Social media breakup hard to do, but worth every missed argument
Social media once made the world smaller. I connected with fellow nerds who liked Jim Thompson novels or the same Elmore James or Black Sabbath records. We could talk about “Pulp Fiction,” or where to get the best bacon cheeseburger from Galveston to Sydney. I’ve met friends who changed my life thanks to Twitter or Facebook.
But then everything became toxic. Social media became just too much.
Instead of getting work done, finishing projects, or reading a book, I scrolled endlessly through social media’s stream of photos and comments. I jumped into vicious comment wars, “yelling” at someone’s racist mom because I didn’t agree about a wall along the southern border.
Twitter is bad news central. It’s an endless cycle of “this sucks,” when sometimes you just want joy in your life. Twitter has become that scene in “The Lion King” where Mufasa explains the land the darkness touches. Minus breaking news, Twitter is a cesspool of vanity and echo chambers.
The chorus of people beating down someone over a tweet from a decade ago is too much. There should be some sort of social-media statute of limitations. After all, people evolve and are capable of change, despite what a trending hashtag says.
Everything online feels like a war: Comments, ideals, even what comics say is up for debate, apparently.
Don’t get it twisted. I don’t think terrible people should get a pass, but there are folks on social media waiting for their chance to see someone fall, and they will use the guise of “progressivism” to facilitate that career-based death.
The battery of opinions on social media hasn’t changed our lives; it’s made them worse. People aren’t visiting these sites because they want an educated debate, but because they say the things they want to hear, giving them a platform to better push their agendas.
I’ll never agree with Republican politics, but I’m tired of being mad at conservatives all the time. On the other hand, it’s exhausting to be a swinging progressive. Since Trump took the mantle, it feels like we can’t ever stop being on the defensive.
When I leave the blue paradise of Austin to visit the small Texas towns that I love, I’m reminded that more likely than not, these folks think Trump is doing a good job. I just want to pass through, munch on BBQ, chat up locals over a Lone Star and enjoy their company. My inner monologue of “that guy probably loves Fox News” was making me hate people.
Politics was just one flavor of social-media disdain.
I don’t care about reveal parties. I don’t want to see the newest dance where kids get out of moving cars. The Kardashians or Kanye don’t interest me. I want to engage with my every day. I want to look up and savor my moments, not be compelled to “check in” my location.
My breaking point came when I noticed my resentment when learning through social media that my friends were enjoying vacations in Europe. They’d worked hard to get over there, and I was getting mad about it? Jealousy was clouding my judgment. I knew Facebook had to go.
I cut the cord. When I hit the shaking X’s, letting me know I was deleting Facebook and Twitter from my iPhone, it felt good. I still have both accounts on my laptop, but at least then, my work is staring at me.
No more staring at my phone, Zuckerberg.
Because I’m not obsessed about what’s happening 24/7, I’m paying attention to the place where I’m grabbing breakfast tacos. Now, when my wife asks if “I heard about that terrible thing in Congress,” I can say, “Nope, haven’t read the news yet.”
Re: Aug. 10 commentary, “Confederacy groups don’t belong in Veterans Day parades.”
In 1898, President William McKinley said: “Every soldier’s grave made during our unfortunate Civil War is a tribute to American valor ... we should share with you in the care of the graves of the Confederate soldiers. The cordial feeling now happily existing between the North and South prompts this generous act, and if it needs further justification, it is found in the gallant loyalty to
Re: Aug. 12 letter, “Media ignores Trump’s strength: consistency”
The letter alleges that Trump’s major decisions have been wrong, but ignores the fact that no judgment can be made because the effects of many his decisions remain to be seen.
The author is basing his opinion on the premature criticisms of the liberal media. Moreover, the author is hypocritical. He is ignoring the many poor decisions Obama made that led to his failed policies.