Toxic Social Media

[Midrich]

I’m new here and I figure this topic has come up here before so be patient with me . I had Facebook for less than six months before I canceled the account . It was just so mean and nasty . I couldn’t believe people could be so rude and impolite . The politics people are the worst and seem to take particular delight in injecting politics into every topic , even the most mundane like cooking or gardening . Now I find The Spiritual Forum and people are so nice and well spoken and cordial . Yes , they have rules and limits here but you need that or the monsters take over . I like the forum format too . It’s a little less instant and people study their responses before posting . And finally . . . how nice to not be bombarded with incessant advertising . This is a safe have from the capitalist beast .

[WhiteWarrior]

There are other forums on various topics running in a similar way. I certainly like being on this one.

But social media, the big ones that is, are a veritable platform for propagating agendas. That you are seen as a customer is one thing and to me relatively acceptable. If you expect around-the-clock service, someone has to pay something. The agenda pushing is worse and for the most part these are not the guys running said platforms. What is worse is all the pushing of political views by factions large and powerful enough to actually hire people to push it, or set up crews of volunteers. To push what they want you to think, to aggressively attack what they don't want you to hear, to lie in your face if they think the truth won't be known immediately, and all the time to pose as someone that won't at once be recognized as a paid pusher. So yeah, I am off too. I closed my facebook account, then someone registered in India reopened it, and then I deleted it thoroughly. No X for me either.

[Sir Neil]

I avoid politics online and even watching news because I don’t particularly like either. It just causes arguments. Sometimes social media can be a game of one-upmanship, trying to outdo the poster above you, and this is particularly true of football comment sections. Quite a lot of these are troll or bot replies which just keep the post high in ‘hits.’ If I post anything I try and pre-empt what a negative reply could be, so that I have a reply lined up. But I keep posting to a minimum when a post could get negative.

[Midrich]

Okay , good . I’m not the only one . Politics is a real big turn off for me for much the same reasons that WhiteWarrior listed and what Sir Neil said about one-upmanship is true . So goodbye and good riddance to Facebook and I am not on Twitter or X or whatever it’s called because I don’t own a smartphone . Never had one don’t want one . I don’t want to come across as a conspiracy nut but I think there’s a reason why smartphones are promoted so heavily . AI and an emergent police state (Big Brother) will be watching all the closer in the days to come . OK , I said it .

[AngelBlue]

I went on facebook once to publicly "Thank " someone for a good deed they did for me ( He had asked my permission to discuss it on his site and I said yes)...
But never again . Biggest mistake of my life .
To say I felt "exposed and vulnerable" is an understatement.
Even seeing certain feuds and arguments within my own family was alarming.
But I came across a lot of people too that had disrespected me several years ago and then made fun of me . Thought robbing me was a great big fat joke.
I find the whole thing extremely toxic.
Phew.... So now I've got that off my chest !!!!!!

[Altair]

Social media have completely changed society and how people relate to one another. I think its impact is terrible. Three things I'm thinking about.

First you have dating, people at the core aren't really different from the past, the ugliness in humanity has always been around, but social media have exacerbated narcissism and vanity, people becoming the star of their own show basically, and becoming ever more critical about potential partners.

The second one is echo chambers, people don't really engage in discussions and trying to understand what others say. No, you downvote people or ignore them, and you reply with something short and obnoxious that will then be upvoted by many people. If you look at something like Twitter/X you'll see it's the most radical left and right wing views that have gained more attention.

Third, social media are made in such a way they want you to care about how popular you are, with up/down votes, number of friends/connections. People are trained to be a fit, and not be their authentic selves. Kids grow up on social media and it has made them more insecure, expected to always be online, and share their entire lives on the web. They can't escape.

Looking at all three things I've just mentioned, one thing stands out and that's ''popularity''...

[Hemera]

I think social media fuels the ego. Not always as some people genuinely just use it to keep in touch with friends/family and/or post on groups, but more often than not it seems to be an environment which encourages people to be the worst of themselves.

I really worry about kids now as social media has a massive impact on mental health.

I do have a Facebook account but rarely use it, only to have a look on a few groups and keep in touch with long term friends. I don't really post anymore. I'm happier without it as a rule.

[Native spirit]

Politics are not to be mentioned on this forum. it causes Arguments etc
sometimes it creeps into posts.
but as soon as we are aware the post will be deleted.
I Don't have facebook or twitter.

I had trouble about 13 months ago about someone who moved in next to me.
who wrote things about me on facebook.
i got in touch with the council and she was told to take it off or face being made homeless.

she didn't like that i had a right of way through her yard.


Namaste

[Altair]

Nice vid, relevant,

''Why Pride Is the Worst | The Seven Deadly Sins | PRIDE''
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6eL...zelg%C3%A4nger

[Podshell]

The seven deadly sins are worth thinking about when engaging as these are the base of many world problems,so often people fall into the trap of pandering to and promoting greed,I would say they are the superdumb,if a child has an obesity problem a good parent doesn't ply them with burgers and campaign for more burger joints,the need would be to cut down on both and educate the child also promoting other pastimes like sport.