This has nothing to do with Deliverance. The full sentence is that on Super Bowl weekend, I spent 4 nights in a cabin in the woods in Wisconsin with 5 other guys. I’ve known these guys for 13 years but I had never met them face-to-face until Super Bowl weekend.
This post is not to regale you with tales from those 4 nights. The only other context I will give you is that we just played board games and Magic the Gathering (your basic nerd stuff) while drinking. Every. Single. Day.
Some folks may have noticed I’m not posting that much on Facebook and Twitter. I’m not sick. I’m not in protest. I’m taking a break from all social media. I thought about saying something in a tweet or a wall post but then that would be using social media. Therefore, to avoid the dilemma, a brief blog post would suffice since WordPress auto-posts to Twitter and Facebook. In fact anything you see on either of my feeds will be generated posts.
I’m not gone permanently; at least I don’t think I am. In my 2019 intentions post I mentioned I would be trying to use social media less because it causes too much stress. Facebook and Twitter are toxic and I hope to feel more relieved by late April that it’s no longer something I feel compelled to check. I seek nobody’s approval and that’s all social media is. Everyone behaves like children seeking attention and approval by behaving badly.
In the meantime I can get my news the old-fashioned way. Google. I’ll see you all in a few weeks. Until then you can email me, text me, or (heaven forbid) call me.
/cheers
“When I was a kid, it was a huge insult to be a geek. Now it’s a point of pride in a weird way.” – J.J. Abrams
I’m on a Criminal Minds binge. There is an interesting episode called “The Internet is Forever” near the end of Season 5. If you are unfamiliar with the show, each episode begins and ends with a quote from some philosopher or influential mind. The closing quote in this episode suggests that the Internet is an experiment in anarchy. Here is the full text of the quote:
“The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn’t understand, the largest experiment in anarchy that we have ever had.” – Eric Schmidt
Yes, ironically that quote is from Eric Schmidt, the CEO of Google (aka. Alphabet Inc). It is so profoundly accurate it sparks many thoughts of just how much anarchy the Internet is creating. I decided on this topic on the 25th of January and since that day I witness nearly daily examples. It’s equal parts frightening and uncanny.
I wish I could say I am exaggerating. Surely there are not daily examples of Internet induced anarchy. How often is there a story on the news where someone’s behavior was the result of a post on social media? How many suicides or suicide attempts are the result of cyber bullying? If you don’t want to think about it then how about a couple of examples. Tide Pods. The cinnamon challenge. The Bird Box challenge. People are lemmings! Yes, people did stupid things in the 80’s and 90’s, before Facebook, but it wasn’t as widespread. The consequences were more prolific because it made the news.
Unfortunately anarchy has become the social norm; and I blame Social Media. Everyone feels so indemnified by the facelessness of Twitter and even Facebook (ironic, I know). We’ve all become sociopaths because we post things on the various forms of social media with a complete lack of conscious. People don’t care who they harm, all they care about is what’s trending. A perfect example is this “Fyre Festival” thing that Hulu has been advertising. It shows just how dangerous social media can be. I don’t think Billy McFarland is a criminal, I think it’s hilarious that those people got what they deserved.
The Internet is now the digital mountain top from which people scream their opinions thinking the rest of us care. I admit that some people do care and many agree. However, what makes it absolutely absurd are the people who are trying to promote tolerance and inclusion are first to demonize anyone that disagrees with them. You can’t preach inclusion but ostracize anyone that disagrees. This is as much of an example of cognitive dissonance as this entire blog post (yes, I’m fully aware of what I’ve done). I’ll openly admit that joining Facebook and Twitter has turned me into a sociopath. In retrospect, I should have avoided them completely.
/cheers
I have taken a break from Facebook. If you notice posts from me they auto-post as part of WordPress plug-ins which automatically sends a tweet for new blog posts. Anytime I submit a tweet to Twitter, it auto-posts to Facebook. While I will also avoid my Twitter feed, I can post to Twitter without actually having to see the latest nonsense. I have also disabled all notifications. Facebook is a harbor of hatred and I just can’t take any more of it right now. Warning: the following might be wrought with disdain and unpleasant suggestions (i.e. nothing will be politically correct).
When Mark Zuckerberg first created Facebook I’m sure his intentions were a means to unite friends across borders. It’s a way to keep in touch with people who have touched your lives in a positive way. Obviously you wouldn’t friend that dirty uncle who molested you at night. Over the past 13 years it has evolved into a harbinger of hatred. Keyboard jockeys share memes and posts to garner support for whatever cause/belief/nonsense they feel is impeding human evolution. However their “activism” ends there; it’s as I’ve said before, trolling. They just want to see how many people they can butt-hurt instead of actually caring about whatever they are bitching about.
Activism requires more than sharing memes. I assure you no member of Congress, no judge, no presidential aid is going to change their mind because of a Facebook post! Don’t even get me started on those dumbass Facebook profile filters! All you will accomplish by sharing hateful remarks is alienating your friends and family. There are relationships that are being destroyed because people are not afraid to type what they are too afraid to say to someone’s face. Words are permanent whether spoken or written. While you might be able to repair what you say, the Internet never forgets what you wrote. Once its out on the Internet, you can no longer control its existence.
