
"Last Friday night, close to a hundred of us gathered around candle-lit picnic blankets with a makeshift stage at the head of the grass. We know, that's probably not your idea of a typical night at Tompkins Square Park in downtown Manhattan - but it's safe to say we did something a bit ... different. We got off together. Off the apps, that is; after a big countdown, we deleted our accounts to digital platforms that we've simply had enough of."
"It was hard to predict how many would be joining us for this "Delete Day" - having no more social media ourselves, we hit the streets with fliers and chalk to spread the word over the past couple of weeks. At the same time, we weren't surprised by the energetic turnout. People are ready to take a real stance against the attention economy: it's become abundantly clear that the convenience isn't worth the brainrot."
"The two of us, Gabriela and Nick, part of the team who set up this campaign, kicked the night off as co-hosts. With the fervor of freedom, participants of all ages shouted what accounts they would be deleting. "I'm deleting Hinge!" yelled one in the back. Everyone roared. "I'm doing Instagram, Snapchat, and Spotify," a triple deleter jumped in. Nick started by raising the energy."
Close to a hundred people gathered in Tompkins Square Park for a candle-lit, public "Delete Day" where attendees simultaneously deleted accounts from addictive platforms. Organizers distributed fliers and used chalk to recruit participants after already quitting social media themselves. The event served as the NYC kick-off for the Gen Z-led "Time to Refuse" campaign advocating "appstinence," or refraining from technology designed to be addictive. Participants loudly announced which apps they would remove, signaling a collective rejection of exploitative algorithms, manipulative AI content, and pervasive advertising that define the attention economy.
Read at Mashable
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