The world is facing a clear trend in terms of compulsory smartphone ownership, forced digitalisation, obligatory interaction with Artificial Intelligence, the abolition of cash, the complete elimination of analogue services and the steady decline in human interaction.
Resisting in great numbers may be the only way left to turn the tide. That means DOING something.
I'm not looking for people to send me social media links to shocking stories. I'm looking for people interested in ACTIVELY:
Resisting compulsory smartphone ownership (because we have a right not to be cyborgs)
Fighting for cash as a viable payment option (because it's a step closer to 'phone payments only' and not everyone can have a bank account or a phone)
Standing up for the right to live offline (because food, water, clothing and shelter should be enough, if we so choose)
Refusing discrimination against the elderly, the illiterate, the poor, the homeless and the digitally disinclined (because they too have a right to take part in society)
Defying the outsourcing of online security and ID to consumers and citizens - at their own cost (because phones are expensive, while AI/scammers have made it impossible to know what to trust)
Saying 'no' to total dependence on charged batteries and working internet (because we have seen entire countries and cities lose power and connectivity for extended periods)
Boycotting card-only businesses (because voting with our wallets sends the best message)
Choosing businesses that use humans to serve customers and accept cash (because it lets people keep their jobs, keeps us interacting and allows the poor spend the few pennies they can gather)
Supporting analogue alternatives for those fighting digital addiction (because a lot of people, especially the young, are battling with this)
Lining up at counters, even when it takes longer (because no scammer ever showed up for work at your local bricks-and-mortar branch, and because it undermines the assumption that everybody is cool with using a smartphone-based ID app)
Letting these actions be known (so that businesses, authorities and other digitally coercive organisations get the message)
Who's behind this? My name is Richard Asher, a journalist and writer based in Austria. My personal page is here.
This is NOT a petition! We want people willing to ACTIVELY RESIST DIGITAL COERCION and COMMUNICATE THESE ACTS OF RESISTANCE.
A huge time commitment?
No! If each ant carries one grain of sand, together they can build a surprisingly large anthill :)
Posting about one tiny pushback, talking to one shopkeeper, writing one note to your MP, taking one photo, recruiting one friend, sending us one screenshot, setting up a petitions in your country, boycotting one cashless restaurant, deleting one app, changing one setting, filling out one form by hand...it ALL counts as action. We push back as a team. Nobody is keeping score!
(You can, of course, do more. You can even help me with day-to-day stuff like making a proper website or running social media!)
A more concrete plan of action(s) is in the works. For now, we'd just love you to be one of those who receives it in your inbox.