We need to stop using Reddit, WhatsApp, and YouTube… but we can’t.

That’s the real problem. These platforms stopped being “apps” a long time ago. They’re infrastructure now. Reddit is search results, tech support, product reviews, niche communities. WhatsApp is family, work, school, doctors, landlords. YouTube is tutorials, education, news clips, repairs, entertainment, background noise.

You can quit a bad product. You can’t easily quit a social standard.

And that’s exactly why they get away with so much. The cost of leaving isn’t just losing features; it’s losing access to people, knowledge, and convenience. Alternatives exist, but the network effect keeps dragging everyone back.

So yeah, we should stop using them. But realistically, the better first step is reducing dependence: use RSS, forums, Signal, PeerTube/Invidious, proper documentation, personal websites, mailing lists, and local backups wherever possible.

Not because purity is achievable, but because total dependence is dangerous.

Oh, they definitely thought it through… and then realized they could probably get more than a dollar out of us.

F them