Rant: The curse of negativity

[El Presidente]

Self indulgent rant. 

I lost a mate for about 8 years as he went full underground. It started innocently enough by cutting social media but over the years extended to believing in a global elite conspiracy. He went off grid. 

We stayed in touch for the occasional lunch and drinks but it wasn't quite the same. Dealing with hard core conspiracy theorists is...well.... hard work 

We caught up again a few weeks ago. You could see that the fog was lifting. He has now purged himself off all media and has finished his first modern art pieces from scrap metal.  He is better. By better I mean calmer. 

How did someone go from engaged but happy go lucky, a to middle aged adult living in fear? 

No matter where you look, no matter what manner you take your news, negativity appears to be all pervasive. 

Economic collapse, social collapse, infrastructure collapse, housing supply collapse, education collapse, cost of living,  military vulnerability, AI vulnerability, Immigration flooding, climate catastrophy, government over reach, .........and we haven't even started 

Is it any wonder that anxiety among 12-20 year olds has exploded over the past 2 decades. 

Negativity is chum for the clickbait industry.  It's spread is unfettered as social media algorithms provide the ultimate self fulfilling loop.  Once you go down a few of those rabbit holes, it can prove difficult to find your way back into the sunshine. 

The world is a beautiful place. Nothing is as good as it appears....but nothing is as bad as it appears. 

Solution? No idea 

All media should have a health warning attachment. 

" What you are viewing has been designed to heighten anxiety and make money" 

The purpose of this post? 

If you have a mate that is anything like mine, reach out this week and see how they are. Just staying in touch can make a difference. 

 

 

 

[Gamehawker]

Rob, I am sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. May he rest in peace.

Oops, I misread your post and thought he had passed away.  Sorry.

[Chas.Alpha]

I made my life easier. The only social media I participate in is FOH. I was banned from Twitter (twice) and although  I love a curmudgeon @Carrie Nation 😀, I refuse to allow right/left wing media to influence my thought process. We’re all here together, mates! These are the best of times!!!

We’re not bringing Ken into this discussion, are we?…😳

 

[Nevrknow]

28 minutes ago, Chas.Alpha said:

I made my life easier. The only social media I participate in is FOH. I was banned from Twitter (twice) and although  I love a curmudgeon @Carrie Nation 😀, I refuse to allow right/left wing media to influence my thought process. We’re all here together, mates! These are the best of times!!!

We’re not bringing Ken into this discussion, are we?…😳

 

Quoted just bring @Ken Gargett in here. You're welcome. 🤣

( damn trouble maker! ) 🤣🤣

[BrightonCorgi]

Ignorance can be bliss.

[Chas.Alpha]

33 minutes ago, Nevrknow said:

Quoted just bring @Ken Gargett in here. You're welcome. 🤣

( damn trouble maker! ) 🤣🤣

YOU BASTARD!!! 😡😡😡

[Chas.Alpha]

I’m starting a new Cheese thread…🙄

[Bijan]

We're all increasingly alone and isolated. People have less and less friends and spend less and less time with family, friends and neigbors.

So ideas that would easily get shot down as crazy by other people in the past, can just simmer until people go off the rails.

[Andy04]

2 hours ago, Chas.Alpha said:

I made my life easier. The only social media I participate in is FOH. I was banned from Twitter (twice) and although  I love a curmudgeon @Carrie Nation 😀, I refuse to allow right/left wing media to influence my thought process.

I did exactly the opposite and created a facebook account with the sole purpose of trolling those with strong right and left beliefs.  Never had so much fun in my life.

 

Once you realize how easily people can become triggered by small things and especially by matters that they can't ever control, it makes you recognize and appreciate the choices and decisions that are within your control.

[Ken Gargett]

having seen what severe depression can do to people, some whom you'd never suspect had the slightest problem, always better to check than just hope. insidious hell that affects them and those around them. 

all very different from a good rant. 

[cnov]

4 hours ago, Bijan said:

We're all increasingly alone and isolated. People have less and less friends and spend less and less time with family, friends and neigbors.

So ideas that would easily get shot down as crazy by other people in the past, can just simmer until people go off the rails.

