Am I bitter?
“When did I become so bitter?” That is what I wondered this morning upon waking up to yet another guy on my timeline promoting his self-help oriented Instagram page, podcast, or whatever other mediocre endeavors he embarked on that morning (which was of course met by an undying appraisal of his peers, pretending as he if he just single-handedly reinvented the wheel). I promise, usually, I am not this hateful, hence the crucial question I posed myself this morning.
See, the problem with the (hold on, big word incoming) aforementioned scenario, is not that this guy is trying something new. I think we should all try new things and chase our passions. My problem is that he is not coming up with a new spin or perspective, he is just regurgitating what a million other ‘influencers’ have been telling us for the past five years. Pretty much stating the obvious at this point. And if that was not enough to piss you off first thing in the morning, I should add that the so-called micro-influencer in question was presenting all of the above in the form of a huge ‘pat on the back’ as if he was doing the whole world an immense service by enlightening us.
I guess what I am trying to say, is that I am tired of pretending that everybody needs a platform on the internet. Shall I be controversial and say it? It is not because everybody deserves a voice, that every voice should be heard. No, I am not attempting to silence or censor others by saying this. Yes, I am a firm believer in freedom of speech. And yes, the internet has allowed many displaced individuals to have a voice and live their truths. However, how certain are we of that last statement? In 2021, it is pretty much a known fact that social media has altered civic and individual life drastically, and will continue to shape it towards the future. However, can we say that this has been for the better, ultimately? Or should we be more critical rather than be ‘sheeple’, as the MAGA-fanatics would put it?
My critique on social media and its participants is not a novel idea either, so maybe I am being part of the very problem that I am describing, but this is my page and as the bio suggests, is a way for me to verbally diarrhea on the internet. Through elections, warfare, climate crises, and global pandemics, the internet has prevailed and is gaining terrain with every second that passes. What have we learned so far? Elections are rigged, unless your war is happening in the West there will be little to no news-coverage, climate activists are ‘angry little girls’, and the pandemic, well, need I say more?
One would hope that with the internet allowing all of us to have all of the knowledge in the world (or most of it) at the reach of our fingertips, we would make better-informed decisions as a collective, right? Well, do I have news for you. If Facebook can single-handedly sabotage elections through misinformation, you can only imagine the disrupting and gatekeeping large corporations, governments, and other powerful entities can indulge in. “Sure but what is the solution to all of this then, mister big brains?” Well, I don’t think I have a singular answer to this. I guess, what we could all start with is being slightly more critical of what we read online. Yes, I think that’s a decent start. Then, I would encourage you all, myself included, to snap out of other people’s (or companies’) iteration of what their reality is or should be like. Up until 20 years ago our brains were capable of formulating our own opinions, read articles that were longer than two paragraphs and consume media productions that lasted longer than 60 seconds. How about we all give this another try, shall we?
Did I just fix the internet and subsequently brought forth world peace to all corners of the earth? No. But did I get to verbally diarrhea a bit? Certainly. And, I also hope we can start an (off-line) discussion with our peers and be more critical of the things we see online. Rather than engaging in some slacktivism by uploading a black square on your Instagram timeline, read about black history and how your actions can improve black lives. Rather than purchasing items with a quirky little rainbow on them, read into LGBTQ+ history and reach out to a friend that might be struggling. This is not me telling you that minor actions are meaningless because they aren’t. However, this is me telling you that sometimes, if you have nothing meaningful to say: with peace and love, shut up.
If you enjoyed this little bitter moment, make sure to reach out and share your thoughts so we can be bitter together! And if you want to ‘cancel’ me over something that I said, I kindly redirect you to the right corner of this page and log-off. See you in the next post (or not, I truly could not care less)!
