[VonBlue]

An asymmetrical relationship with a faceless platform is terrifying.

I remember asking Facebook support to update my secondary email. My first one was an old college one that I no longer had access to, but my second one kept coming up as “already in use.” I never heard back. So if ever I am locked out because I forgot my password, it is forever.

The other day I read on here how someone’s Gmail account got suspended for violating terms of service, and how they were randomly locked out and were waiting a long time to hear back (and had not, yet). I got a backup but it opened my eyes.

I have become dependent and powerless and I now have a permanent undercurrent of fear that one of these platforms will make a mistake and have a non-trivial impact on my quality of life, at least for some time.