FA+
Shop
Secure your own oxygen mask before helping others
5 years ago
General
I saw someone share a list of five tips for coping with stress and maintaining mental health with the virus and all else going all around us. The second one was "Take breaks from upsetting content".
Accomplishing this takes a hefty amount of will, I think. The internet has done two things to make it this way: 1) It's enabled us to be aware of all the brokenness that exists moment to moment, more burden than any individual has ever been expected to bear pre-internet (and I would argue, should not be expected to even now), and 2) We feel like if we DON'T keep our eyes glued to the constant stream of pain, that we're just plugging our ears and committing the terrible sin of apathy. With words like these, we collectively enforce each others' slavery to the news feed as we view and even reshare a flood of upsetting content. I've even heard it said that "checking out comes from a place of privilege" which seems much like a chain letter in modern lingo.
Yes, we need to be a healthy amount of informed and work to change things for the better within our ability. But when we stare at problems we can't solve alone and wrack ourselves with anxiety over it, it hurts us and helps no one. I've seen people burn themselves to the wick by stressing out over other people's problems. It likely comes from a place of self-sacrifice. But by doing so they leave themselves in a state in which they have no energy to help others -- the very thing they're trying to do. And they're worse off for it.
One objection I anticipate is, what's the bigger problem? That people are burning out, or that too many people ARE completely checked out and need to be shaken awake? I don't know how to measure that. I think both are real problems. The difference is that there is plenty of content being generated daily to deal with the latter, but very little addressing the former.
So if the internet stresses you out, take a break from it. It's okay. Eat. Nap. The world never depended on you alone and will not fall apart if you look away for a moment. I hope these words heal. If so, feel free to share them with someone who needs them.
Still kicking around Overthinking ideas but I thought I'd get this one out.
Accomplishing this takes a hefty amount of will, I think. The internet has done two things to make it this way: 1) It's enabled us to be aware of all the brokenness that exists moment to moment, more burden than any individual has ever been expected to bear pre-internet (and I would argue, should not be expected to even now), and 2) We feel like if we DON'T keep our eyes glued to the constant stream of pain, that we're just plugging our ears and committing the terrible sin of apathy. With words like these, we collectively enforce each others' slavery to the news feed as we view and even reshare a flood of upsetting content. I've even heard it said that "checking out comes from a place of privilege" which seems much like a chain letter in modern lingo.
Yes, we need to be a healthy amount of informed and work to change things for the better within our ability. But when we stare at problems we can't solve alone and wrack ourselves with anxiety over it, it hurts us and helps no one. I've seen people burn themselves to the wick by stressing out over other people's problems. It likely comes from a place of self-sacrifice. But by doing so they leave themselves in a state in which they have no energy to help others -- the very thing they're trying to do. And they're worse off for it.
One objection I anticipate is, what's the bigger problem? That people are burning out, or that too many people ARE completely checked out and need to be shaken awake? I don't know how to measure that. I think both are real problems. The difference is that there is plenty of content being generated daily to deal with the latter, but very little addressing the former.
So if the internet stresses you out, take a break from it. It's okay. Eat. Nap. The world never depended on you alone and will not fall apart if you look away for a moment. I hope these words heal. If so, feel free to share them with someone who needs them.
Still kicking around Overthinking ideas but I thought I'd get this one out.
As with most things in life, one of the bigger problems is that too many people don't know how to strike a balance. Some people get too much information, others get too much distraction.
Another big part of the problem is, of course, that not all of the information are good. A lot of people understand the need for balance, but when they finally come up for air from their distractions, the first information they get is misinformation and the cycle persists.
A good way to recognize misinformation, plain and simple, is that, for some people, misinformation is ALSO their distraction.
Someone once described Fox News, not as an actual news channel, but as "a massage chair for your ego", IE: the people who watch it do so, not because they believe it is actual news and they want to be informed, but because it panders to their preexisting prejudices, ergo it distracts them 24/7 from reality (like the fact that they are truly rotten human beings) while enabling them to masquerade as people who are trying to stay well-informed.
So, umm. . . Yeah. Vet your news sources, stay alert, get the facts. . . And when you need a distraction, go for something that is damn near impossible to spin or exploit.
For example. . . Giggling foxes!.