Facebook is extra messy right now. Anyone else feeling the need to stay away? And by “stay away” I mean you continue to click on posts that you KNOW will enrage you and yet you click on them anyway in hopes you’ll feel superior to all of the people so beneath you getting into petty online arguments… while you continue to get into petty online arguments solely in your head?
Just me? Cool, cool, cool.
I clicked on one irritating post and then Facebook continued to punish me for it by rubbing my face in its piss mark every single time I opened the app, placing it right at the top. As if it was saying, “LOOK! The argument is still going. Jump in. You know you want to. Show the internet people how smart you are. You just read one political article that suited your exact preferred beliefs, so by all means, TELL THE WORLD. Do it. Do it. Do it.”
I didn’t.
But that doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about it. (Clearly, I’m writing this now, right?)
I believe having a conversation about this stuff is good (gun laws, mental illness, Adam Rippon having a reality show that streams everything he says for 24 hours a day) but getting Facebook petty about it is not. The way we treat each other online is savage right now (even more than usual) and I don’t understand it.
Can’t we all just get into these arguments with internet strangers only in our heads like the good old days? (kidding, kind of.)
God knows I love my computers and social media, but it’s continuing to dehumanize us just a little more everyday and the way we treat others. Can you imagine hearing a conversation you didn’t like at dinner and just butting in with your own opinion and insults?
Hey people I don’t know, I really don’t like LIKE your dinner conversation and you’re all a bunch of stupid idiots. #losers BYE!!!!!
Pretty sure most of us wouldn’t do it. But online? You’re not insulting a person, just their little Facebook pic, so it’s fine!
(And yes, I recognize the irony of me bitching about the internet via an online blog post. Trust me guys, it’s not lost on me!) I guess all that I’m trying to say is that tensions are pretty high right now, so maybe that means it’s more important than ever to be kinder to each other. If you find it too hard to do online, then do it person. In “real life!”
If you see someone who looks down, consciously send them good vibes. Give a dollar to homeless person. Buy someone’s coffee. Donate to a charity. It doesn’t have to be big, just think about what small thing would make you happy, then do it for someone else.
(Then watch Drake’s new video and try not to tear up.)
I don’t know what the solution is right now, but I do know bringing a little more light to those who need it certainly can’t hurt.