The threat of online censorship is real and an ever-expanding threat to our freedom of speech and association. Before the creation of the Internet, the way most people connected was through their community. Places such as moose lodges, rotary clubs, union halls, car clubs, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts were the primary ways people in the same community could get together and organize around a shared sense of principles and purpose.

Those days seem quaint and from our very distant past. Meeting people this way was the norm until the early 1990s, which is not long ago when you think about it. With the creation of the Internet, people have relied less and less on in-person social networking and opted to start networking on the Internet.

It’s not like you can blame people for adopting a new tool that makes life easier. As a child of the ’90s, I remember using America Online (AOL) and the terrible 56K modem to connect to the Internet. Back then, you could literally hear your computer connecting to the Internet. If you are a millennial or older, you will know what I’m talking about. 🙂

I remember the first chatrooms when all you needed was a username and a chat you wanted to jump into. Completely unfiltered, raw, and new. No one knew what would become of this technology, but we knew it was cool and exciting. No online censors were filtering for “hateful” content or powerful algorithms designed to keep you hooked into chatrooms. It was just a tool to have fun and connect.

While the Internet has been a net positive for the world and society, it did come with some drawbacks. It has taken away from the sense of community we had before the Internet. You can look around and see everyone staring at their phones. No organic conversations are going on around you. Everyone is happy living in a digital prison of their own making.

If you want to know why everyone is feeling disconnected from each other even though we live in the most hyper-connected time in history, the Internet and smartphones are at the root of the problem.

Loneliness Epidemic

Believe it or not, America is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. Nearly 50 percent of Americans have reported experiences of loneliness. Did you know the mortality impact of loneliness is similar to smoking 15 cigarettes a day?

Within this 50 percent of Americans reporting feeling lonely are countless Bitcoiners. As early adopters of Bitcoin, it may seem like you are on an island alone with no one to talk to about Bitcoin and how it will change the world even though you are surrounded by people you know and love.

Bitcoin changes you and how you see the world to the point that it is hard to relate to pop culture or BS around the water cooler about last night’s game. You realize how f’d up the world is and understand what the government is doing to the money and society at large. Talking about sports or the latest show just seems trivial now, doesn’t it?

No one outside of the Bitcoin community can really relate to this worldview. It becomes very isolating if you don’t have a friend who can vibe with you on that level.

This is why many of us look for a community online for connection. Finding people who can relate to you on Bitcoin Twitter is much easier than finding someone in your local community. Bitcoin Twitter is cool and fun to interact with people there, but it’s not the same as sitting in the same room with a fellow Bitcoiner, drinking a beer, and nerding out about Bitcoin for a couple of hours. You CAN’T replace that in real-life experience with digital.

We need that in a real-life sense of community if Bitcoin is going to succeed in the long run. Strictly being a community that only exists online makes the movement easier to control, divide, surveil, and conquer. As the dollar’s value continues to hyperinflate into oblivion, the last thing the powers that be want is for strong communities of Bitcoiners banding together to show people how Bitcoin is a better money and a better monetary system to organize society.

When the government feels threatened by Bitcoin and the central bank digital currency comes to fruition, having the ability to transact locally with Bitcoiners will be incredibly important for you and your family. In addition to monetary tyranny, digital censorship will come down like a hammer on X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, etc., to control the narrative that society follows. The one thing that can’t be censored is face-to-face interactions. They can’t stop you from sharing your knowledge with others in your local communities.

Developing the social layer of Bitcoin is incredibly important and a mission that Orange Pill App has taken to heart.

The Social Layer Is Censorship Resistant

The social layer of Bitcoin is what makes Bitcoin, Bitcoin, if you think about it. Without the social layer, Bitcoin is nothing but a protocol, but when you overlay the social layer on top of Bitcoin, the real power of Bitcoin is to change how we interact with the world and each other.

While centralized platforms such as X (Twitter) have gotten us this far, it is time to embrace true freedom tech to avoid the all-encompassing censorship that continues to creep into our lives. Nostr is freedom tech that I urge Bitcoiners to use instead of centralized platforms like X, but getting on the Orange Pill App is the best way to build the social layer in your local community, thus making Bitcoin even stronger.

The government can’t stop you from talking to your friends, family, neighbors, and strangers about Bitcoin. When you meet people in real life, friendships tend to form, new business partnerships are created, and everything improves. When things get tough, this is the social network that you can genuinely depend upon. Sign up today; it’s super simple and easy to use. You can even host your own events! You will see that you are not the lone Bitcoiner in your area and start to make friends and new connections.

An orange pill a day keeps loneliness away!

You can find me on nostr: npub1cl4deuxsxk2ldqgq85q9xfn898253qjyfcrcnkqd2wdks7ppu43qn0gu8k

This is a guest post by Robert Hall. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.