# What is with the social media obsession over wholesomeness?



## JambledUpWords (Aug 7, 2019)

Examples include:

Wholesome memes
“This gave me faith in humanity”
Moments of people broadcasting what good thing they did for someone
I’m not saying all of this is bad, but rather odd. Social media such as Twitter and Reddit love to show these types of things, yet breed some of the most mephitic communities as well. Do you think this trend says anything important about where things are headed?


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## break these cuffs (Aug 7, 2019)

Does it matter? It's nearly all lies.


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## NOT Sword Fighter Super (Aug 7, 2019)

It's shit that people want to hear that generates clicks.
Pretty much it.


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## ProgKing of the North (Aug 7, 2019)

I just wanna see pics of cute animals, I don’t give a fuck if they’re advertised as “wholesome” or not


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## Rand /pol/ (Aug 7, 2019)

Why does OP make such garbage threads?


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## JambledUpWords (Aug 7, 2019)

Ron /pol/ said:


> Why does OP make such garbage threads?


Make your own threads then


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## roxitp0w3rwuzdabest420 (Aug 7, 2019)

Just because you're a misanthrope doesn't mean everyone else is


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## Autopsy (Aug 7, 2019)

Coping with persistent trauma.


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## Kamov Ka-52 (Aug 7, 2019)

Autism.


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## JambledUpWords (Aug 7, 2019)

roxitp0w3rwuzdabest420 said:


> Just because you're a misanthrope doesn't mean everyone else is


I never implied that. The point I am getting to here is that some of the same people who just love “wholesomeness” are also the same people that will “cancel” you for the slightest infraction. It makes the wholesome aspect seem disingenuous at that point.


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## PL 001 (Aug 7, 2019)

It's people wanting complete strangers to give them attention and validation. They might not feel like a good person, so they post stories and pictures of people doing good things, that generates views and clicks, which generates people responding positively, which allows the original poster to vicariously feel validated for "spreading kindness and love" despite doing absolutely nothing themselves.


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## DogEatDogFood (Aug 7, 2019)

People that think that cute shit on the Internet will aliviate their life issues.


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## Thomas Paine (Aug 7, 2019)

Life is suffering. People will cling to what comforts them. 

Jameson is cheap but effective.


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## Arcturus (Aug 7, 2019)

My theory would be that the world is in such a fucked up state and you constantly see news stories about awful shit happening. And many things (pictures, stories, videos etc.) are often vulgar just for the sake of vulgarity. It's probably a nice escape for some. Seeing cutesy pictures and cheery stories that may or may not be real. Though, some people do contain themselves in a bubble with said "wholesome" material and become oversensitive faggots.

I like fucked up shit but I can understand why some people get attached to their warm, fuzzy things.


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## LyapunovCriterion (Aug 7, 2019)

Whenever I read the word "wholesome" I die a little inside.


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## Info Neutral Agency (Aug 7, 2019)

Autopsy said:


> Coping with persistent trauma.


Irony is Such a Warm Gun.


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## saisegeha (Aug 7, 2019)

Wholesome memes
People may have had a bad day, or have been treated bad, so they wanna look at something that feels wholesome.


“This gave me faith in humanity”
Just exceptional, really.


Moments of people broadcasting what good thing they did for someone

Social validation and virtue signaling. "Oh my god guys look, I'm such a good person!!!!!!". 
Genuine good deeds are done without anything expected in return, so all of that stuff is bullshit.


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## wylfım (Aug 7, 2019)

Brave the World had a really good video (ignoring presentation aspect) analyzing this.


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## ScamL Likely (Aug 7, 2019)

People tend to crave what they lack in their lives, even if the way they pursue these things is through conveniently packaged lies or saccharine illusions. People are weak and helpless.


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## Autocrat (Aug 7, 2019)

Context would help. Post screens and let's give commentary.
I have an idea of the type of meme I think you're talking about, but I'd like to see for sure.



wylfım said:


> Brave the World had a really good video (ignoring presentation aspect) analyzing this.




I picture this girl saying all of this in a closet of an illegal whore house in a crackhead neighborhood.

