social dilemma

finally watched this on NetFlix last night. worth a watch.  don't allow it to make you too paranoid i guess. i suspect i just figured much of that was happening so i wasn't as freaked as others. also  i don't have kids, which i think the social media stuff is more scary.  as adults we should be more capable of having perspective and reality...not that i don't know many who have gotten lost in social media. 

at some point it's kind of like eating.  you pretty much have to have some level of involvement with social media in todays world.  like anything you have to be the one to control it.  how much you take in and how much to allow it to control you. 

i'm mostly on Facebook, which has the worst reputation for global issues.  it is terrifying how outlying groups and the governments that do not have our best interest at hand utilize these tools to create chaos. 

regulation....that is one huge key.  something that many in the GOP have fought against.  we create laws to protect us from other things, seems so odd that there is such a battle against this with social media.  that point is made in that documentary. 

there is a level of personal responsibility.  we seem a bit bereft of that in our current society.  we do need to regulate nationally and internationally these social media sites, but we also need to regulate ourselves. 

i do spent too much time on facebook. some days more than others.  i also know that compared to many i don't spend that much time on social media.  i am willing to put the phone down and head to the woods, i welcome it.  

i have also been trying to evolve myself and how i interact with social media. we all have that power.  we can take back social media.  you just need to decide to make your page a place of positivity.  be willing to block, unfollow and unfriend those who insist on making it negative.  for me that isn't just rampant politics, it's also those who use it as a means to beg for attention in a woe is me...or those who use it as a place to brag.  

i like it because i can keep in touch with friends and extended family without being intrusive in their lives.  that is the world we live in now.  a phone call is intrusive.  many of the younger folks don't like to talk on the phone. they only text or use social media.  

for many family means less and less.  i think many think if they click like on peoples pages that is sufficient to maintain relationships. it's not...no doubt why we do have an uptick in drugs/alcoholism, suicide....

was kind of laughing watching the documentary because some of the stuff i have said for years and years was alluded to.  i'm no dummy!!

i've thought for years that much of our mental health issues and addiction issues (which is really another mental health issue combined with physical addiction) are related to how rapidly our world has changed and our lack of ability to keep up with the changes 

in the beginning....we spent a great deal of our time and effort on the basics of food/water and shelter.  we did not have time to indulge our wants needs and/or desires. now our brains have a lot of free time to indulge itself on all sorts of things.  much of which we are evolutionarily not prepared to cope with. our culture has evolved far more rapidly than we have and that disconnect has caused many to be lost or feel lost.  when you are a hunter/gatherer you probably do not have time for existential crisis/thoughts. 

i think it can be destructive for relationships as well.  there is more time to dwell on all the things that are wrong or that don't totally bring us happiness.  

social media...another thing i've said for years...can be very negatively impactful on our lives if you can't keep perspective.  as an adult who sees this it's tough for me, more so, i imagine for a young developing human.  it's easy to see your life and yourself as less as you watch post after post of other peoples perfect snippets.  since that is often all we see of each other, you can become depressed thinking how your life can't possibly measure up to the lives we see staring at us on facebook. 

our lives can't measure up to those lives.  it's only a snippet and it's been distorted really.  it's what we choose to share and most of us choose to share our best moments in the day or life. 

moderation in all things.  i was taught this in church....in truth they never embrace this fully and so i became annoyed by how the religion did moderation.  honestly....that should also mean moderation in church attendance as well.  if you are attending some church event nearly every day, if you can't take a dump without pulling down your pants and being reminded of your religion...well that is not moderation, that is something far more controlling. 

we all need balance in our lives. too many hours scrolling facebook or any other sites is never going to be healthy.  too many hours reading a bible will also not be healthy. eating too much, exercising too much.  none of that is healthy really.  you have to find a balance. variety is the spice of life.  that shouldn't mean that when you aren't on facebook you are on one of the many other social media sites out there. 

like i said, my main one is facebook.   i have a twitter and really all i do there is post this blog, then look at twitter for 5-10 minutes after i post this...so i probably post 1-3 blog posts a week so not much.  i also have instagram.  many of my nieces/nephews were on there and not facebook so i added that.  

i'm not on there very often either.  i'd guess less than an hour every few weeks.  i just unfollowed someone who posted her political views...instagram is mostly non-political, which is great...so i'm gonna hold people more accountable there.  

i pop into Pinterest may be a few times a month...looking for recipes or craft ideas really. 

