Poll: Social Media: Good or Bad? (no politics)

[W800]

Existentialism - essentially “Be where you’re at when you’re there” In other words... Be present. Kinda hard to do though, what with a cell phone in your hand. Maybe I’m being unfair. He’d be present to the entire world, just not the people he’s with. So confusing.

I think being present also implies being where one is at the moment. I am not sure it can be done now.

 

[Kurosaki]

NextDoor isn't ridiculous, but people on it can be.

The one in our neighborhood is just fine. Yeah, there are a very small number of people who are asses, but when you don't feed the Trolls they don't dominate your social media.

Agreed. Ours is pretty decent. The moderators are pretty good at cutting the bullshit out quickly. Almost everytime I get an email about a thread that's obvious troll bait, by the time I actually go on nextdoor, it's gone already.

Just wish people would stop posting asking what's going on everytime a helicopter is spotted.

 

[MysterYvil]

Lol, I think social media is more like a millennial who confuses real life with Fetlife and as a result mistakes a stick shifter for a butt plug, accidentally putting a parked car into neutral and sending it flying down the side of a cliff at terminal velocity while WAP is playing at full volume on a 2000 watt car stereo they purchased on a secured credit card at 25 percent interest, while recording all of it for their "only fans" account.

Sad part is that I would probably pay to see it if they didn't get hurt.

Hey man, for years FetLife was our real life! We made a lot of connections, we even got recognized at parties because of our account a few times.

I think being present also implies being where one is at the moment. I am not sure it can be done now.

It can be, but you have to point it out to some. When our eldest grandkid moved in last year we had to introduce her to unplugged time (family dinner, parts of longer trips, et cetera.

Now she and her cronies do it when they gather IRL. Or did, before covid; now it's keeping them sane. When they do have small masked and distanced gatherings in the yard or park they live in the now and ignore their phones- they appreciate real time more.

And in general she's very good at avoiding social media drama since Mrs. talked it over with her.

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[W800]

Hey man, for years FetLife was our real life! We made a lot of connections, we even got recognized at parties because of our account a few times.

It can be, but you have to point it out to some. When our eldest grandkid moved in last year we had to introduce her to unplugged time (family dinner, parts of longer trips, et cetera.

Now she and her cronies do it when they gather IRL. Or did, before covid; now it's keeping them sane. When they do have small masked and distanced gatherings in the yard or park they live in the now and ignore their phones- they appreciate real time more.

And in general she's very good at avoiding social media drama since Mrs. talked it over with her.

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True - I didn't mean to throw shade on FL. I know some folks on there. The way I see it is that it's a lifestyle, just like riding is a lifestyle. So I would be foolish to judge. In fact, freedom and choice are the things that make America the best country in the world!

Someone I know, who is very young, and gets most of their news from Facebook, was saying that America is a "terrible country." I looked at them and said "there are countries where people literally have to eat dirt to survive." Then they said "Japan is a great country." Then I said "America is the greatest county that is NOT a mono-culture."

Of all the countries with diverse populations, we are the best. And our diversity is precisely why we are the best.

They bought into the "America bad" koolaid. But once someone goes down that path, it's not possible to change their minds. The path itself is like a cult. Their actual view of reality changes. It closes. There is not a way to deprogram someone like that. It's not even worth the effort.

"Flexibility" in thought and action has always been seen as a strength among discerning people. This has been true for 2500 years, at the very least. But now there is a creeping form of intolerance. And it's not along party lines. I see it on all sides. I blame some of this on social media. I also think our schools are to blame, and social media amplifies what is taught in our schools.

A man is born gentle and weak.
At his death he is hard and stiff.
Green plants are tender and filled with sap.
At their death they are withered and dry.

Therefore the stiff and unbending is the disciple of death.
The gentle and yielding is the disciple of life.

Thus an army without flexibility never wins a battle.
A tree that is unbending is easily broken.

The hard and strong will fall.
The soft and weak will overcome.

https://terebess.hu/english/tao/gia.html#Kap76