Clint, you hit the nail on the head. I quit Twitter over a decade ago when it became toxic. Facebook followed with angry, toxic discussions, but I’m still there. I really do think that some people get dopamine hits by being angry - it makes them feel like they’re more alive and important. This essay reveals the truth of social media and if FOMO exists, it’s more about what we’re missing out in real life by scrolling social media. Thank you Clint!
This just came to my email today and yet it's dated May 30. ?? Slow and steady goes the internet I guess.
The meaninglessness of social media is something that has been apparent to me for a long time, and although I have written about it from time to time, I just keep it to myself mostly because others, like yourself, do a better job of articulating it.
There's mostly nothing there. It exists in the hope of receiving confirmation of one's existence. I find most of it, outside of some news maybe, shallow mutual back patting for numbers. It might be okay if numbers reflected actual interest in what one is doing, but so much is based on pure reciprocity - or the hope of it anyway.
Every few months I go back to social media to see if anything is different. It never seems to be and I log off and do other things that I'd rather do such as writing and walking in the hills with my dogs.
This is beautiful and so well written. Thank you for sharing. What you write is something I am struggling with. the tension is there pulling all of us, on the one side we would like to live a simple life expressing our being to nature and each other, but on the same time the “reality” that is society, pull us in a completely opposite direction forcing us to think of numbers, metrics, and being consistent. It’s strange because in nature nothing is consistent, and yet human society functions off the consistent work of beings… I don’t think X or any social media is the problem, the problem lies in how we use it, which in turn is a reflection of the society we live in.
Clint, you hit the nail on the head. I quit Twitter over a decade ago when it became toxic. Facebook followed with angry, toxic discussions, but I’m still there. I really do think that some people get dopamine hits by being angry - it makes them feel like they’re more alive and important. This essay reveals the truth of social media and if FOMO exists, it’s more about what we’re missing out in real life by scrolling social media. Thank you Clint!
This just came to my email today and yet it's dated May 30. ?? Slow and steady goes the internet I guess.
The meaninglessness of social media is something that has been apparent to me for a long time, and although I have written about it from time to time, I just keep it to myself mostly because others, like yourself, do a better job of articulating it.
There's mostly nothing there. It exists in the hope of receiving confirmation of one's existence. I find most of it, outside of some news maybe, shallow mutual back patting for numbers. It might be okay if numbers reflected actual interest in what one is doing, but so much is based on pure reciprocity - or the hope of it anyway.
Every few months I go back to social media to see if anything is different. It never seems to be and I log off and do other things that I'd rather do such as writing and walking in the hills with my dogs.
Thanks for the article, Clint.
This is beautiful and so well written. Thank you for sharing. What you write is something I am struggling with. the tension is there pulling all of us, on the one side we would like to live a simple life expressing our being to nature and each other, but on the same time the “reality” that is society, pull us in a completely opposite direction forcing us to think of numbers, metrics, and being consistent. It’s strange because in nature nothing is consistent, and yet human society functions off the consistent work of beings… I don’t think X or any social media is the problem, the problem lies in how we use it, which in turn is a reflection of the society we live in.
Just saw this today, Clint. Wormwood at work again.