Social media appears to be the best divide and conquer tool the world has seen, we've lost friends through difference of opinion, some certainly my fault. We were robbed of the original intent of social media, it used to be good when you could see your mates kids or the latest holiday photos, you felt like you were still in touch even if across the globe, now it's simply buried beneath adverts, conspiracy and propoganda if your mates could even be bothered to stay on there, I know I can't.

My Dad went off the rails during COVID, full conspiracy mode coupled with his strong will. Still not got him back unfortunately, I do wonder if he'd gone as far down the rabbit hole if he had still been working in an office where he might have encountered differing opinion from colleagues that he may have respected.

 

 

[gormag38]

It's the unfortunate reality that we are living in. Technology, social media and news outlets have us so much more divided than what we've ever been. In my wife's family in particular there is a huge divide amongst her siblings and her parents' intake of right winged media. We can't even get dinner as a group without a few hot button topics being brought up/jabs thrown. I missed out on the age when you could have two different people with two different viewpoints/political views have a civil and constructive conversation. Now days it seems no one has any respect for anyone's opinion but their own. 

[helix]

A person needs good friends around to keep the train on the rails . Problem is when the whole group has derailed.  

[Puros Y Vino]

I watched a video about something called the "Dead Internet Theory"  The premise is that human activity in terms of posting, online discussions is on the decline as the majority of posts are done by AI/bots whose sole purpose is to get the actual people online to react to controversial posts, news, etc which in turn generates ad revenues for providers. It also works to shape people's behaviours and beliefs politically and socially.  It is estimated that over 60% of Internet traffic is non-human generated and it's growing.  I'll admit, that over the past few years I've distanced myself from certain people due to their political views and beliefs. At this stage in my life I don't need the bullshit.  It cost me some "friends" but I still have some good ones that are of higher quality and more well rounded.  And hopefully they think the same of me.  😁  The worst part for me though is that it has affected my two older brothers. Whenever I see them, they're trumpeting the latest Right/Left wing outrage clickbait tomes like they're facts. Two people who I've always seen as rational and intelligent are now scared, aging men.  Maybe this is something biologically induced as one ages?  Our bodies deteriorate, so perhaps the mind does too? And perhaps the constant outrage headlines and shoddy media exacerbate it?  My oldest brother in particular, who would be one the first ones to come to the defense of the downtrodden and marginalized members of society, is now in concert with the doomsayers and mouth breathers.  It tires me to be around them half the time. All I can do is remind them of what they stood for and ask that they use their heads. A tall task, but that's all I can do. 

[cnov]

1 hour ago, Puros Y Vino said:

Two people who I've always seen as rational and intelligent are now scared, aging men.

This is exactly how I feel about my Dad.

Very smart man, perhaps devoid of emotion on occasion but his intelligence has always seen him through, feels like he's become a silly old man a decade too early.

[Fireball]

Covid made this worse for tons of people. With the vast amounts of crap on the internet and people becoming ‘silo’d’ either by themselves or with people who share their same thoughts.

It’s very sad.

[dominattorney]

People need to read more books and watch fewer YouTube videos. I recognize it's not always this black and white but a good rule of thumb is there is less blatantly ridiculous drivel that makes it past publication by major publishing houses. I can at least rest assured that what I read about science from a university press is smarter than what I randomly find on the internet. Usually. 

My step son is big into conspiracies. Things space is fake, the earth is flat (I'll never wrap my mind around that one) and 5g and the covid jab are mind control. All from videos he watched on YouTube during lockdown. I gotta say, I almost fell victim to the 911 conspiracy stuff when it first came put. In my defense I was a freshman in HS at the time. My father quickly disabused me of the wonkier conspiracies surrounding that. Really taught me a life long lesson. Just because it makes more sense to a 15 year old doesn't make it correct. Occams razor deteriorates in tail events and in extreme conditions. If you relied on Occam you'd never derive special relativity or quantum field theory. Those are two of the most beautiful human ideas to date and truly historic accomplishments of the intellect and the powers of deduction. 

I also follow another rule. Never ascribe to malice and evil what can be more easily explained by ignorance and a faulty understanding of first principles. 

