I know how terrible social media is. It eats up hours of time and gets nothing done. I like seeing what people post, staying up-to-date on people I possibly care about or was once interested in because it fills the time and distracts me from my thoughts. Though scrolling through Facebook is something to do, (and I do it often), I often find myself hiding posts, unfollowing people, or closing the app out altogether because no matter what time of year it is there is some kind of outrage on the internet.
Sometimes the things people are upset about are things that matter, like the dumpster fire that is I.C.E. currently or the idiotic things our orangutan in charge is trying to put into effect. I get that. But some things, I just don't care about. Sure, the lyrics to "Baby It's Cold Outside" are problematic, but they have always been, and I feel most of us have known that for a long time. Yeah, it's a bit rapey.
Kind of obvious, isn't it?
This is just one example of many that I see, and basically all I feel people use the internet for is to make others feel stupid. We belittle people, subversively calling them stupid, and then wonder why no one can get along. Why are we so divided? Why can't anyone work together? There are probably lots of reasons, but the constant barrage of memes, fake news, and belittling of each over would be a good place to start.
What I'm trying to say is I think the internet can makes things worse instead of better.
Now, hold on. Before you run away thinking I've lost my mind.
Hear.
Me.
Out.
I would never ever want the internet gone.
I live in the age of information that is easily accessible for most people. No longer is information for the privileged but for the masses! There is a lot of good that the internet can do for the world. If I want to learn how to do something, I can usually figure it out. Thanks internet! But on the other hand, I do feel like the internet is often a place of misuse and abuse, used vindictively to hurt others or used by people who have little experience with it and therefore are unable to avoid the pitfalls of the world wide web.
Even with all the noise online, I still can't seem to give it up. I wonder what I am missing out on. Will people forget I exist? Will I lose friends? Will my coworkers like me less? What about my family? All of my immediate family lives 9-16 hours away. How could I ever step away from my social media entirely?
And yet...I do wonder that if I stepped away from social media, would I would effectively nurture the relationships I do value? For example, would I take the time to email people or send cards? Would I make more phone calls? Or would I simply fade into silence?
I don't really have a good solution to any of this, and I'm not sure what any of us should do in the end. I think it's about finding a happy medium. Using social media sparingly, but making sure I pay attention to the people who matter in my tangible world as well. I definitely know I look at my phone too much, and thanks to Apple's new feature, it tells me exactly how much time I use. Two hours a day seems like a lot of time I'm wasting. What could I do with that time?
Read?
Cook?
Talk to my husband more?
Call family?
The possibilities are endless.
I don't believe in new year's resolutions, but this has been my goal for awhile. Here's to a hopefully a healthier relationship with my internet connection from here on out.
Sometimes the things people are upset about are things that matter, like the dumpster fire that is I.C.E. currently or the idiotic things our orangutan in charge is trying to put into effect. I get that. But some things, I just don't care about. Sure, the lyrics to "Baby It's Cold Outside" are problematic, but they have always been, and I feel most of us have known that for a long time. Yeah, it's a bit rapey.
Kind of obvious, isn't it?
This is just one example of many that I see, and basically all I feel people use the internet for is to make others feel stupid. We belittle people, subversively calling them stupid, and then wonder why no one can get along. Why are we so divided? Why can't anyone work together? There are probably lots of reasons, but the constant barrage of memes, fake news, and belittling of each over would be a good place to start.
What I'm trying to say is I think the internet can makes things worse instead of better.
Now, hold on. Before you run away thinking I've lost my mind.
Hear.
Me.
Out.
I would never ever want the internet gone.
I live in the age of information that is easily accessible for most people. No longer is information for the privileged but for the masses! There is a lot of good that the internet can do for the world. If I want to learn how to do something, I can usually figure it out. Thanks internet! But on the other hand, I do feel like the internet is often a place of misuse and abuse, used vindictively to hurt others or used by people who have little experience with it and therefore are unable to avoid the pitfalls of the world wide web.
Even with all the noise online, I still can't seem to give it up. I wonder what I am missing out on. Will people forget I exist? Will I lose friends? Will my coworkers like me less? What about my family? All of my immediate family lives 9-16 hours away. How could I ever step away from my social media entirely?
And yet...I do wonder that if I stepped away from social media, would I would effectively nurture the relationships I do value? For example, would I take the time to email people or send cards? Would I make more phone calls? Or would I simply fade into silence?
I don't really have a good solution to any of this, and I'm not sure what any of us should do in the end. I think it's about finding a happy medium. Using social media sparingly, but making sure I pay attention to the people who matter in my tangible world as well. I definitely know I look at my phone too much, and thanks to Apple's new feature, it tells me exactly how much time I use. Two hours a day seems like a lot of time I'm wasting. What could I do with that time?
Read?
Cook?
Talk to my husband more?
Call family?
The possibilities are endless.
I don't believe in new year's resolutions, but this has been my goal for awhile. Here's to a hopefully a healthier relationship with my internet connection from here on out.
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