I really don’t think Facebook or Twitter has ever been successful in rallying people for any cause. Everyone posts shit because they know they can hide behind a monitor. I see people posting “I don’t want to start a fight but …”; don’t do that! It’s going to start a fight, regardless because people feel invulnerable when they are sitting at their keyboards or on the couch with their phones.
Nuclear weapons, WMDs, bio-terrorism, Donald Trump, Barrack Obama, none of those will cause the destruction of man. Social Media will be our destruction. The very tool that was created to bring us together will be exactly what tears us apart; it has already begun. So I’m going to avoid Facebook until I no longer feel the need to always check it. I have heard on numerous occasions that people feel happier when they spend time away from Facebook.
/endsoapbox
I blame social media! If it weren’t for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and all the other ways idiots can post their narcissistic triumphs then more important issues would be on our minds (like selling fetus parts to the highest bidder). Why should I care if a dentist wants to go on some hunting safari in pursuit of animals that aren’t even endangered?? If that lion didn’t have a name, would we still care?? Poachers are scoundrels, yes, but I’m sure hundreds of other lions, tigers and bears (Oh My!) are hunted just the same. The only difference is those people aren’t stupid enough to post it on Instagram! Unless, of course, you are Sabrina Corgatelli who posts her “trophies” because she knows its going to piss people off – so I applaud her for being a troll!
I’m not completely heartless, I think its pretty despicable that he sought out that lion and then had the audacity to make sure we all knew that he beheaded said beast and he deserves every bit of the backlash he’s getting for doing so. Honestly if he hadn’t posted somewhere for the social media warriors to find the only ire he would have drawn would be from a bad root canal. It still amazes me that social media has been around so long it’s now a staple in our lives yet people are still so ignorant when they use it. Learn how to post privately, noobs!
So lets move on to the next thing I could care less about. Celebrity breakups! Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner splitting up was apparently the most traumatic thing the Internet had ever endured! One person tweeted (I did not alter the format of this tweet, the caps are real):
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner getting a divorce!? I DONT BELIEVE IN LOVE ANYMORE!!!!
Really?!? I mean, seriously??? How trite is this person’s life that their happiness is so vicariously dependent on two actors whom they will never meet?!? Why should we care that “Bennifer” can’t keep their sacred vows or that Miranda Lambert can’t keep her hands out of somebody else’s pants?? “Celebrity marriages never last” so why is it “newsworthy” when one fails? Just because they couldn’t make their relationship/marriage work doesn’t mean all of ours are doomed. I promise Ben and Jennifer could care less that their divorce has caused you to lose hope and leaves you crying into your pillow at night.
Live your life don’t live it through somebody else!
/end soapbox
I could get so much more accomplished if I only had minions!People are funny, especially when it comes to social media. It’s hilarious, and naive, that people think what you post on Facebook or what your profile picture is has any influence on the world. Really, nobody cares. Sure, it shows that you support a person, cause, group, what have you (in fact I changed mine to a Chik-Fil-A sandwich when they were getting picked on); but the Supreme Court isn’t going to check Facebook statistics before making their final decision. Don’t get me wrong, I strongly encourage folks to support their friends and family, just exercise caution and discretion when you choose to use a public medium such as Facebook and/or Twitter. Personally I think all social media does is perpetuate bullying. Yep, that’s not a typo, it only makes bullying worse. You go online and speak out for or against someone or some group and that word gets around to someone bigger, tougher and less intelligent who may not even have an differing viewpoint and you become a target.
Yes, I agree that the world probably needs to change their perspective on a few things but I really don’t think social media is the catalyst for that change. Everyone is bolder when they sit behind a computer screen but if you think you are causing change only by posting to Facebook, that’s about as effective as walking around with a Post-It note on your shirt. Real change requires real action. Some folks try to write to their congressman and others try to organize awareness events. The one thing I would discourage is getting too overzealous about it. Yes, it’s important to get the word out to make your cause known and to stress its importance but if you keep shoving it in my face day-in and day-out you’re just going to piss me off.
Yes Hollywood, I’m looking at you.
All of you bleeding heart nutjobs in Hollywood don’t need to integrate the social discrepancies into the subtext of every movie and every television show. I already see enough of that in the news and (as you may have guessed by the subject of this rant/soapbox) social media. In fact, the more something is shoved in my face the more I am going to troll about it on Facebook, Twitter and Google+ just because I know it will incite discord. There is nothing more hilarious then causing somebody’s head to explode because of a few lines of text or imgur image on Facebook.
I’ll be honest, my whole point here isn’t to pick on the folks out there that are under the delusion their profile picture will change the world, I’m more worried about the potential that it could be a contributor to bullying. Facebook has become fodder for the bullies. Whether they use it as their method of bullying or if they use the information they see to bully. It doesn’t matter. The point is that social media exacerbates bullying.
If want to show support for your cause or your friend, I get that. I think that is a function of social media; but if you think you can push your personal agenda by changing your profile picture (and urging thousands of others to do the same) in a (feeble) attempt to “show Congress”, that’s just foolishness. A bunch of senators and judges (who probably couldn’t even figure out what they want for lunch) are not going to base their vote on what you or some celebrity tweeted, “Liked”, “+1’d”, etc. Also, claiming to be an activist using such shenanigans is the same thing as claiming your not a virgin because you watch porn.
So good luck with that.
/cheers
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