Things like only using open source software, avoiding big tech companies, right to repair, supporting decentralization and avoiding walled gardens, etc.
It’s a tricky question. Everyone has an ideology that governs how they look at the world, I think it makes more sense to look at what your goals are. Like if your only goal is to avoid specifically Google at all costs then “deGoogling” makes sense.
I think the problem comes when people think what they’re doing is helping with their goals when it isn’t. Like most people don’t want malware, but a lot of “degoogled” OS’s are very insecure and vulnerable to malware. Free software is great but if your goal is to say keep your photos safe, there’s plenty of proprietary software that can also do that, and in some cases certain FOSS apps can be less private and secure than proprietary counterparts. So yeah I think the issue with ideologies is dogmatically sticking to them even against your own goals.
I don’t see Degoogling as an ideology (unless taken to the extreme). It’s a goal that attracts people for various reasons with various goals.
In my experience the people wanting to degoogle are usually motivated by one or more of a few distinct, sometimes overlapping reasons:
Privacy: They view Google as the single-largest privacy violator in their personal lives and in the digital world broadly, and want to reduce their exposure to a company they consider an egregious and difficult to avoid privacy invader.
Anti-monopoly: They do not like the extreme degree of consolidation of power and control Google has accumulated, or just simply don’t want to contribute to the centralization online. they are worried about the degree of control Google has over shaping the web, defining web standards, and/or controlling how you use your browser. They seem choice, competition, and options as objectively better than a single large dominant mega-corp.
Anti-capitalists or small capitalists who prefer non-commercial options, or prefer seeking out small/indie alternatives to big tech companies.
The growing number of people (particularly in the EU), who’s interest in degoogling has more to do with choosing “European Alternatives” or non-American tech, either because they don’t trust it, or they don’t want to support what they consider to be unethical companies engaging in anticipatory obedience to placate an autocrat.
People who prioritize FOSS, and FOSS aligned values.
People who just don’t want to be overly dependent on (or exposed to) a single entity.
I don’t see ideology. For most people, it’s hard to decouple from Google. That’s why you need steps or strategies, which is degoogling for me. That’s mostly unique to Google because other big companies work mostly get revenues from business and enterprises.
DeGoogling often isn’t an idealogy, it’s a response to very real concerns. For me it began with privacy but over time it became just as much about reducing dependency on a single entity that has its hands in almost every corner of the internet.
I started small. One of the first steps was switching to a private email provider that doesn’t scan messages or serve ads and support strong encryption. Replacing Google Maps was another step. These days I use Magic Earth. Not perfect, but they respect your location data.
It’s not about purify or dogma, it’s about making informed choices that align with your goals. Threads like this make it easier for all of us to find our own path.
Ideology are fine. You might be a free software enthusiasts who might despise closed source or a person who doesn’t like big tech and would prefer de googling as a way to regain control over the data but remember moderation is the key.
Taking ideologies to extreme will impact your mental health and in the end will lead to burn out.
Don’t just mindlessly follow any Idea no matter how good it sounds on paper. In reality, ideologies in extreme harm you and others.
I find the wording of the poll a bit odd and it makes it confusing to answer. You can’t avoid having ideologies. As an ideology is just a set of beliefs.
The option “Ideologies are complete nonsense and dangerous to security and should never be supported” is contradictory since stating that ideologies should never be supported, presents an ideological stance.
My point is some people think avoiding Google is nonsense and open source doesn’t matter, but is it wrong to think that?
In general I tend to think people should be allowed to have whatever opinions they want on subjective matters.
For example, I think there is a lot of issues with the de-googling movement, the biggest being that it is far to focused on Google and tends to ignore the hundreds of other privacy invasive companies and tools that are found in everyday life.
I also think de-googlers have way to binary of opinions and can’t accept that even privacy intrusive companies may also offer helpful services or may be an acceptable tradeoff in convenience depending on the threat model.
Its hard to give a definitive answer. Certain areas I don’t find the need for open source others I do. I do not think I would support either “everything should be open sourced” or “nothing should be open sourced”.