Privacy is synonymous with most social web2 applications. These settings appear to be counterproductive, given that the majority of these applications were designed to connect people socially with no interactive restrictions.
I joined Facebook in 2013, which is roughly 15 years ago. The web was not optimized to provide privacy options; rather, it was optimized to expand every social component of interactions.
For example, you could literally meet someone from Greece or Japan and start talking with them; there were literally no restrictions on the reach of the Facebook search engine in 2013, but after 13 years, it has been sophisticatedly optimized to limit people's reach and has introduced so many privacy options that it appears to be counterintuitive to the original concept of Facebook as a social platform. Perhaps that was the case, but not anymore.
So, was this Facebook's fault?
No.
I believe that over time, people have moved on to using sites like Facebook as a web2 album to view old photos or advertise their products; no one wants to actually chat or meet people anymore.
Anti-social tendencies
The world is becoming increasingly anti-social, and most web2 apps are simply mirroring this shift in people's social behavior.
Some people want to watch memes and funny videos on Whatsapp or Facebook, but they do not want others to know they are online. Why? Because they most likely do not want to be seen, or for other unique reasons.
People want to live their lives without anyone knowing about their online social presence. It is even gotten to the point where people can prevent others from accessing their Facebook profile to view their photos and other information.
You would think that everyone with a social media account wants to interact, but this is not always the case. Some people are online, but they are complete ghosts with no traces of existence.
However, as much as people want privacy, we also dislike being subjected to privacy measures imposed by others. Take a look at Hive: you can click on anyone's account to see their posts, HP, and other details without leaving a comment or upvoting.
The reason I said comment or upvote is because these are the major ways to leave your on-chain footprint. We do not have notifications features that show when another user appears to check out a post or an account in general, so people are using these privacy options to stalk or monitor the accounts of others because they know they can do so without the user receiving a notification.
You would be surprised at how many users check your Hive account on a daily basis, and that number or figure is simply high because there are no statistics to show these numbers.
Hive
On the other hand, these privacy features are exclusive to these. Hive will have more abuse if this wasn't a thing. Every other thing on Hive is actually public and that's because of the immutable nature of Hive. This feature is more than just a flex; it is an inbuilt feature designed to protect the chain from both internal and external abuse or attacks.
Hive's Superpower
Hive's superpower is its ability to combine certain aspects of privacy with immutability. However, privacy does not limit our access to others.
Our access to people remains limitless, which means that, unlike traditional web2 social media, Hive does not segregate. You can opt for a clean slate while maintaining privacy. The Blockchain does not require KYC because users can send their coins to CEX; additionally, there is no need to upload a PFP or a BIO. A
ll of these features are only available on the frontend to users who want to use them. What exactly does this mean. Hive combines web3's sophisticated form of immutability with the privacy that users want. There are so many selling points for Hive, and it is incredible to think we have it all.
Interested in some more of my posts
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Monopoly Is the Death of Civilization
Survival: Choas and Scarcity
Crypto: Gut & meaningful Connections
What is the primary barrier to entry in Web3?
What Are Some Things You Should not Do During A Bull Market Year?
