There is power and then there is that ineffable level of power abuse by those in positions of societal influence that is so wrong on it’s face…it leaves one breathless.
My advice for all - leave all social media. I personally don't have any true social media accounts, and I couldn't be happier. I get my news from all sorts of varied sources, not social media, so I have no algorhithmically (sp?) curated echo chamber to keep me ideologically aligned. These algorithms have steered us into being less interested in our normal interests like religion, sports, and each other, and replaced them with politics and ideology.
When I can, I use Tor as my web browser and Duck Duck Go as my search engine (this is not always feasible, but at least limits my exposure to Google's prying eyes).
How do I stay in touch with people, i.e. friends, family, acquaintances? I call them, text them, send an email, or better yet, I go and visit with them face to face! We have lost something in our technologically-driven society...the ability to communicate and connect with other humans. Interpersonal communication and relationships are sorely lacking, replaced by the illusion of MORE relationships, forged through technological and digital connection. Something will always be lost in translation, and I challenge those who claim their Facebook "friends" actually count as friends. Are they really?
Additionally, it has fuelled a desire to out-compete each other in the digital world, creating a much more narcissistic society than what would happen naturally. It has come to a point now where the gratuitous selfie makes me want to hurl, as it becomes the true measure of that narcissism. I am very competitive by nature, but digital competition bores me, and therefore, I get nothing from it. So, I stick to good old-fashioned personal head to head competition with actual people sitting, standing, or running in front of me.
My suggestion? Take the pediatric advice of my childrens' doctor - no more than one hour of screen time per day, get more exercise, eat healthy, and stay off of social media.
Your point is brilliantly well-made. And, I am not an advocate for social media as an arena for socializing. As a project manager, it can help me raise awareness and reach people who are authentically interested in what I’m doing. And, having traveled around the world, I have friends in other countries who I communicate with over social media because it is a lot cheaper than a phone call. I think, we must always remain mindful that a tool is for us to use and we do not want to be used by the tool.
I can concur with that statement. However, that requires a level of self-awareness that many people may lack. It's very similar to addiction (and there have been studies that have found links to addictive behavior and social media use), wherein you're not aware of how deeply addicted you are to something until you're in too deep.
I do see the utility in social media, don't get me wrong - but then you have to conduct a sort of risk/benefit analysis to determine whether it's worth some of the problems you may encounter when utilizing this tool. I experienced this same issue WAY back in the day with MySpace....ultimately, I concluded that it was not very useful to me, ended up irritating me, and so I concluded that I would discontinue my use of that platform. I don't regret that decision one bit, and have been far happier and less stressed ever since.
My suggestion would be to have a backup plan or off-ramp should the situation begin to go sideways on you. For instance, no one seems to have problems simply by communicating by email on any platform, when it's essentially the same form of communication you experience by utilizing social media. Still cheaper than a phone call or text, and less hassle than social media. I've heard of no one being kicked off of their email account for violating terms of service (unless your account gets hacked and is used to spam everyone else). However, just like any means of digital communication, your emails can be discovered, published, and used against you.
I would say you have a healthy mindset going into the social media issues you encounter, and I totally understand your frustration at the mind games they can play with you. However, you knowingly enter into that contract when you agree to utilize their platform, and until your options are more numerous, you are beholden to either agreeing to play their game, or use your less attractive backup options, as I have outlined above.
Anyhow, good talk, and I look forward to more of your content!
You were banned because your posts are physically and mentally exhausting. Beyond the fact that they are at best only marginally related to the group's intent, they are rambling, hard to follow, and filled with suspicious logic and sketchy information. It wasn't Facebook, it was the people in the group .
You present facts with little reference or context, and attempt to diminish expert knowledge while inoculating (the irony) yourself against any facts or logic that run counter to your predefined beliefs (eg by referencing the "mainstream media narrative").
I know you fancy yourself as some sort of warrior for truth but in reality you come off as a propagandist with an axe to grind. I am incredelous to how you are able to spend so much time researching sources that confirm your own biases and absolutely and completely miss the point of vaccines.