Shut up and take your clothes off, slut.


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## NOT Sword Fighter Super (Aug 7, 2019)

wylfım said:


> Brave the World had a really good video (ignoring presentation aspect) analyzing this.


Holy shit that fucking nose...


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## HarveyMC (Aug 7, 2019)

Because any shit that they want can be “wholesome” and therefore intrinsically good

“This barber just gave free haircuts to convicts up for parole”

“This trans child is educating kids and adults alike about intersectionality”

“8chan just got shut down and it’s being replaced by a puppy charity that donates its proceeds to fight trump and racism”

Anything can be wholesome. And that’s why they’re so keen to use it


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## Clop (Aug 7, 2019)

Wholesome memes
Because it's a trend. Wholesomeness is funny now, because it's the twist in the joke that most people expect to be raunchy and inappropriate. Anyone with a sense of humor already knows this.

“This gave me faith in humanity”
Have you been to the Internet lately? Everyone's fucking paranoid over shit that's never going to happen to them because social media's a garbage chute and the kind of fuckwit that still uses social media is sitting under them with their mouth wide open. It's a bunch of soccer moms reading about people believing in a flat earth and anti-vaccination stories while thinking to themselves that smart people are dying out, living in bunkers under a sea of hostile stupid. Shit gives them faith in humanity because they're too bubbled in that stupid juice to understand how bloated it is.

Moments of people broadcasting what good thing they did for someone
That's just them being attention whores with massive egos, but at the very least someone probably got something out of them boasting to their social media what fucking altruists they are.


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## QI 541 (Aug 7, 2019)

It's just another trend, probably because the depression trend is becoming stale.


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## Black Waltz (Aug 7, 2019)

because most people are empty inside, not sure how else to put it


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## The Fool (Aug 7, 2019)

At least in part, it's convenience, no different from a tamagotchi. People want to see cute things like animals and babies acting curious and innocent, but they're well aware it would be hell to actually own those things because 90% of the time, animals and babies scream and shit everywhere.


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## Inflatable Julay (Aug 7, 2019)

There was a fairly short period on reddit where the hot memes were double-ironic edgelord shit where the punchline was always about suicide and nihilism, the "wholesome" shit started as a response to that and funnily enough makes ME want to fucking die when I see it



HeyItsHarveyMacClout said:


> Because any shit that they want can be “wholesome” and therefore intrinsically good
> 
> “This barber just gave free haircuts to convicts up for parole”
> 
> ...



I once karmawhored in r/mademesmile by posting a news story about two porn actors proposing to each other after filming a gay orgy scene


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## Red Hood (Aug 7, 2019)

Well I mean most pop culture now worships degeneracy and depravity, maybe it's just nice carving out a corner that isn't soul crushing.


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## JamFlowMan (Aug 7, 2019)

It's not really anything new.  The local news usually goes through all the horrible shit that happened around you that day and then ends with something about puppies or a soldier coming back from the war surprising his kid, etc.  The majority of what you hear about going on in the world is the bad, so people like it when they see something good happened.


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## Androgynous Bitch (Aug 8, 2019)

I don't have an issue with the "wholesome" content itself, but it annoys the hell out of me when people base their entire social media presence around how "wholesome uwu" they are. It just seems really fake to me I guess.


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## adorable bitch (Aug 8, 2019)

Androgynous Bitch said:


> I don't have an issue with the "wholesome" content itself, but it annoys the hell out of me when people base their entire social media presence around how "wholesome uwu" they are. It just seems really fake to me I guess.



Those people are just tranny versions of those neo-hippie, native-american/Buddhist fetishizing basic beckies that never shut the fuck up about _positive vibes_ and staying away from_ negative energies _despite being toxic cesspools.


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## The Cunting Death (Aug 8, 2019)

It's all a stepford-esque facade. They want to appear happy so they think their lives are meaningful and acquire some form of social validation.

In reality these niggas are extremely angry and hateful people


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## Lemmingwise (Aug 8, 2019)

ScamL Likely said:


> People tend to crave what they lack in their lives, even if the way they pursue these things is through conveniently packaged lies or saccharine illusions. People are weak and helpless.





