Social media isolates. It is anything but social and fosters only cliquebuilding, groupthink and hate. The full breadth of a person cannot be contained within a one sentence description or 240 character tweets. Social media has laid its claim on all aspects both personal and professional; the virtual self has become nearly indistinguishable from the actual self. Marketability requires flattening of nuance. Reject the capitalistic reaping of yourself, reclaim your self, your reality.
Fandom is a poor substitute for culture. Your definition of self is not beholden to the fiction imposed on you by the mainstream. "Let people enjoy things." Why not enjoy new sensations? Why use this statement as a bludgeon against all popular media criticism? Challenge yourself. Become your own fandom, found a new one. Become the master of your entertainment, let not others dictate what your amusement should be. Own what you want to own. Streaming is fleeting and corporations are fickle; they will change their minds on a whim and burn everything they deem unprofitable. If you wish to own it, you have to take it - piracy will be your greatest ally.
The sad truth is that the Web is no longer as free as it used to be. I was not there for the earliest stages of it, but came just in time to see the last flickers before the fire went out completely. It wasn't perfect then but it certainly isn't any better now. With the corporate stranglehold on the Web ever so tightening, all that is left for us to do is simply not participate. Sure you can make the backup account on Bluesky, but really, who's forcing you to use it except yourself? Take this enshittification not as an opportunity to find the next greenest patch of grass but to start planting the seeds for a new one. Make the Web your own while you still can.
I'm aware there's much more to be said about the current political landscape of the internet and how capitalism has it's tendrils in everything. A concrete change of things will only occur when the total domination of money and profit over every single aspect of our lives ends. It would require much more than a handful of homemade websites. But I believe a crucial first step is to recognize and be cognizant of how and why you're interacting with the world around you, including the Web. Talk about it - not for an algorithm or an imaginary audience but for yourself. Write your thoughts down and make it tangible. Reclaim your reality and let it not be imposed on you by fiction, money or corporations.
As a final word, here are essays and sites I find either personally important, or have affected me in major ways (list to be updated...):
Hot Allostatic Load - Porpentine Charity Heartscape
'Fandom has toxified the world' - Alan Moore
THE MEN WHO SOLD THE MOON - Eden Kupermintz
Everyone Is Beautiful And Nobody Is Horny - RS Benedict