“I’m tired, boss. Tired of being on the road, lonely as a sparrow in the rain. I’m tired of never having a buddy to be with, or tell me where we’s coming from or going to, or why. Mostly I’m tired of people being ugly to each other.”
And from the wise words of John Coffey, The Green Mile…
I agree.
Stepping away from the internet for a few weeks really does a number on you.
People talking about dopamine detoxes? Sure this helps massively but what they don’t mention is that you look around in the real world and compare things to online (really compare it) and it’s like night and day in terms of comparison.
And the people being ugly to each other is massively amplified and I mean massively.
Was I part of the problem? Hell yeah. Some days I was the whole problem (and when it comes to bullying the AI nerds, that’ll always be the case) but in general. I was 100% ugly to people in a lot of cases. Was I too reactive? Definitely.
I think that’s where we all get stuck. We react to a lot things, mainly cause there’s a lot of things to react to.
Which on paper sounds really fucking dumb, but it’s true.
But where do we go from there? Do we all get together in person and snort a massive line of empathy together? (That would probably work) although it’s not practical.
Although what we can start doing more actively, is stop reacting to everything that happens online, even if we are online.
There’s a time and a place to unleash pure wrath on someone/thing but holding your breath or your fingers before you go wild is the next best thing.
(If you’re seeing someone getting dog piled, who can’t defend themselves. By all means step in)
But if you’re just watching and seeing things unfold. Sitting back and having a little bit more patience and understanding is key.
I’m also definitely not saying that you should give up standing up for what you believe in. All I’m saying is that watch how everything is unfolding online before you chime in. Think and sleep on it and more often than not, when you’ve done that. It works like magic. You’ll notice that your genuine intent for not giving a fuck really kicks in.
Let the rage baiters and political turds keep being ugly to each other, while we sit back and watch it burn a little before offering valid ideas/critiques (And only in circumstances that are justified do we crucify and go full metal jacket on them)
I’ve found just being me. Writing words and working on cool shit keeps me at bay from all of the psychobabble online.
Stephen Walker.