It took a little while to process the past few weeks and then a sudden wave of sadness washed over me. With everything going on in the world, Jason and I asked ourselves, "Why is there so much hate?" It's a rhetorical question of course, one that no one can answer. There just is.
It doesn't help that we're bombarded with images and information, some of it misinformed with a crowd of negative commentary. I recently came across this article, "What All This Bad News Is Doing to Us," and it resonated with me because I realized how hard it is to retain optimism after a day of social media fueled news. At the same time, it feels selfish to even wonder that when so many hardships are at hand.
The article states that "In addition to a burgeoning sense of helplessness, cognitive shortcuts triggered by the news can lead us to gradually see the world as a darker and darker place, chipping away at certain optimistic tendencies."
From the details of Robin William's death to the sad, personal stories coming from Humans of New York to the coverage of Ferguson...the world seems fragmented in so many ways. The other day, Jason asked me if I thought there was always this much hate and I said, "Of course! Look at Nazis..it's always been around, but social media has amplified it on a larger scale." We call the negativity trolling and say, "Don't feed the trolls," but it's part of a bigger picture as humanity.
So I guess I just wanted to say...try and be a little nicer to the people around you and on the internet. It's the small things that make a difference in someone's life and hopefully the idea of optimism can stay alive in the world.
I want to believe in magic, in optimism, happiness, humanity and Fleetwood Mac. In that order. Currently listening to "Songbird" and it's making me cry and have weird American Horror Story flashbacks.
love this. its so true that social media has amplified a lot of the bad news. i was just thinking a couple weeks ago how much bad is going on in this world and its becoming really scary. i pray that people learn to be nicer and wiser about what they say to others and especially on the INTERNET.
ReplyDeleteI think that most likely there's just as much bad as there's always been but we know more about it now, which is good in the general, informed sense, but bad for the world's optimism. The internet is a whole other beast. People are "brave" behind their computers.
DeleteGreat post, my friend. I think you are absolutely right -- the hate has always been there, but it's just easier to hear about and to find, and to amplify. It's a very important lesson for each person to try to put kindness into this world, instead of more ugliness. I get very frustrated in how much needless hate I see on the internet, but ultimately, I still believe people are good at heart. We just need to rise to the occasion.
ReplyDeletexox Sammi
here here!
Delete"I want to believe in magic, in optimism, happiness, humanity and Fleetwood Mac." Yes, I love that! You're right, it's always been there, but we now have access to SO MUCH information, even (or especially) the things we don't want to hear about.
ReplyDeleteI think maybe it's an age thing, too; your mid-twenties are when we're likely the most independent we've ever been, and we're starting to read real news and talk about issues bigger than "I need to finish this project" or "I need to find a steady job."
And of course, there's that quote that goes something like, "Life is a tragedy to those who feel." Being sensitive is just really hard! All we can do is accept it, or do our part to make our world reflect what we believe in. Both, obviously, not easy things to do. :)
It's more than information, it's endless amount of commentary! Jason has expressed massive frustration at the sheer amount of think-pieces in the world. I'm starting to get there.
ReplyDeleteLove that, definitely true, we just all need to do our part.
P.S. Don't worry, I LOVE comments and it's in no way too long. xoxo