anti-IP scenes, "four thieves vinegar collective" types.

Basically, there's many paths.

You don't need to solve whats going on around you, just whatever works for you. The fact your chose the word "coping" says more about your mindset than those you're generalizing about.

I agree. Collective action can come in two shapes.

One is that enough individuals take action, and the things you list are that, an individual taking action. If enough individuals do it then goal accomplished.

The other is making our politicians force other individuals to do it.

IMO both are necessary. There's some things where decades have proven that individuals are too "weak" to resist the pull of their urges (and nevermind those urges have trillions of dollars of R&D to make them as strong as possible so it's an unfair battle).

I consider it a good first step.

Of course people reach for individualized solutions first: We (Americans at least) live in a very individualized society.

But these individualized solutions still represent a shift in mindset, of people believing they have agency around how they use technological tools, and of people believing they should make those choices and not a company or the government. This seems very basic and self-evident to anyone who spends time on HN, but it is genuine progress for a lot of people.

> And none of that is even going to be a drop in the ocean in terms of making your life better.

I disagree 100%. Collective action isn't ever going to persuade Apple or Google to correct course. Collective action has already failed to compel Microsoft for 30+ years. These companies picked their side and your bargaining has zero leverage if you continue to purchase their products and suffer their indignation.

You can only improve your life by getting rid of disrespectful advertising and low-quality slopware. The victim mindset is a lazy lie, one that you tell yourself to justify a net negative lifestyle.