My feelings go up and down, as they have for all human beings throughout history.
However, they trend down especially when I spend a lot of time on social media or news sites, including HN.
To put it another way:
Emotional state without "the internet" = varying around a general background of contentment.
Emotional state with "the internet" = varying around a general background of discontentment.
This is unrelated to current political events, which I view as an overcorrection to the state of unhealthy and extreme political correctness that we were falling into a few years ago (wokeness).
Now the pendulum is swinging the other way, towards an unhealthy and extreme focus on race and social differences, glorifying in political incorrectness (anti-woke).
It'll swing back again in a few years. Just how far it will go before then is impossible to say, but it's not something I can control and therefore shouldn't affect whether I enjoy life, since I'm lucky enough to not be directly affected, for the most part.
But if I go on the internet for hours every day and focus on it, it surely will make me feel terrible!
On the other hand, I want to stay informed and connected. Some amount of discomfort is acceptable to accomplish that. The trick is mindful use of the internet, and I'm afraid I don't always succeed there, when I have a distraction machine in my pocket all the time.
I can respect that and I considered whether I was taking in too much social media, but it feels like every Monday there's something new to scratch my head at.
Some of the recent stuff:
- Paul G confronting Palantir on X about respecting the US Constitution
- Developments with Ukraine, Russia, and NATO
- The insane valuations of AI startups and the back and forth in global trade policy
- How poorly positioned the Fed is in the event of stagflation
- Civil unrest in Nepal and several other countries
- Labor economy shift due to ICE and the new visa related legislation
I was trying to keep this less US focused, but it's really all tied together.
Point being, you don't think this time is different and may require planning ahead?
Genuinely curious. I've already come to terms with the possibility that I could be a doomer that has spent too much time on X.
However, they trend down especially when I spend a lot of time on social media or news sites, including HN.
To put it another way:
Emotional state without "the internet" = varying around a general background of contentment.
Emotional state with "the internet" = varying around a general background of discontentment.
This is unrelated to current political events, which I view as an overcorrection to the state of unhealthy and extreme political correctness that we were falling into a few years ago (wokeness).
Now the pendulum is swinging the other way, towards an unhealthy and extreme focus on race and social differences, glorifying in political incorrectness (anti-woke).
It'll swing back again in a few years. Just how far it will go before then is impossible to say, but it's not something I can control and therefore shouldn't affect whether I enjoy life, since I'm lucky enough to not be directly affected, for the most part.
But if I go on the internet for hours every day and focus on it, it surely will make me feel terrible!
On the other hand, I want to stay informed and connected. Some amount of discomfort is acceptable to accomplish that. The trick is mindful use of the internet, and I'm afraid I don't always succeed there, when I have a distraction machine in my pocket all the time.