YouTube...another rare place i go.  mostly to look up how to do home projects or from facebook to view a cute or funny video.  for sure do not see it as a source for news and information.  next to facebook i think it's one of the more abused social media sites.

again...i feel like as adults we must find our way through this.  we have also the benefit, many of us, of having been around before the internet existed. 

i suspect that gave many of us the opportunity to develop ourselves more fully.  when i was young the school programs hadn't been cut.  now it's more sports and less art/music....you need all of those to help youth find things that interest them.  our passions and interests outside of work and social media are what sustain us in the down times in life.  reading/art/music/cooking/photography...

i find those who have not developed much by way of interests and hobbies can more easily be sucked in to the world of drugs and alcohol. 

i don't have answers for parents with kids...it does seem like a huge battle.  for us it was getting sucked into tv.  it was one dimensional, now with all this social media it's multi dimensional and you don't have to get off of your phone to create some sort of variety.  we had a pretty small pool of tv stations when i was a kid. you could really only watch so much and then you would find other things to do.

i do see many families up here who get their kids out and away.  locking up devices and/or finding ways to limit time and getting kids out and involved in other activities seems to help in many cases.  

many who have less money and resources will have less ability to monitor time on devices with kids.  if you work full time...it can be tough to monitor i imagine. i was home on my own a lot growing up.  i could easily have been sucked into social media if it had been available. i'm sure i watched too much tv.  

i also read though and wrote poems. 

the documentary was speaking of how many kids now don't get their drivers licenses.  many, from my view point on the outside, are slow to develop. they aren't able to get jobs often, they don't get licenses, they don't even really date many of them.  

during a pandemic would be a tough time for me to cut off the social media.  many days that is my only contact outside of myself.  

there are always good things that turn up in the bad.  the pandemic and the unrest of our society will hopefully help us to see that we do need regulations and controls on these aspects to protect ourselves and to protect the younger generation. that we can spend more time that is quality in the presence of other humans.  that we can often work from home, do education at least partially from home.  that there is more than one way to work and to school.  that we have many different personalities and many ways to help those personalities interact with this world and the others out there.  we are not all outgoing.  many of us live quieter and more simple lives.  

it always felt, growing up, that we were all supposed to be robots on the very same path to the future.  we aren't.  humans are pretty unique that way. 

we need to help find ways to help people evolve to meet the needs of this crazy tech world we have been thrown into.  far too many are drowning in the tech of life and they need life vests to keep them floating. 

we need to help people hold themselves up.  we have been a society/culture that has forgotten about personal responsibility.  everyone else is to blame.  

some of that is no doubt because we fear failing or appearing to be failing.  there is no place for failure in our culture/society.  we are all supposed to rise up and become part of the American Dream.  we hide when our homes aren't the homes we were supposed to be living in by now.  when our family units don't conform. we hide when our idea of success is getting by and paying our bills and living a basic, yet peaceful life. it's not enough.  you have to climb every mountain peak, be perfectly fit, rich, happy, successful....we are not all going to be all those things.  

we will all have successes and failures. not many get to the successes without a bit of failure or just flopping around a bit.  

as a culture we put too much pressure on perfection.  we have unattainable goals.  we look down upon those who live normal, healthy lives and raise up those who live fake, money based lives...all these reality shows that highlight the wealthy. they are often shallow and selfish but they are seen as the ones who have it all....

many watch this and decide to quit social media.  i say learn to control yourself.  learn how to make your little corner of it a safe space. limit your time.  teach the platform how to interact with you rather than giving it power over you. the algorhythms will take you to dark places if you allow it.  you are the human though, so you need to take the steps.  

don't feel shame for unfollowing or unfriending people who bring the negative to your page. if they chose to go down that rabbit hole of hate and negativity that doesn't mean you have to go down with them....even if they are related.  lead by example. 

official Monday walk.  we social distanced and even got to stop at Kaladi's for some hot cocoa...they had some outdoor tables.  it felt good and normal.  getting outside and walking is healthy.  if i get Covid...or "The Rona" as the nurses jokingly refer to it, i want to be as healthy as i can in order to battle it.  

Ivy was limping a bit after our walk. it's tough.  she wants to participate.  i just didn't take the tennis ball today.  brought a costume, because costumes are Ivy's kryptonite. she mostly stayed with me.  did limp a bit when we got home.  

my wise vet friend kindly checked with a vet surgeon friend of hers.  it's probably a partial tear.  when will if fully tear, we don't know.  next week, next month, in two years, never? getting a second opinion not a bad idea, resting her, brace...see what happens. watch it.  this didn't happen suddenly.  it's been there for several months.  that little limp after walks. makes me sad to think of her missing out on tennis ball time or walks. we shall see how things develop. her knee may make the choice for  us all. 

carved a pumpkin last night and made seeds and pumpkin bread. the seeds went to the coffee shop and were enjoyed by all. the bread will be enjoyed at home i think. 

my to do list is growing.  may slip down to Homer though this week.  tough with Ivy as i don't want her to get too strained. i joked with my vet friend that my dogs never live beyond 12...i wear them out.  they have great lives though.  

well, i better crash. i broke down and bought the Seinfeld series.  thinking a shorter walk with dogs then meet a friend to moose hunt up powerline pass...when i say hunt, we just look for them and take pictures and/or enjoy them.  

grateful for A. the Monday walk...felt normal and great to be around even a small group like that. B. that i grew up in the days before social media. it's fun now but i can see how tough it is for kids C. that i grew up enjoying freedoms that are lost now.