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Forum nameGeneral Discussion
Topic subjectHere is the thing, social media is designed to make us feel awful.
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=13460939&mesg_id=13460954
13460954, Here is the thing, social media is designed to make us feel awful.
Posted by Buddy_Gilapagos, Fri May-20-22 10:52 AM
I don't know why I spend so much time on twitter because all it does it leaves me pissed off. Either at terrible news or people saying assinine things. I've had made more of an effort to prune folks who aren't sharing real information and expertise but its hard to avoid constant hysteria about everything. Like the most authoritative thing I read about Monkey Pox says its not a real threat but 90% of what's generated on social media news sources are designed to scare people to get more clicks.

With Buffalo, I want to read one long form article about what happened, the victims and the killer (and his parents) and that's it. I could easily spend all day going down the rabbit hole of reading tweets thought pieces about it but I wouldn't necessarily gang extra information I would just get more fucked out about it.

I got into an argument on a whatsapp chat because someone shared the video of the shooting and I was like why? Dude thought everyone need to see it. I pointed out that's exactly what the killer wanted, for everyone to see it and kick off a race war. No good comes from watching that video. But for my man, sharing the video felt like doing something. Felt like being more engage. I think its not.


That very same whatsapp group started off with just some homeys mainly talking about sports, bk going ons and hip-hop and has turned into sharing terrible news stories 50 times a day. I have to log off because ain't really my place to say stop sharing terrible news.

I was legit going to make the post today with the thesis is the world can't be as bad as the media makes it out to be. We are witnessing the effects of the outrage machine that our current internet is. We lived through the 80s. I can't think of a metric collectively we aren't better off then we were then.

I say that not to minimize the bad news in the world or how anyone feels, but I want folks to recognize that there is a larger cultural phenomenon that is built on us feeling in a constant state of franticness. Its a business model that makes FB and Twitter billions. And now its seep into our social lives and world views.

I am on another chat, a dad chat, and I clown it because its a bit corny and a lot of LLC type brothers but at the very least it is extremely positive. Cats are always encouraging each other and sharing and celebrating each others good news. There are arguments but because everyone knows each other it never gets crazy or disrespectful. I imagine its how Facebook was supposed to be or could have been.

Anyway, all that to say as a matter of self-care we need to monitor how much we expose ourselves to a system designed to make us feel terrible. Also to say its important to surround ourselves with positivity and supportiveness.


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"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

"what's a leader if he isn't reluctant"