Spawnpoint

Recently I've noticed that the downfalls of social media have appeared in my conversations with friends.  How it triggers them in ill ways, makes them want to talk to others less, and in general, brings them down.

It seems as though the resource we use to create connections, and sprouts convenience also causes depression and disappointment, which shouldn't have to go hand in hand.

And, to be honest, I entirely understand why.  It's basic human logic, and something that even I am guilty of at certain points in my life.

We're taught to share the bad.  That talking it out, and venting will help, and others will listen, and embrace us in care and aid.  So every small thing we encounter we spew onto the feeds of others, unable to process and deal with any of it ourselves.  Why should we take on that weight alone, if hundreds of others can give a hand, and make the load lighter?  So we see negativity, expecting others to step in and help, despite their own issues, which they are looking for the same aid in.

We're taught to hide the good.  That bragging is bad, and brings out jealousy, greed, and envy in others.  Instead of simply being grateful for the fantastic things that happen to our loved ones, we become fed up with seeing optimistic positivity.  We are taught that celebration of our own lives is an act of pride, and so should be avoided, unable to acknowledge the great things that life hands us.

The convenient nature of social media also leads to constant almost harassing hums of inane material to break up the negativity filling our feeds.  Pictures of food, selfies, memes that lack common sense or logical balance, or quotes so generic that they are put on images knowing they will get tons of recognition.  And we continue to like and share and spread them around because we have no reason not to.  It is a digital feed, with no paper trail, and it isn't hurting anyone, right?

Then there are the people who try to spew issues there before going to the people they should be talking to.  I've seen break ups occur just over social media, with the other party not knowing until they logged on to check their feed.  Vaguebooking in order to be coddled, instead of walking up to the friend or family member and saying what the problem is.  While sometimes it is good to bounce thoughts off of a friend, and see if they are overreacting, we simply blast them away via the power of the internet, and never work to actually solve things with basic interaction.

It's a recipe for disaster, and with so many younger people now embracing the digital conveniences of it all, we've lost the ability to actually talk to others.  We no longer know how to create balance in our own lives, and we live within the feed of constant negative thoughts floating about on all our devices and it doesn't do any of us the smallest bit of good.

 Maybe there is something to be done here, and we can bring a touch of help to this bottomless pit of distress and despair.  There's too much in life to celebrate to let a digital feed kill it all away.