[Bijan]

40 minutes ago, dominattorney said:

People need to read more books and watch fewer YouTube videos. I recognize it's not always this black and white bur a good rule of thumb is there is less blatantly ridiculous drivel that makes it past publication by major publishing houses. I can at least rest assured that what I read about science from a university press is smarter than what I randomly find on the internet. Usually. 

It's also a case of "the medium is the message".

The web is a great place to profit from clickbait. Books not so much.

[joeypots]

I’m surrounded by negativity and pessimism. One of my oldest and dearest friends, a brilliant former head of technical analysis for a huge investment bank,  thinks everything is a conspiracy. Ever heard about the glass buildings on mars? How about the fact that covid 19 was an experiment to see how quickly a man made virus could spread and be contained by a vaccine. Just in case someone wants to end the world. I listen to a read all sorts of bullshit from the rabid one side to the rabid other side. All while I watch my well fed, housed, dressed, friends and neighbors live great lives accompanied by fine booze and Cuban cigars. What gives? Good news doesn’t sell and news is planted by dark forces to divide us, one conspiracy I buy into. 

Anyway, the way I stay positive is to remember that life is good. By some estimation so good that bad is good. Especially if we stay focused on 25 or 50 years instead of 25 or 50 minutes.

Last time I’ll post this, sorry if I’m redundant. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/28/opinion/sunday/2019-best-year-poverty.html 

[DaBoot]

There is a lot of neuroscience involved here. For reference I like listening to David Eagleman podcast, inner cosmos. Great podcast. Also the podcast hidden brain. Great insight to how humans think, act, and react, proven to be mostly subconsciously. The book brain changer by D dasilvo changed my life years ago ( info my be a little dated by now). 
 People just need more faith, and a little serenity. Accept the things you cannot change. And know that you know nothing. It gets you farther than you so called opinion. 

[El Presidente]

8 hours ago, gormag38 said:

 I missed out on the age when you could have two different people with two different viewpoints/political views have a civil and constructive conversation. Now days it seems no one has any respect for anyone's opinion but their own. 

It is one of the richest forms of human interaction. 

Where intellectual  swords are never drawn. Simply an enjoyable sharing of viewpoints with an eagerness to discover holes in ones own argument/position. . 

[Chibearsv]

Some empathy and a desire to learn should be traits we all possess. Most people I’ve interacted with face to face are pretty reasonable. I’ve learned plenty from others’ points of view and vice versa hopefully. Avatar interaction opens too many opportunities to simply be a closed minded jerk. 

[Fuzz]

Unfortunately, I have lost some friends over the years due to their views, and honestly, I don't think I'd want them back in my life.

Two have not sipped the Kool Aid, but have gulped straight from the barrel. Everything is a conspiracy; the world is not just flat but is sitting in a humongous petri dish and we are all in a big experiment, the World Govt/Illuminati are controlling the population via chemtrails/vaccines/fast food, there is a secret world in the depths of the Earth where the Illuminati rule from, aliens walk among us, etc, etc, etc.

One has gone the full MAGA/QAnon route, and I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me she was at the Capitol riot. She used to be such a nice, fun person, and I always enjoyed hanging out with her, but then something changed. Started posting weird stuff, talking about conspiracies, then she ghosted me and blocked me on all her socials. Before she blocked me, the vitriol of her posts was astounding. How she went from nice and sweet to this angry, bitter person, I just couldn't understand.

[TheDonTX]

People need to chill out. Everyone is worried about what other people think or are doing. Add in social media and all the fake stuff. The current world is a deep topic I cant write about without it being pages long. Tiktok, the media, all the hate and all the karens. Covid. Our schools. We need more love. When you break everyone down to basics we are all the same. We want food, shelter, make a good living, care for our family and smoke some great cigars : ) 

Sadly I was the last generation of kids that came home when the street lights turned on. 
 

If I called a girls house her dad answered first…

 

The old simpler days are gone forever. 

 

When did we all stop being friendly kind human beings? 

[helix]

25 minutes ago, TheDonTX said:

When did we all stop being friendly kind human beings? 

Maybe when the internet became our mentor ?