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I Quit Social Media for a Year

joshcsimmons.com

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Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#121

Post by tempsy »

sys_64738 wrote: post #118
tempsy wrote: post #55

My biggest issue with social media is less that it's distracting (IMO not necessarily an unhealthy thing) but that it has, for me, more than anything else seemed to make all aspects of my life a competition with others. On Instagram, you're competing with others on who has the happiest life. On LinkedIn, you're competing with others on who has the steepest career trajectory. Even on Twitter, perhaps more acutely in c…

Isn’t this call keeping up with the Jones’s? If the neighbor has a new car then you want one too. This is just the cyberspace equivalent.

We used to wake up, read the paper, see all the terrible things in the world and say “oh well, at least my life is better than those poor slobs.” But now it’s the opposite. Social media tells you everyone is having more fun, with more toys and more friends than you. They’re always in Saint Kitts having Mai Tais at sunset while you’re in Canoga Park selling your plasma at dusk. Yolo!

Before Instagram, you could be a loser but not feel it because the winners weren’t always in your face. Even the most mundane post of avocado toast in a hipster coffee shop sends the message “I’m having fun and you’re not.”

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#122

Post by Gibbon1 »

tempsy wrote: post #121
sys_64738 wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isn’t this call keeping up with the Jones’s? If the neighbor has a new car then you want one too. This is just the cyberspace equivalent.

We used to wake up, read the paper, see all the terrible things in the world and say “oh well, at least my life is better than those poor slobs.” But now it’s the opposite. Social media tells you everyone is having more fun, with more toys and more friends than you. They’re always in Saint Kitts having Mai Tais at sunset while you’re in Canoga Park selling your plasma at dusk. Yolo! Before Instagram, you could be a l…

Used to be you'd read the paper and all the shitty things going on in the world and then... you'd stop reading the paper. And talk and deal with people making an ordinary day of it.

Not it's in your face 24/7.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#123

Post by ummonk »

I’m not sure whether this is just post college life but I feel like social media has really reduced the amount of direct interaction between people, both via phone / computer, and in real life.

I don’t really care to passively consume what my friends are doing, or broadcast to them what I’m doing; I want to interact with them.

Thus could be a millennial issue though - the next generation seems to use Snapchat and iMessage for much more direct interaction.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#124

Post by agumonkey »

tempsy wrote: post #55

My biggest issue with social media is less that it's distracting (IMO not necessarily an unhealthy thing) but that it has, for me, more than anything else seemed to make all aspects of my life a competition with others. On Instagram, you're competing with others on who has the happiest life. On LinkedIn, you're competing with others on who has the steepest career trajectory. Even on Twitter, perhaps more acutely in c…

Something's wrong with this era. Super subtly wrong.

Has it been the case that so many ~innovations things become quickly a problem, that you need another thing to use it safely, and when you happen to stop well, you don't miss it.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#126

Post by johnny22 »

anon12345690 wrote: post #81
riantogo wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to "protest" and then the country overwhelming voted for the authoritarian far-right party. I shifted to apathy and it is truly liberating.

uh hilary won the popular vote and far right really? did your life change at all? whats that make china then? what about the far left policing everyone on what they can say and do? youre getting caught up in the news narrative

have you considered that this had nothing to do with the USA?

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#127

Post by foldingmoney »

T-hawk wrote: post #91
tempsy wrote: post #55

My biggest issue with social media is less that it's distracting (IMO not necessarily an unhealthy thing) but that it has, for me, more than anything else seemed to make all aspects of my life a competition with others. On Instagram, you're competing with others on who has the happiest life. On LinkedIn, you're competing with others on who has the steepest career trajectory. Even on Twitter, perhaps more acutely in c…

The way to compensate for this is to realize the perception bias you're applying to yourself. If you have 52 friends on Facebook, and each of them takes a vacation for one week out of the year, then every week you see someone broadcasting how they're having a more awesome time than you. That doesn't mean they're doing any better than you. You just don't see the 52 reactions for the one week that you've got the vacati…

I realise this isn't the point of your post, but it's exceedingly unlikely that they all take vacations on different weeks... like 4.73 * 10^-22 unlikely if vacation choice was random, which it isn't.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#128

Post by SolaceQuantum »

scoobyyabbadoo wrote: post #110
SolaceQuantum wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actually, as I said, it is legal to discriminate against LGBTQ people in much of the country and the federal government had recently rolled back protections for LGBTQ people. Lawyers are not going to take pro bono cases because LGBTQ status is not constitutionally or federally protected.

Care to give any example of this happening?

Yes. This is a case the supreme court refused to hear in 2017 of a woman who claims to have been fired for being a lesbian. https://www.newsweek.com/jameka-evans-lgbt-workplace-discrim...

Here is a case in 2014 of a man who was fired because his new manager went through his phone and found male gymnast photos. https://www.npr.org/2014/11/10/363049315/for-people-fired-fo...

Here are 5 more examples: https://www.mic.com/articles/11738/5-people-who-were-fired-f...

That links to a study citing that american LGBTQ people experience much higher rates of workplace discrimination: https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2011/06/02...

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#129

Post by SolaceQuantum »

dabbledash wrote: post #97
SolaceQuantum wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And I am simply arguing that that is not always the case and the original statement, that it is a privilege to be able to unplug from news and social media, may be true given that I as an LGBTQ person often feel the need to keep abreast of new and rarely-covered updates to local and federal policy that are associated with LGBTQ issues. For example, the department of labor moving through fairly recently to make it leg…

Did you change anything about your behavior immediately when you found that out? I’m saying the high proportion of button-pushing click-bait and the low probability that I need any particular info in real time means i’ll be better off getting news through other sources. You don’t win a war by maximizing fear, outrage, and low quality info on your own side (which, IMO, social media does). YMMV, obviously. What do I kn…

> Did you change anything about your behavior immediately when you found that out?

Yes. I removed any involvement with LGBTQ organizations off my resume.

Re: I Quit Social Media for a Year

#130

Post by dudzik »

I stayed away from most social media sites and use mostly chat/email to stay in contact with friends. So I can relate to the point of having fewer and better relationships, but I found that you have to be more active for that to work. If you don't feel comfortable reaching out to people you will get lonely as well.
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