- Joined
- Apr 15, 2020
I win a fiver because I bet my other half we’d seen civil war in Europe within the next ten years, four years ago.
seriously though, I don’t know. A group of very unpleasant people has had a couple of decades to infiltrate schools, the media and academia, and we have social media and tech racing ahead so fast that humanity’s social ability to cope with it isn’t keeping up. We have mass immigration, vast inequality, and cultures forced together who just do not like each other. Plus hostile actors domestic and foreign formenting dissent. Then add in a black swan event like corona and the mental health strain of keeping people isolated, the tank the economy... i honestly think we are going somewhere pretty bad for a few years.
When you look back through history, things like inequality of wealth, mass movement and ecological stressors are key events that align with huge social upheaval. I would say there’s nothing new under the sun, except I think that the social media aspect is something genuinely novel for us. For me the question is how bad the push and pushback will be.
Anyway, I don’t know, but I’ll feel smug clutching my fiver in the burnt out ruins of civilisation.
Social media is an incredibly dangerous and unpredictable element for a few reasons probably obvious. Let's take an example of the doxing that has been happening:
-Instant dopamine for small effort
-Gives a cure to the need to feel like they are being a good person
-Disconnect from real-world effects of actions (Done from behind screen, may not seem "real" to ruin someone's life)
-Many doing this behavior are also young and won't understand long-term effects of their action. They are so high on gaining social
media validation that in the moment it seems most important. Adults are encouraging the behavior. Children who dox their parents for example are not mature enough to realize the consequence that they will lose everything if their parent loses their job. Adults online encourage this. They are using the children and will do nothing for them when they become on the streets because of what they encourage.
-Echo chambers increase mob mentality
-Biased owners of social media platforms- inconsistent bans of people leading to lack of challenging of ideas- allows radical ideas to grow
-Additionally social media has conditioned young people to have a shorter attention span and smaller critical thinking skill
-read thing -> repeat thing -> get approval and validation -> get dopamine -> everyone agrees so I must be right, the few people who disagree are [-ist/-phobic of choice here] -> I am right I am being encouraged -> feels better about self, bigger ego
-It is a cycle that feeds on itself
-If you try to get out or express unaccepted opinion you can become the target so that someone can get a validation
-Gives a cure to the need to feel like they are being a good person
-Disconnect from real-world effects of actions (Done from behind screen, may not seem "real" to ruin someone's life)
-Many doing this behavior are also young and won't understand long-term effects of their action. They are so high on gaining social
media validation that in the moment it seems most important. Adults are encouraging the behavior. Children who dox their parents for example are not mature enough to realize the consequence that they will lose everything if their parent loses their job. Adults online encourage this. They are using the children and will do nothing for them when they become on the streets because of what they encourage.
-Echo chambers increase mob mentality
-Biased owners of social media platforms- inconsistent bans of people leading to lack of challenging of ideas- allows radical ideas to grow
-Additionally social media has conditioned young people to have a shorter attention span and smaller critical thinking skill
-read thing -> repeat thing -> get approval and validation -> get dopamine -> everyone agrees so I must be right, the few people who disagree are [-ist/-phobic of choice here] -> I am right I am being encouraged -> feels better about self, bigger ego
-It is a cycle that feeds on itself
-If you try to get out or express unaccepted opinion you can become the target so that someone can get a validation
Doomer sperging
I feel two other large factors are allowing the above to happen:
1- Glorifying communism by many schools and media
2- Focus on self and identity as crucial part of self
3- Less stable family life -> need for validation -> looking for validation online from people who often grow the divide between the child and the parents further
1- Glorifying communism by many schools and media
2- Focus on self and identity as crucial part of self
3- Less stable family life -> need for validation -> looking for validation online from people who often grow the divide between the child and the parents further
TL;DR
Do not allow children to have social media. They are young, impressionable and being used.
Stop glorifying communism. Teach about the gulags and deaths caused by communism.