HeyItsHarveyMacClout said:


> Because any shit that they want can be “wholesome” and therefore intrinsically good



These are right on the money.

Wholesome in particularly seems to be assurance that eveything is alright.

You need more assurance that everything is alright when things are wrong. Nobody ever sat enjoying a sunrise besides someone they cared about deeply, with a deep contentment washing over them both and then said: "You know everything is going to be alright". They don't need assurance that everything is alright, because every fibre of their being is telling them that everything, in this moment, is alright.

When do you need assurance? When your house has just burned down or everything seems to be going to shit. That's when you need assurance. That's when wholesomeness becomes marketable.

And @HeyItsHarveyMacClout is accurate too: Wholesome often seems to mean: "This makes me feel everything is okay". Some might post it at hearing that people defended Desmond's right to strip for strangers. The feeling of okayness is central; not whether it's genuine moral wellbeing. Because in a mostly hedonistic society, feeling okay IS moral wellbeing.


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## UN 474 (Aug 8, 2019)

ScamL Likely said:


> People tend to crave what they lack in their lives, even if the way they pursue these things is through conveniently packaged lies or saccharine illusions. People are weak and helpless.



Running a social media company is a great way to exploit that.


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## BW 182 (Aug 10, 2019)

wylfım said:


> Brave the World had a really good video (ignoring presentation aspect) analyzing this.



Yikes at Lauren Loomer/Laura Southern

I think the points made here are succinct, though. It actually made me think, "what is even wrong with being pessimistic or apathetic?" Those types of feelings can breed as much positivity as this whole faux-optimism/wholesome take, but most people think they need to hear or see happy to feel happiness, instead of just being.

I think that most of this wholesome thing is just a large part of society searching for something that *looks *a certain way, rather than *is*. It makes me think of how people commit suicide and all of their peers act like the person was sooooooooo happy. It's the new, trendy "thoughts and prayers" for me.


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## The best and greatest (Aug 12, 2019)

Inoffensive content that appeals to everyone and can be consumed without conscience or consequence makes a shit load of money. Whoda guessed?


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## Caesare (Aug 14, 2019)

Inflatable Julay said:


> There was a fairly short period on reddit where the hot memes were double-ironic edgelord shit where the punchline was always about suicide and nihilism



That sounds much, much worse than the fake wholesome shit. Edgy, ironic stuff makes me wanna uppercut these nerds.


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## Imperial Guardsman (Aug 14, 2019)

There are so many reasons

"Advertiser Friendly"
Soccer Moms
Safe Space
People not wanting to be challenged
People not wanting to be offended
easy clicks 
making people "feel good" 
restricting content to generally socially acceptable things


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## Spedestrian (Aug 15, 2019)

For the same reason that traditional news media runs human-interest stories alongside horrific murders and political vitriol: people can only swallow so many blackpills before they need a chaser. The internet has exposed people to more insane bullshit than ever, so it makes sense that people would try to compensate by cranking up the wholesomeness.


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## queerape (Aug 20, 2019)

There's so much nasty shit out there it's good to see something uplifting for once


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## Recoil (Aug 20, 2019)

It's a standard issue centennial moral panic.
I swear, every hundred years or so human culture shits the bed in this department.


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## murgatroid (Aug 20, 2019)

Sword Fighter Super said:


> Holy shit that fucking nose...


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## The Final Troondown (Aug 21, 2019)

Because everyone is obsessed with curating their brand nowadays. Having actual opinions could be controversial and could actually make you look wrong, or god forbid surface ten years later as the latest example of 'x'phobia. much easier to just post kittens and shit like that, even if it is boring as shit

I miss when people were cynical and enjoyed winding people up


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## Dr. Henry Armitage (Aug 21, 2019)

It's a comforting lie. Everyone says you have no reason not to be happy we live in the best time in human history. Truth is the world is a savage, cruel, and uncaring place full of suffering. It's easier to believe the world is a happy good place when you surround yourself with "wholesome" stuff. Personally I think its unhealthy to live like this. I'd rather live with the savage truth than a comforting lie.


