Back in 2021, I decided that I would no longer spend time on Facebook, especially considering that there would be so much racial backlash that I might as well go to a military parade as be online. When I would connect with friends, I made a point of asking them not to post me on their pages, although there were still some people who tried to get me hooked again by sending things that would only link through Facebook. As I gradually culled my circle, I realized that it was easier to be offline than online, and that I genuinely liked conversing with people in person, even if I disagreed with them, within reason. Now, other than an occasional YouTube comment or posting on Medium, I am not nearly as active online, and the people I connect with understand how to avoid confusing validation for connection.
Sean Parker admitted years ago that Facebook was designed to be addictive, but that people would rather spend hours consuming media than face their fears with personal interactions. Essentially, in person, someone could be rejected, and that could hurt to a point that someone could never recover if their mental health is questionable. Online, that person could get no interaction at all, or they could get validation through gamified tactics designed to keep people playing on a regular basis. Facebook was only the latest new schtick, but it took over faster than anyone expected. In real life, there is considered a loneliness epidemic brought on by a failure to understand how human beings can interact with each other. Relationships are dwindling, but online activity is “advancing” at such a pace that all the tech companies are trying to cultivate AI to eliminate jobs–I mean, satisfy the demand.
Therefore, all the social media erupted, and suddenly people had friends from around the world, but could barely communicate with people down the street. Furthermore, no one could handle difficult conversations anymore, and people became either excessively conflict-avoidant or wildly confrontational–there was very little nuance. In a global economy, these traits started to infect the entire planet as people continued to emulate the United States, and now birthrates and companionship have begun to plummet. Such is to be expected when people have no idea how to emotional regulate themselves without external validation, a situation compounded by the attention economy where one needs to be remembered to survive.
Now that the world is finally awakening to the destructive nature of the dominant narrative, they are also recognizing that “coming together” is not as easy as it was without the constant need for validation. Rather than have conversations and learn about each other, people struggle to even find activities to do outside not just their homes, but outside their phones. I believe that there will be an evolution in how people engage, but the historic methods of nonstop consumption will steadily be eliminated. Connection will become more frequent, but people will first need to learn that an unwillingness to unplug will not net them the same results if they are seeking healthy relationships of any kind.
Chasing A Dying Empire 