"Asking questions" and "knowing the facts" in the context of a world where you can always find information to support your beliefs means less than you think it does. I can't imagine the cognitive dissonance that one must have to sit on our island and completely miss the fact that most of us aren't simply getting vaccinated because of ourselves per-se, but because of our larger community.
I hear you. A while ago, the corporate narrative told you that if you got a Covid injection you would be safe and your community would be safe because you would not get sick and you would not spread the virus to them. You really liked that idea and you’re still holding onto it. I understand. I just don’t choose to do what you do. My views change as the science changes.
In March 2020, I told my family that in about three years we would know a lot. And that is true. We are two years into this situation and we DO know a lot more — and in a year we are going to know so much more it is incredible!
So, you’re welcome to enjoy the ride or you can just stick with the idea that you liked and continue to repeat it ad nauseum, but your attachment and your belief system really has nothing to do with the planetary reality.
Given that you categorically disagree with me on this topic, and you seem to be somehow familiar with who I am, I would suggest that you block me on Facebook.
It will make you a lot happier because then you won’t see my content as readily. And if it shows up in a group that we both belong to, well it’s really up to you whether you keep on scrolling and spare yourself the stress or whether you decide to bang your head against what you perceive to be a wall.
I am busy preparing to join the United States trucker convoy for medical freedom and I have more important things to do than debate this issue with you. So you do you, and I will do me. Have a nice day.
Oh, by the way. Given that you seem to consistently dislike what I say and how I present myself, it’s a little creepy that you’re reading my substack. It almost suggests that you are trolling me or that you somehow get off on arguing with me.
I don’t know who you are and I’m not interested in arguing. There is so much work to be done right now, in order to somehow save humanity from global collapse, that I am focused on working with my allies and on valuable projects.
If you choose to do this again, and make this type of a comment on my substack, given that you arrive here knowing that you feel antagonistic toward me, I do not perceive that as being in good faith and I will block you.
My advice for all - leave all social media. I personally don't have any true social media accounts, and I couldn't be happier. I get my news from all sorts of varied sources, not social media, so I have no algorhithmically (sp?) curated echo chamber to keep me ideologically aligned. These algorithms have steered us into being less interested in our normal interests like religion, sports, and each other, and replaced them with politics and ideology.
When I can, I use Tor as my web browser and Duck Duck Go as my search engine (this is not always feasible, but at least limits my exposure to Google's prying eyes).
How do I stay in touch with people, i.e. friends, family, acquaintances? I call them, text them, send an email, or better yet, I go and visit with them face to face! We have lost something in our technologically-driven society...the ability to communicate and connect with other humans. Interpersonal communication and relationships are sorely lacking, replaced by the illusion of MORE relationships, forged through technological and digital connection. Something will always be lost in translation, and I challenge those who claim their Facebook "friends" actually count as friends. Are they really?
Additionally, it has fuelled a desire to out-compete each other in the digital world, creating a much more narcissistic society than what would happen naturally. It has come to a point now where the gratuitous selfie makes me want to hurl, as it becomes the true measure of that narcissism. I am very competitive by nature, but digital competition bores me, and therefore, I get nothing from it. So, I stick to good old-fashioned personal head to head competition with actual people sitting, standing, or running in front of me.
My suggestion? Take the pediatric advice of my childrens' doctor - no more than one hour of screen time per day, get more exercise, eat healthy, and stay off of social media.
Your point is brilliantly well-made. And, I am not an advocate for social media as an arena for socializing. As a project manager, it can help me raise awareness and reach people who are authentically interested in what I’m doing. And, having traveled around the world, I have friends in other countries who I communicate with over social media because it is a lot cheaper than a phone call. I think, we must always remain mindful that a tool is for us to use and we do not want to be used by the tool.
I can concur with that statement. However, that requires a level of self-awareness that many people may lack. It's very similar to addiction (and there have been studies that have found links to addictive behavior and social media use), wherein you're not aware of how deeply addicted you are to something until you're in too deep.
