Anyone else burned out on social media???

I think I might know a big reason why I am usually not in the mood for such places. They're a bit too cynical in my opinion. Most of what I see these days is cynical. Not really stuff like Rerez's Just Bad Games series or Angry Video Game Nerd. I'm talking about the MANY other events that are just filled to the BRIM with anger & enragement. That one otaku I unsubbed to a while back is a good example of what I mean; no true thoughtful moments, just ragebait in every opportunity. That Velma series is more ragebait.

But me? I am more of an optimist. Instead of seeing things glass half empty, I see things glass half full, but unfortunately I live in a world bound by cynicism & seemingly no room for optimism; annoying people, leaking pipes that can flood where I live, online political crap that eventually becomes brain melting(especially from those like Syntho or that otaku who are more than willing to scream "woke" & "SJW" at everything ever), corporations not actually caring about anyone except for the executives in charge, people who don't want others to be able to think freely or have even a slight bit of an imagination(which can overlap with almost all of the above, ESPECIALLY corporates), trend chasers, people who LITERALLY think EVERYTHING is political(in reality, this is the kind of crap that some people LOVE to say about anything that doesn't fit them like Syntho), etc., it just has become kinda hard to be an optimist in these times.

What makes this especially baffling for me is that in my eyes, I always felt that a leftist was someone who liked diversity because it meant seeing new worlds, a new door opening up ahead to more that can be seen, someone who sees things on the bright side & wants to make the world a better place as best as they can. Me being the optimist I was could've easily been why I am a leftist myself. But all I see is both sides being the same, just with different coats of paint, fighting all the time. It all but makes me feel that I'm in a lonely circle by myself, an optimist stuck in a cynical world of politics. It's why I pretty much don't go political really. Contrary to what a certain SOMEONE has said, LGBT+ people like me don't have to be considered political & if anything that politic label has lead to a lot of ruining for us folks who just want to live. People of different races isn't political, almost NOTHING is political unless it's something so stupid that it ruins basic things which weren't all that basic to begin with.

It also explains why I got into Akazukin ChaCha in the first place, as that anime showed genuine optimism & friendship all the while I was living with an abusive cynical mother. I cherish that show dear to my heart for what it taught me about never letting go of your optimist side, even in the worst of situations. Love, courage & hope weren't just to let ChaCha transform into Magical Princess, they were essential components to the show. I can summarize what the show taught me like this; "Love the world & the things that bring you joy, take risks no matter how scary or dangerous they may seem & always have hope that there'll be a better tomorrow, not just for you, but for everyone." These days you'd usually never find even ONE of these messages shown in shows or movies. The Owl House, Bluey & Swag Chan(as cringe as that name sounds) are like the ONLY ones I can think of that have at least 1 of these messages, but otherwise? Nothing.

This is all I have to say for now. I need some sleep & I have personal crap to do. Might not even show up on the forums for a week because I will be busy by then. Thanks for reading this(or just skimming through it) & good night.

Yeah, I agree with the above when it comes to fueled cynicism and "outrage culture" in social media. Maybe not often my direct friends or family, but my god "it's chicken little and the sky's falling in every day" in the general social media sense. It can create a negative loop of pessimism when we consume too much of that "chicken little" content every day. It's wise to step aside and just see people living their ordinary lives around us, see sunlight, see nature, see community, and see the wonderful daily moments that permeate life all around us.

I don't use social media that often (except YouTube) and I don't like vertical video and TikTok and I only have a dumb phone, not a smartphone. I have a Facebook account but I only use it to occasionally check/post to some groups but that is it. I got fed up with Twitter after Elon took it over and changed it to X. I didn't use it a lot before it changed, but I never had this issue when I went on it before Elon took it over. It used to be I'd go on it and mostly see tweets from accounts I follow. Now I get more of all these tweets on the top of my feed I never asked to see such as: Name a movie/TV show/Game without (inset letter here) you can't, Post a random image you took yourself, 3rd emoji is how you are feeling right now, delete one thing from Earth etc... and I have to keep scrolling to find tweets from the accounts I follow (see attached image).

I used to post a lot on a few social media accounts about nature/wildlife and the environment as that is something I am passionate about, but one example is that I used to get people leaving negative comments, especially if I mentioned global warming or climate change being accelerated by our actions, so I stopped posting as much.

I never even bothered following accounts on Twitter, I always just clicked on the replies from people I was interested in on there and checked through their tweets, found that way less confusing then wading through replies on the following page.

Yeah, I think back when it was just 1-3 sites vs. the 10+ my friends/coworkers/family members use. I feel like the human brain/psyche was never designed to absorb this much information from this many people and sources in one sitting. Add in how so much of it is "influencer" and "corporate" inspired, and it just isn't the same. 

"Weary" is a good way of putting it-it's just not the same as spending time with actual people in my life, and is barely better than a time waster in many cases. It works for convenience but in terms of actual connections? You're not getting a person's verbal cues, body language, or tone, or "feel" you would in real life. I have seen people around me start more hobby groups and volunteer groups and card gaming groups and things of that nature, with social media as a supplement rather than a replacement for the actual thing. I think that's a good thing!