Poll of the Day > I decided to be "less online".

(+) Yeah! (+)

I started to feel like I was really forming world views or opinions based on anecdotes I read online, especially on Reddit. My tipping point was when my girlfriend was describing a post that she read online in detail and I found that to be incredibly stupid. And I realized that is probably how I sound since I spend so much time reading incredibly stupid opinions on Reddit.

I deleted my Reddit account and the app. I'm not sure what else to do beyond that. Thankfully I have been off Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, and Facebook for years already. GameFAQs doesn't count obviously.

I wonder what you guys feel about the online-o-sphere. I've been thinking about my place in the internet ecosystem in a totally non-philosophical way.

Here's an analogy: It's like voting in an election. Of course your vote doesn't matter at all, but in a much more or less real sense, it does. If I no longer upvote every post that shits on America, does America grow stronger? Because of this I sometimes feel the need to participate in this ecosystem.

User reviews are bullshit, mostly, but I think way more people read them than write them, you know? Well, I fucking write them. Cause someone needs to write them. That is my thesis.

I browse Reddit for one reason and its amiibo news. Otherwise I avoid the front page like the plague. Ive also disconnected most other social media ( I just go here, discord for some friends and Instagram for the same reason).

I get what you mean though. Its hard to disconnect when you find something on a platform that youve essentially habitualized. Sometimes I catch myself falling into an article journey and I always feel worse for it. But my brain keeps seeking it out. And repeating the hot takes you see on social media, regardless of a side, can be grating to someone who doesnt involve themselves as much now that I find myself on the side of the less connected.

I still have values, and I have a belief system that Ive trained to not be as reactionary. I like to think people arent inherently bad, and its not difficult to explain things they might not understand immediately. As a bi lady, I find that patience is one of the more uncommon virtues my own peers and opponents of my experience seem to lack. But were getting closer each day I think as long as you can find a way to relate your experience to others in a way theyll understand.

Thanks for the topic, I really appreciated thinking about this!