Subj : Re: Computer Kits
To   : Arelor
From : Jeff
Date : Wed Jan 26 2022 14:40:26

On 26 Jan 2022, Arelor said the following...
 Ar> Issues are more of the type "Average psyche can handle being inferior to
 Ar> X people, and if it finds it is inferior to more than X people, it starts
 Ar> developping stress and steem disorders". Which is the nerdy way of
 Ar> saying that if you connect to a social network on which you folow 400
 Ar> people and find 398 of them are having what looks like a better life
 Ar> than yours, it may eventually wear you down.

I participate in social media and have neither noticed nor experienced this
phenomenon. Perhaps I'm doing it wrong?

I'm pretty sure that no matter our individual socioeconomic circumstances, we
could all find neighborhoods to drive through that feature the houses of 398
people appearing to have a better life than we enjoy. We can also watch TV,
where shows featuring this very thing have been common for sometime now.
For women especially, magazines and advertizing can take a huge toll on
self-esteem. I'm not sure why social media is being singled out for this.

 Ar> THe fun part is that a lot of people who are pretending to be having a
 Ar> great time 24/7 by posting party pictures everywhere are often as much
 Ar> of a loser as the next crackhead :-)

Yep. That is true across all media.

 Ar> Addictions and other disorders ("doomscrolling" comes to mind) are not
 Ar> unheard off and in fact I think Social Media adiction is recogniced as
 Ar> an official disorder in Europe.

I'm addicted to news. I prefer to read the news online, and additionally I'm
not a morning person -- at all. The combination of these factors mean that
when I first wake up, I want to sit at the computer with a cup of coffee and
be left alone to read the news. If I am disturbed, I may be grumpy. We all
have our own addictions.

 Ar> So yea, I don't think it is the great illness of our days which will
 Ar> destroy us all, but it is not harmless either.

I don't think it's any more harmless than any other form of technology (with
the usual caveat about driving!). It's possible that there are people for
whom it is harmful, but as far as being inherently harmful, I don't buy it.

Jeff.

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