4 ms·

Except Facebook isn’t cigarettes, dude. No matter how much you want it to be cigarettes, it just isn’t. Facebook is a boredom cure at best, and at times it can

by brrrrr 9y ago

Except Facebook isn’t cigarettes, dude. No matter how much you want it to be cigarettes, it just isn’t. Facebook is a boredom cure at best, and at times it can be a version of the cold, hard, cringey truth. You might complain that Facebook harms mental health, but the reality is that sometimes the truth is the most depressing thing to learn. If Facebook does harm by preventing enough escapism, there’s no regulatory cure to fix that. You’ll just have to wait for the tide to shift. But hey, look at that, today’s your lucky day...

dwaltrip 9y ago
Facebook, and large scale social media in general, does harm by substituting for genuine real-world social interaction, by warping our perception of other people's lives (highlight-reel effect on steroids), by pushing us to become egotistical "self-marketers", and by hijacking our attention via insidious manipulation of the lizard brain.
- brrrrr 9y ago
  Hmmm, not quite. See, that’s the part about the boredom cure I mentioned. People really are that bored. People’s lives are frequently very lackluster and uneventful. This is plainly obvious, because whenever someone delightfully ordinary (yet comfortable with that) comes along, it seems like such a breath of fresh air amongst all the puffed out try-hards that grab so much attention. The cringey reality check is the depressing part that creates the anxiety of never wanting to leave the house. People have a hard time differentiating between bullshit and not bullshit. It’s not entirely correct to blame Facebook in particular for the inadequacy felt, when comparing one’s self to someone else’s carefully currated (yet seemingly natural) photo album. That part of the debate is just the bulemia-caused-by-waif-as-fashion-model-redux. You can’t fix that by removing Facebook from the equation, because people will never stop beautifying their profile pics and cherry picking exclusive-yet-swollen friend lists. So we’ll cure it by all jumping ship to Mastodon, where the photo albums will be crappier and less enviable, and we’ll all be less cringey? That’s the plan? This isn’t about elections at all, is it?
  - dwaltrip 9y ago
    That's why I mentioned broader social media in general. This problem isn't specific to Facebook alone.
- darepublic 9y ago
  The constant posting of people salivating for regulations like yourself is also hijacking my attention and warping my perception of how misguided society at large really is. You are insidiously manipulating my lizard brain to want to destroy you, while I should be productively working. Please stop your egotistical wish marketing and regulate yourself so I can not be distracted.
  - dwaltrip 9y ago
    I'm not the person several comments up who brought up regulations. I don't yet have a strong opinion about what regulations, if any, might be beneficial. I was merely responding to a comment that I thought didn't accurately portray the harms that social media can cause. Perhaps you could address those points? > to want to destroy you That doesn't sound healthy...

by brrrrr 9y ago

dwaltrip 9y ago

Facebook, and large scale social media in general, does harm by substituting for genuine real-world social interaction, by warping our perception of other people's lives (highlight-reel effect on steroids), by pushing us to become egotistical "self-marketers", and by hijacking our attention via insidious manipulation of the lizard brain.

brrrrr 9y ago
Hmmm, not quite. See, that’s the part about the boredom cure I mentioned. People really are that bored. People’s lives are frequently very lackluster and uneventful. This is plainly obvious, because whenever someone delightfully ordinary (yet comfortable with that) comes along, it seems like such a breath of fresh air amongst all the puffed out try-hards that grab so much attention. The cringey reality check is the depressing part that creates the anxiety of never wanting to leave the house. People have a hard time differentiating between bullshit and not bullshit. It’s not entirely correct to blame Facebook in particular for the inadequacy felt, when comparing one’s self to someone else’s carefully currated (yet seemingly natural) photo album. That part of the debate is just the bulemia-caused-by-waif-as-fashion-model-redux. You can’t fix that by removing Facebook from the equation, because people will never stop beautifying their profile pics and cherry picking exclusive-yet-swollen friend lists. So we’ll cure it by all jumping ship to Mastodon, where the photo albums will be crappier and less enviable, and we’ll all be less cringey? That’s the plan? This isn’t about elections at all, is it?
- dwaltrip 9y ago
  That's why I mentioned broader social media in general. This problem isn't specific to Facebook alone.
darepublic 9y ago
The constant posting of people salivating for regulations like yourself is also hijacking my attention and warping my perception of how misguided society at large really is. You are insidiously manipulating my lizard brain to want to destroy you, while I should be productively working. Please stop your egotistical wish marketing and regulate yourself so I can not be distracted.
- dwaltrip 9y ago
  I'm not the person several comments up who brought up regulations. I don't yet have a strong opinion about what regulations, if any, might be beneficial. I was merely responding to a comment that I thought didn't accurately portray the harms that social media can cause. Perhaps you could address those points? > to want to destroy you That doesn't sound healthy...