Every word of this. And I've got to get the fuck off social media entirely. It's where the worst of it comes out, from me and from everyone else, and wallowing in it is an act of self-harm.
You are wise. And I can. The only reason why anybody truly can't is if they need a brand account for their business, and my Substack is doing just fine. I don't need a brand account.
I got off all the ones I was on except Substack. I did it at the beginning of the covid insanity and I'm so glad I did that and just found my sane little community here in Substack land. Just recently went back on X so I can see some posts that are linked in articles. Don't follow anyone anymore and I don't post anymore. Life is much better.
Serious question, Holly - and please know I'm 60+ so I really am not yanking your chain. What do you put in the social media bucket? X, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok? I consider Substack to be social media because, I guess, it has comments? I mean the comments on substacks, or on blog posts using other platforms, like Blogger for instance, get pretty heated and hairy and ugly and nasty. When I hear someone say "get off social media", I automatically think they're basically ditching all computer tech except maybe email, lol.
Anything that allows commenting could be considered social media. But you can enjoy the content without reading the comments, and without commenting yourself. On YouTube, the further down you read in the comments, the more moronic they are. I try to avoid commenting at all, because even a small throw-away opinion can result in backlash, sometimes days, weeks, or even years later.
This is kind of my thinking about "social" media, too. As per the age to which I alluded, boomer here soooo... lol. Smart move, the no commenting, if this all ends up where it appears to be heading. I slap myself before and sometimes after I comment; but comment I must. At my age, whatever. The gulag will only hasten the end, and that will be okay. It's all icing at this point, but I want my kids and grandkids to get to enjoy the cake.
On numerous forums, I've written long, detailed comments, reached the end, and then think, "Do I really want to do this?" and then I delete everything without posting it. Sometimes it's because I write something I know to be true, but if challenged to back it up with evidence, I know that I couldn't. Sometimes it's because I have more to say and I realize that no one will bother to read it and I'm wasting effort.
YouTube has a feature where you can take your account private, and when you do all your comments and any replies are deleted. I've taken advantage of that a few times to reduce my digital footprint. Of course, when the American Stasi come for me woke Google will happily turn over everything I thought I was deleting, so...
I have found that over the last 6 months-ish, I write, then pretty much always delete, those long, detailed comments; and my reasoning pretty much mirrors yours. Although I will also admit that sometimes my thinking is, "idiot(s) will read and be absolutely incapable of processing. Why would I want to open that door? I'm pi$$ed off enough as it is." Of course, that thinking ultimately, too, comes down to wasted effort and I am finding I'm getting so tired of being irritated and angry much of the time when confronted with what passes for "society" these days. Ugh.
I’ve been feeling this lately too. I worry that I’ve becoming addicted as a way to vent because I don’t want to annoy people with my autistic obsessions offline. Which I know I’ve already done, only further creating a spiral of alienation.
The only thing I read is Substack. Even so, I can get too immersed in it and require a “reset” by walking my dogs, puttering with my plants, cooking and doing laundry. Any other social media website would be the end of me! 😂
All true. I can't believe I live in a world that has become like this one is now. It feels like everything, every day, is a fight against lunacy, and the lunatics are winning.
The thought that we're all borderline now is a pretty good assessment. The only social media I'm exposed to is X(Twitter) which I check every other day or so but don't converse on. Being out of the social media loop not only lowers one's blood pressure but frees up a huge amount of time
having grown up in the heart of the military governtment complex what i find perplexing is that over my life the government has become actively anti american. or rather american people. in my childhood it seemed as if the powers wanted an upright and usefull population. now i cannot tell.
These are my thoughts which may also apply to you. I don’t have children. I’m getting old (54). So my view is short sided. This country, and maybe the world, is quickly devolving into what will, I envision, be something resembling a mixture of Idiocy and the Thunderdome. But- who cares? I’ll be dead. Good luck sorting this 💩 out! Dumbasses! You M-effers created it! Enjoy your creation. In the meantime, I going to enjoy the crap out of what’s left of this place, even if I have to make “frogger” maneuvers to avoid stuff in the road.
It's a scary world when nothing and anything can be true. The glimmer of hope for me through our collective derangement is the emergence of incorruptible, accountable, respectful high trust groups invested in seeking and verifying truth.
In the comments, I share so many of others' expressed thoughts.
AND, perhaps this is why I keep coming back to, like a broken record, 😂 that it would benefit each person, personally, and us all if more got outside and grew some food.
Here's why I think that is important. As Josh implies, we have no more shared reality. It's a fractured belief system where each segment is so totally convinced of their "reality."
