Social Media
Every year during Lent, I give up/change between 3-6 things. That way, at the end of Lent, 1-3 of them stick.
This year, giving up facebook and reddit were two things that I kept off. I didn't miss them.
Lately (last year or so), social media has been bringing me down. My news feed was packed with political statements, religious/anti-religious statements, friends whining about other friends, and little oddities, like my old (male) roommate who has become a very outspoken feminist.
The common line is that every one of these "trends" are comprised of people trying to bring other people down. There's very little discussion, understanding, and respect. Instead, "If you don't agree with me, then you're an inhuman caricature of my opposition." I think my generation pretends the things we don't like are monsters, instead of people.
A year ago, I was explaining the Chick-fil-A controversy to Caroline: "A bunch of people who consider themselves marginalized and oppressed lashed out against a perceived offender by marginalizing and oppressing them." Clearly, everyone is the monster.
I don't like logging on to facebook and finding a schoolyard of elementary students. I wonder if the fervor is actual belief or "following the 'cool' kid".
I didn't miss facebook and I didn't miss reddit. In fact, I was noticeably happier not hearing any media spin on major news stories, especially since I'm usually in opposition. I didn't know about the recent Starbucks controversy until yesterday and, honestly, it really wasn't that important to me, much like most the crap I read.
Thankfully, I'm rather isolated on livejournal, so this is a safer place.
Here's to a lot less time on social media in the future....
This year, giving up facebook and reddit were two things that I kept off. I didn't miss them.
Lately (last year or so), social media has been bringing me down. My news feed was packed with political statements, religious/anti-religious statements, friends whining about other friends, and little oddities, like my old (male) roommate who has become a very outspoken feminist.
The common line is that every one of these "trends" are comprised of people trying to bring other people down. There's very little discussion, understanding, and respect. Instead, "If you don't agree with me, then you're an inhuman caricature of my opposition." I think my generation pretends the things we don't like are monsters, instead of people.
A year ago, I was explaining the Chick-fil-A controversy to Caroline: "A bunch of people who consider themselves marginalized and oppressed lashed out against a perceived offender by marginalizing and oppressing them." Clearly, everyone is the monster.
I don't like logging on to facebook and finding a schoolyard of elementary students. I wonder if the fervor is actual belief or "following the 'cool' kid".
I didn't miss facebook and I didn't miss reddit. In fact, I was noticeably happier not hearing any media spin on major news stories, especially since I'm usually in opposition. I didn't know about the recent Starbucks controversy until yesterday and, honestly, it really wasn't that important to me, much like most the crap I read.
Thankfully, I'm rather isolated on livejournal, so this is a safer place.
Here's to a lot less time on social media in the future....