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## Emperor Julian (Aug 22, 2019)

Machinery is making us increasingly disconected with each other, as we become more and more alienated we desperatly desire the experiance of common humanity.

We once had community now we have the cheap buzz of some shitty article.

This our last age.


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## Kaiser Wilhelm's Ghost (Aug 31, 2019)

JambledUpWords said:


> Make your own threads then



No please, you don't realize what your asking!


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## AF 802 (Sep 2, 2019)

Wholesomeness sucks. Just become a fun alcoholic instead, and not a miserable one either.


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## Pitere pit (Sep 4, 2019)

Reality was shit, is shit, and will be shit. That's one of the hardest pills that you could swallow. However, you at least must thrive on this world, no matter what, and help wherever you can. 

Wholesome phenomena is very fake to me. Look at how I'm a good person, so nice that I will upload it to the interwebs because people must know how nice I am, which defeats the purpose. You don't do that to make someone feel better but to brag to the world and feel better yourself. 
There was a time, when our own Bezos donated money to hospitals treating cancer, we rightly criticized it because he didn't pay taxes (along having sweetshops on Bangladesh and being a fucktard) It was just an stunt to clean his image and his brand. 

Whenever I see a wholesome meme, video or something, I just think about how much narc a person is. I might sound like some Christfag right now, but the Bible said that you should do these things without anyone knowing and only because you want to help, not to gain fame. That's what I see on these things, only desperate tries to be famous and to feel better about yourself.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Sep 4, 2019)

Pitere pit said:


> There was a time, when our own Bezos donated money to hospitals treating cancer, we rightly criticized it because he didn't pay taxes (along having sweetshops on Bangladesh and being a fucktard) It was just an stunt to clean his image and his brand.


And?  I'd rather he donate money to hospitals _and_ paid his taxes, but I prefer the world where he donates money to hospitals and not pays his taxes to the world where doesn't donate money and doesn't pay taxes either.


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## Pitere pit (Sep 4, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> And?  I'd rather he donate money to hospitals _and_ paid his taxes, but I prefer the world where he donates money to hospitals and not pays his taxes to the world where doesn't donate money and doesn't pay taxes either.


Of course I don't think that was bad. But it came on a time when one of his factories on Bangladesh was destroyed by crappy infrastructure, his workers on my country, mostly on retail, are treated like shit, and he hides his money on fiscal paradises. 
He's far more better than many billionares, but it is kinda sketchy, it was made on some good intentions, but still, we have to ask why he did that. Also, we have some history about rich people doing some charity but never delivering or giving crappy donations, there is a reason why we are kinda skeptical.


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## KimCoppolaAficionado (Sep 4, 2019)

Pitere pit said:


> Of course I don't think that was bad. But it came on a time when one of his factories on Bangladesh was destroyed by crappy infrastructure, his workers on my country, mostly on retail, are treated like shit, and he hides his money on fiscal paradises.
> He's far more better than many billionares, but it is kinda sketchy, it was made on some good intentions, *but still, we have to ask why he did that*.


We don't.  If someone gives money to a food charity because they want to jerk themselves off over how good of a person they are, that doesn't magically taint the donation and make it useless.  It comes down to a very simple question: would you rather have good causes donated to, or do you want the rich to look bad?


> Also, we have some history about rich people doing some charity but never delivering or giving crappy donations, there is a reason why we are kinda skeptical.


That's an entirely different issue.  Wanting billionaires to follow through on their donations is different than sneering at the fact of the donation.


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## Pitere pit (Sep 4, 2019)

Senior Lexmechanic said:


> We don't.  If someone gives money to a food charity because they want to jerk themselves off over how good of a person they are, that doesn't magically taint the donation and make it useless.  It comes down to a very simple question: would you rather have good causes donated to, or do you want the rich to look bad?


My bad, perhaps this time you are right with that. At least our own Bezos didn't scream it on social media. Of course I think that this was a good idea. Ibelieve this is a grey area, and the lesser evil. Sure the billionare sucks but at least he do something.


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