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> Complete silence apparently bothers some people I think this is related to the point the author makes: You need to find connection with yourself. I think th

by rimliu 6y ago

> Complete silence apparently bothers some people I think this is related to the point the author makes: You need to find connection with yourself. I think that being in the silence, alone is where that connection is being made. And some people are so not used to it, that this scares them. I cannot otherwise explain people's desire to be constantly surrounded by some noise, be it TV, radio, music in their headphones, whatever. How about just sitting ten minutes in silence? Or even better, half an hour in the nature, without boomboxes and headphones? My other idea, which I cannot prove, that the state of the mental health in US is correlated to the point above. When introverts are looked upon as some sick weirdos, when there is a culture of constant superficial socializing, when deep discussions are replaced by knee-jerk reactions, profile picture frames, and putting on labels on things, and when you are still affraid to know yourself—surely this should come out sideways somehow. I single out US because I know no other country with so much push for the extrovert behaviour. I've spend a lot of time being alone while growing up and in my university days. It came at a cost, and I wish I had socialized a bit more back then, but overall I consider it to be enormous net positive thing.

ankitshah 6y ago
Beautifully put. I wrote a little about this on my website [here](http://ankit.fyi/about http://ankit.fyi/about). You might enjoy this passage in particular related to your idea that you cannot prove: > I think misunderstanding as an epidemic is rooted in how we’ve learned to consume information and how we haven’t learned how to digest it. This is one of the reasons I’m excited about the Internet, social media culture, and how we choose to express ourselves and connect with one another. > I also think the best way to consume and digest information is through real human interaction. Even better if it’s with a non-judgmental lens of curiosity in understanding why people are the way they are, but it’s still pretty great when it’s just shooting shit about a common interest or sharing an experience. > I have a dream that one day, Internet interactions will fuel more human interactions. That our default behavior will be to use this amazing access to information that we have to learn more, connect dots in constructive ways, understand others more deeply, and maybe even to grow more open minded to who each of us can become. > Right now, though, the Internet feels like a place where people are throwing food at each other and taking shits on the sidewalk. I think we can do better.

by rimliu 6y ago

ankitshah 6y ago

Beautifully put. I wrote a little about this on my website [here](http://ankit.fyi/about http://ankit.fyi/about). You might enjoy this passage in particular related to your idea that you cannot prove: > I think misunderstanding as an epidemic is rooted in how we’ve learned to consume information and how we haven’t learned how to digest it. This is one of the reasons I’m excited about the Internet, social media culture, and how we choose to express ourselves and connect with one another. > I also think the best way to consume and digest information is through real human interaction. Even better if it’s with a non-judgmental lens of curiosity in understanding why people are the way they are, but it’s still pretty great when it’s just shooting shit about a common interest or sharing an experience. > I have a dream that one day, Internet interactions will fuel more human interactions. That our default behavior will be to use this amazing access to information that we have to learn more, connect dots in constructive ways, understand others more deeply, and maybe even to grow more open minded to who each of us can become. > Right now, though, the Internet feels like a place where people are throwing food at each other and taking shits on the sidewalk. I think we can do better.