But there is something so deeply unifying, and base-line truth, about planting seeds and watching them grow.
You can't fake it.
You have to do certain things at certain times.
The process adheres impeccably to the laws of nature and yet, provides those of us who are willing to see it, and incredible miracle.
There mere act of planting a seed--start small--can have enormous ripples.
And heck yeah, we're still gonna have to deal with the constant feeling of the ground shifting under us, and our own battles with malaise, sadness, and depression, but I also believe that planting things truly anchors us to something real and tangible and provides an antidote to the craziness around us.
And, the WORST that could happen is you spend a little more time outside. 😂
I agree, Liz. I switched about 10 years to growing a good portion of our food. As a city girl born-and-raised, it continues to be a struggle to keep up with the tasks I've chosen (I feel like some "feel great in nature" button was never fully turned on in me), but the joys are real and very precious when they happen.
Plus, getting engaged with growing some things opens you up to a whole new world of geekdom and sociality around individuals who recognize some of these problems, and who like to get together as a group, do food-related projects, and eat together. This has been very, very good for me.
yes. just recently I have been experiencing something similar.
I have a few NPC friends who rage and gaslight all day about the usual garbage, but recently I have begun to almost pity them. everyday the world they have constructed in their heads is crumbling. the cognitive dissonance they feel must be insane.
in some ways we are all misinformed. it takes real effort to see clearly above all the noise. as Josh said, keep yer guard up, but most of our fellow citizens deserve our pity, not our scorn.
It’s sad the number people I used to admire that were immediate propagandists for the COVID regime, the trans (in reality sexualizing children) regime, the Military Industrial Complex, etc. In reality these people were never what they purported to be. Fakers! I’m more selective now and I’ve found new voices, Josh at the top of the list.
Every word of this. And I've got to get the fuck off social media entirely. It's where the worst of it comes out, from me and from everyone else, and wallowing in it is an act of self-harm.
Deleting all social media has done me a world of good. I know not everyone wants to (or can) do this, but I’m grateful I was able to.
You are wise. And I can. The only reason why anybody truly can't is if they need a brand account for their business, and my Substack is doing just fine. I don't need a brand account.
I got off all the ones I was on except Substack. I did it at the beginning of the covid insanity and I'm so glad I did that and just found my sane little community here in Substack land. Just recently went back on X so I can see some posts that are linked in articles. Don't follow anyone anymore and I don't post anymore. Life is much better.
Serious question, Holly - and please know I'm 60+ so I really am not yanking your chain. What do you put in the social media bucket? X, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok? I consider Substack to be social media because, I guess, it has comments? I mean the comments on substacks, or on blog posts using other platforms, like Blogger for instance, get pretty heated and hairy and ugly and nasty. When I hear someone say "get off social media", I automatically think they're basically ditching all computer tech except maybe email, lol.
Please tell me you aren't ditching everything?
Anything that allows commenting could be considered social media. But you can enjoy the content without reading the comments, and without commenting yourself. On YouTube, the further down you read in the comments, the more moronic they are. I try to avoid commenting at all, because even a small throw-away opinion can result in backlash, sometimes days, weeks, or even years later.
This is kind of my thinking about "social" media, too. As per the age to which I alluded, boomer here soooo... lol. Smart move, the no commenting, if this all ends up where it appears to be heading. I slap myself before and sometimes after I comment; but comment I must. At my age, whatever. The gulag will only hasten the end, and that will be okay. It's all icing at this point, but I want my kids and grandkids to get to enjoy the cake.
On numerous forums, I've written long, detailed comments, reached the end, and then think, "Do I really want to do this?" and then I delete everything without posting it. Sometimes it's because I write something I know to be true, but if challenged to back it up with evidence, I know that I couldn't. Sometimes it's because I have more to say and I realize that no one will bother to read it and I'm wasting effort.
YouTube has a feature where you can take your account private, and when you do all your comments and any replies are deleted. I've taken advantage of that a few times to reduce my digital footprint. Of course, when the American Stasi come for me woke Google will happily turn over everything I thought I was deleting, so...
I have found that over the last 6 months-ish, I write, then pretty much always delete, those long, detailed comments; and my reasoning pretty much mirrors yours. Although I will also admit that sometimes my thinking is, "idiot(s) will read and be absolutely incapable of processing. Why would I want to open that door? I'm pi$$ed off enough as it is." Of course, that thinking ultimately, too, comes down to wasted effort and I am finding I'm getting so tired of being irritated and angry much of the time when confronted with what passes for "society" these days. Ugh.