I do see the utility in social media, don't get me wrong - but then you have to conduct a sort of risk/benefit analysis to determine whether it's worth some of the problems you may encounter when utilizing this tool. I experienced this same issue WAY back in the day with MySpace....ultimately, I concluded that it was not very useful to me, ended up irritating me, and so I concluded that I would discontinue my use of that platform. I don't regret that decision one bit, and have been far happier and less stressed ever since.
My suggestion would be to have a backup plan or off-ramp should the situation begin to go sideways on you. For instance, no one seems to have problems simply by communicating by email on any platform, when it's essentially the same form of communication you experience by utilizing social media. Still cheaper than a phone call or text, and less hassle than social media. I've heard of no one being kicked off of their email account for violating terms of service (unless your account gets hacked and is used to spam everyone else). However, just like any means of digital communication, your emails can be discovered, published, and used against you.
I would say you have a healthy mindset going into the social media issues you encounter, and I totally understand your frustration at the mind games they can play with you. However, you knowingly enter into that contract when you agree to utilize their platform, and until your options are more numerous, you are beholden to either agreeing to play their game, or use your less attractive backup options, as I have outlined above.
Anyhow, good talk, and I look forward to more of your content!
Most definitely, I agree! Empowerment includes feeling perfectly okay walking away…
You were banned because your posts are physically and mentally exhausting. Beyond the fact that they are at best only marginally related to the group's intent, they are rambling, hard to follow, and filled with suspicious logic and sketchy information. It wasn't Facebook, it was the people in the group .
You present facts with little reference or context, and attempt to diminish expert knowledge while inoculating (the irony) yourself against any facts or logic that run counter to your predefined beliefs (eg by referencing the "mainstream media narrative").
I know you fancy yourself as some sort of warrior for truth but in reality you come off as a propagandist with an axe to grind. I am incredelous to how you are able to spend so much time researching sources that confirm your own biases and absolutely and completely miss the point of vaccines.
"Asking questions" and "knowing the facts" in the context of a world where you can always find information to support your beliefs means less than you think it does. I can't imagine the cognitive dissonance that one must have to sit on our island and completely miss the fact that most of us aren't simply getting vaccinated because of ourselves per-se, but because of our larger community.
I hear you. A while ago, the corporate narrative told you that if you got a Covid injection you would be safe and your community would be safe because you would not get sick and you would not spread the virus to them. You really liked that idea and you’re still holding onto it. I understand. I just don’t choose to do what you do. My views change as the science changes.
In March 2020, I told my family that in about three years we would know a lot. And that is true. We are two years into this situation and we DO know a lot more — and in a year we are going to know so much more it is incredible!
So, you’re welcome to enjoy the ride or you can just stick with the idea that you liked and continue to repeat it ad nauseum, but your attachment and your belief system really has nothing to do with the planetary reality.
Given that you categorically disagree with me on this topic, and you seem to be somehow familiar with who I am, I would suggest that you block me on Facebook.
It will make you a lot happier because then you won’t see my content as readily. And if it shows up in a group that we both belong to, well it’s really up to you whether you keep on scrolling and spare yourself the stress or whether you decide to bang your head against what you perceive to be a wall.
I am busy preparing to join the United States trucker convoy for medical freedom and I have more important things to do than debate this issue with you. So you do you, and I will do me. Have a nice day.
Oh, by the way. Given that you seem to consistently dislike what I say and how I present myself, it’s a little creepy that you’re reading my substack. It almost suggests that you are trolling me or that you somehow get off on arguing with me.
I don’t know who you are and I’m not interested in arguing. There is so much work to be done right now, in order to somehow save humanity from global collapse, that I am focused on working with my allies and on valuable projects.
If you choose to do this again, and make this type of a comment on my substack, given that you arrive here knowing that you feel antagonistic toward me, I do not perceive that as being in good faith and I will block you.