Welcome
to a Secret Subject Swap. This month 3 brave bloggers picked a secret
subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret
in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging
our topics and submitting our posts. Read through mine and at the bottom
you’ll find links to all of today’s other Secret Subject participants.
My subject is: What is one of the biggest problems the internet has created socially?
It was submitted by: Jenniy of Climaxed.
I want to start with positives. I guess I just like balance.
There are a lot of people, especially through blogging, who I never would have met otherwise. And although these social relationships are limited, being online only, they are valuable.
I also want to talk a little about all of the negativity I hear about social media posts. They are often criticized, characterizing them as being misleading, as we mostly highlight only the parts of our life we choose to brag about, pretending, is the perception, that we are more perfect than we are, and less real.
First, many people are very real. In fact, the flip side of this coin is that I sometimes get bombarded with TMI posts about body parts or body functions or relationship matters that are none of my business, and I'd like them to stay that way.
Second, I have a hard time seeing someone looking to, highlighting, sharing the good in their lives as either negative or not real. I think we all need to spend more time concentrating on those actions or people we're proud of. It's healthy not only for our state of mind, but for our self esteem.
Now to answer the question. There are many negatives, one of which being that the internet can be a black hole, you can get lost in there, spending time best spent elsewhere. It can, and does, isolate us socially, emboldening many among us to cater to their darker side.
The
less we look each other in the eye, the more we take a step away from
seeing each other not only wholly, but really at all. It is, in many
ways, an erosion of humanity.
And adding Covid to the mix just made the whole situation worse. Not only did we need to curtail social functions, but many of the day to day things we did that at the least provided face to face interpersonal interaction, we were all now doing online. Never did I think that I would be able to deal with someone else picking my groceries for me. But I did.
Listen, all I want to do is share a laugh, a love of word games, yes, often express my opinion, and, of course, some recipes. I'm shocked by what some of these anonymous people are willing to say.
You all know what I'm referring to, either you've seen something similar or you've been the victim yourself. And I do mean victim. Not being face to face makes bullying easier. Fact.
In a recipe share group, there was a person who went up and down the page leaving insults in the threads of every post. On one, "looks like what I vomit after sex." And although I couldn't help but think how disgusting they were, that one actually made me laugh. I mean, that sex thing? I think she's doing it wrong.
Someone with a Google account left a hate filled rant for me. Their name? "Liberals Deserve To Die." Think about that for a minute. A person went to the trouble of opening an account in that name. Some of the words used in the comment: "retard," "bitch," "shut the f*ck up," "fagget" (their spelling). And then "PS: nice recipes."
Would they say all that to my face? Maybe. But them hiding behind a "name" not their own makes me think that the anonymity of the internet brought this particular hater (and so many like him/her) out from under their rock.
But . . .
Besides the internet itself, the social and the social media aspects, the introduction of Covid into the mix, there's one other important component and that's our own free will. We have the power to shape and define our own online experience.
With that in mind, I'll end where I started, pointing out the importance of balance.
Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts. Sit back, grab a cup, and check them all out. See you there:
Climaxed
The Diary of an Alzheimer’s Caregiver
Butterscotch Crunch Bars
©www.BakingInATornado.com
Printable Recipe
Ingredients:
1 stick butter, melted2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup white baking chips
3/4 cup toffee baking chips
1 cup butterscotch baking chips
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup Cinnamon Life, Cinnamon Chex, or Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal
Directions:
*Grease a 9 X 13 baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
*Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the butter, then press into the bottom of the prepared pan.
*Distribute the white baking chips over the crust, followed by the toffee chips, then the butterscotch chips.
*Drizzle the sweetened condensed milk over the top, then end with the cereal.
*Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is browned and bubbly.
*Cool for 20 minutes. Run a knife around the edges, then cool completely before slicing.
I have learned after Covid is that people are so cruel. Their filters are removed on the internet and they do not hold back. Social media is so toxic. I have learned to not read comments and to stay away from triggering posts! Love the recipe, thank you :)
ReplyDeleteAnd unfortunately, that bold bullying is bleeding over into the few personal interactions I have. There have been times when I've been targeted, not felt safe even in the grocery store.
DeleteI am discouraged by all the online bullying - what does that say about us, the human race - make us anonymous and the filters are removed and anything goes? The example you posted with all the hate and then P.S. Nice recipes reminded me of a Congressman who posted some of the hate filled death threats he's received-one, after threatening to do the most horrible things to him, said "have a nice day!" at the end of the threat! WTF? It would be so interesting if some of these people were caught and exposed to the public - who would they be? And why? To me, it would be fascinating but maybe we just don't want to kow.
ReplyDeleteI think we do need to know who to protect, or at least distance ourselves from. The more bold these anonymous people are, the more of a real danger they could be.
DeleteSocial media trolls are one thing, death threats another. I hope that one who gave herself a name, you will consider reporting. Cyber Bullying is a crime. Well said as always. Donna
ReplyDeleteEvery time I think they've hit rock bottom, they find a way to go lower.
DeletePeople who spew anger and hate on the internet are similar to people who drive rudely, thinking they are anonymous and it won't come back on them. They don't understand the damage they do to their own souls by such behavior.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful to build an online community of friends where this becomes the exception rather than the norm and is dealt with speedily.
Yes, and they are being harmful to everyone around them as well. Sad.
DeleteI think there's a fine line between keeping myself safe by blocking people out, but not making the blockade so strong that I don't expose myself to new thoughts and ideas.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Kathy, it's a difficult balance.
DeleteSocial media is great for someone like myself who doesn't get out much and does most of her socializing online. I have some fb friends that I've never met in person but we've been friends for 16 years.
ReplyDeleteYes, the connections are a great bonus.
DeleteMy mouth is watering. I have some friends I haven't met in years on social media. But I also met recently many friends in person that in philly that I only met on zoom so the internet makes this world an interesting place.
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely more interesting, as long as we remember to be cautious.
DeleteI agree I was just reading a news story where this family in PA were so distraught that Trump lost that they decided to have a suicide pact. A mother, father and their 26 year old daughter. How sad is that?!? People have lost their freaking minds.
ReplyDeleteCult mentality, group psychopathy, who knows? But incredibly sad for sure.
Delete