I feel you. I still resort to comments—not sure if i5 helps or harms me!
I’ve been feeling this lately too. I worry that I’ve becoming addicted as a way to vent because I don’t want to annoy people with my autistic obsessions offline. Which I know I’ve already done, only further creating a spiral of alienation.
The only thing I read is Substack. Even so, I can get too immersed in it and require a “reset” by walking my dogs, puttering with my plants, cooking and doing laundry. Any other social media website would be the end of me! 😂
All true. I can't believe I live in a world that has become like this one is now. It feels like everything, every day, is a fight against lunacy, and the lunatics are winning.
The thought that we're all borderline now is a pretty good assessment. The only social media I'm exposed to is X(Twitter) which I check every other day or so but don't converse on. Being out of the social media loop not only lowers one's blood pressure but frees up a huge amount of time
having grown up in the heart of the military governtment complex what i find perplexing is that over my life the government has become actively anti american. or rather american people. in my childhood it seemed as if the powers wanted an upright and usefull population. now i cannot tell.
but as to social that how i found holly &josh.
It is easiest to think of this as a sickness. Mentally ill people have taken over institutions to bring about their plans for society.
So we are not imagining it. Marxism, mental illness and unwise immigration all play their part in our downfall. And it is most western nations now.
“Functionally borderline” -- that’s perfect: functionally dysfunctional.
And it IS everyone, so judging others only exacerbates the problem
The path is narrow, but you're on it, Josh. Thank you for giving us directions.
You’ve nailed it.
These are my thoughts which may also apply to you. I don’t have children. I’m getting old (54). So my view is short sided. This country, and maybe the world, is quickly devolving into what will, I envision, be something resembling a mixture of Idiocy and the Thunderdome. But- who cares? I’ll be dead. Good luck sorting this 💩 out! Dumbasses! You M-effers created it! Enjoy your creation. In the meantime, I going to enjoy the crap out of what’s left of this place, even if I have to make “frogger” maneuvers to avoid stuff in the road.
It's a scary world when nothing and anything can be true. The glimmer of hope for me through our collective derangement is the emergence of incorruptible, accountable, respectful high trust groups invested in seeking and verifying truth.
And who are those groups?
Or we all have adjustment disorder that never ends ?
I’m just thankful for my my Wonderful Counselor Jesus Christ
I really feel this too!
In the comments, I share so many of others' expressed thoughts.
AND, perhaps this is why I keep coming back to, like a broken record, 😂 that it would benefit each person, personally, and us all if more got outside and grew some food.
Here's why I think that is important. As Josh implies, we have no more shared reality. It's a fractured belief system where each segment is so totally convinced of their "reality."
But there is something so deeply unifying, and base-line truth, about planting seeds and watching them grow.
You can't fake it.
You have to do certain things at certain times.
The process adheres impeccably to the laws of nature and yet, provides those of us who are willing to see it, and incredible miracle.
There mere act of planting a seed--start small--can have enormous ripples.
And heck yeah, we're still gonna have to deal with the constant feeling of the ground shifting under us, and our own battles with malaise, sadness, and depression, but I also believe that planting things truly anchors us to something real and tangible and provides an antidote to the craziness around us.
And, the WORST that could happen is you spend a little more time outside. 😂
I agree, Liz. I switched about 10 years to growing a good portion of our food. As a city girl born-and-raised, it continues to be a struggle to keep up with the tasks I've chosen (I feel like some "feel great in nature" button was never fully turned on in me), but the joys are real and very precious when they happen.
Plus, getting engaged with growing some things opens you up to a whole new world of geekdom and sociality around individuals who recognize some of these problems, and who like to get together as a group, do food-related projects, and eat together. This has been very, very good for me.
Finally, I understand "borderline"; thank you.
yes. just recently I have been experiencing something similar.
I have a few NPC friends who rage and gaslight all day about the usual garbage, but recently I have begun to almost pity them. everyday the world they have constructed in their heads is crumbling. the cognitive dissonance they feel must be insane.
in some ways we are all misinformed. it takes real effort to see clearly above all the noise. as Josh said, keep yer guard up, but most of our fellow citizens deserve our pity, not our scorn.
It's too bad YouTube won't allow real music, because that Cindy Lauper song "Borderline" is running through my head right now.
It’s sad the number people I used to admire that were immediate propagandists for the COVID regime, the trans (in reality sexualizing children) regime, the Military Industrial Complex, etc. In reality these people were never what they purported to be. Fakers! I’m more selective now and I’ve found new voices, Josh at the top of the list.