#ex ig tiktok and twitter
while it’s true that the algorithms and sponsored content that the internet is rife with nowadays often make it harder to find the stuff you need/are looking for (the echo chambers of endless repetitions, the non-chronological feeds of social media often making it nigh impossible to track a post you’ve seen in passing, tangentially related ads pushed on top of the actual answer to your google search etc etc), it’s terrifying to me how easily it just. completely rots people’s ability to curate their own experiences, filter information, and just… take an active role. we’re complaining whenever tumblr puts out any sort of recommended posts/blogs feature but I’ve seen newcomers complain they have to go look for stuff themselves and follow people instead of just having a feed full of recommendations from the get go. like girl you got interests? do you not know what you want to see? how is this passive numb approach ever seen as desirable to the point where a minimum of curiosity and exploration is seen as an insurmountable emotional effort? I just saw another post in the vein of “if you’re disappointed in mainstream media go indie” and there are people in the notes saying “I’d love to but I don’t know where to look”. sweet baby jesus on a tricycle. I know it’s not as easy as “just google it” because if you googled something like “films about [x thing]” you would just get the exact same dumb listicle ten times in a row but listen. keep digging. keep asking around. this applies to media but also finding new hobbies and also gaining knowledge about the world outside of school and literally everything in this here Information Age. I cannot stress enough how important it is for your mental health (and occasionally even safety on the internet) to like. build a resistance to relentless advertising and ephemeral trends and the background noise of the internet and like. come into your own. figure out what you want. learn to find relevant information. we have the world at our fingertips and some of it is being purposefully obscured but the rest some people just. don’t know what to do with.
