To be honest - I started to be careful of the things I write online. I was never a political person, but sometimes you cannot escape everyday events. However, all sites have their own policy and some even survive because someone gave them the money and that person/organization requires certain political views. I saw people getting banned on different social media for nothing or - even if not banned by the site - then so strongly attacked by other members that they simply had to go.
From my first hand experience, from one other forum where I came every now and then (like here):
I started to notice it when the coronavirus happened. At first, there were different views about it, but mostly people (and moderators) thought that we should stay at home, keep the distance, etc. Then they changed the tune. They are financed by some tourist agencies, etc. and their policy very swiftly changed from "be cautious, take care of your health" to "coronavirus doesn't exist, it's all politics". I witnessed that and saw people changing their opinion (especially moderators) and becoming aggressive. Tourism was very affected by coronavirus and everyone who relied upon it wanted it to be forgotten as soon as possible. So, people got very nasty, I was insulted too, because I kept my opinion that we should take care and keep the distance, etc. So, I removed myself from those discussions and soon left the whole forum altogether. It seemed like a silly place to be - where people change opinions as they are told and the owners push the opinions of their sponsors.
But this happens more and more online. And we are less and less able to tell what we think.
Sometimes I feel like I entered "1984"... I've recently watched some historical films and series and wondered how much of rewriting history we will have to endure... It is getting ridiculous. And you are always forced to believe in the newest history version while it changes all the time. Like in "1984"... They say that we have freedom. And the only freedom we have is to badmouth politicians. Otherwise, we have to talk and think and behave as we are told. Nonsense...
I'm so tired of that, of lies, fake news, fake facts, rewriting history, all sorts of prejudice...
Since this lock-down self-isolation situation started I've been spending a lot of time at home. Being bored, I joined various sites and applications. Some are just for fun (photos, videos and memes), some are a sort of discussion boards. I joined several and in a very short period of time I was astonished by many ridiculous comments.
I would write several comments on various threads and people would already make silly and ridiculous assumptions about me! On a thread about aliens, I wrote that we couldn't be sure whether there was life in the universe and what it looked like and I got a long reply from a man. He said that as a former teacher and educator, it was his duty to educate me that people like me, who cannot take a stand for anything and fight for it never achieve anything in life, etc. It was a long long comment written by a teacher to a "silly little girl". I was...
Then I wrote the (valid and proven) information (something from my profession) and a person (who had nothing to do with it) told me to learn something before writing and that she could offer me some courses and lessons if necessary. And I was...
I entered a discussion about some relationship problem and one of the members concluded that I was either divorced or in a bad relationship (and definitely unattractive ) and that all that was obvious from my comment. And then I was again...
After a few days of random posting all around people already had a finished image of me and my life, my age and job, even my physical appearance (I had no picture) and - NOTHING they assumed was right.
This made me wonder if people make too many assumptions about other people online, based on some random words here and there on some discussion board or blog or because they had a casual short chat with someone and then they build and build some distorted images of people and stay tangled in them...
Do we all do that?
Is there a way to prevent it while avoiding a lot of unnecessary explanations and self-justifications?
I simply didn't want to reply to all these people mentioned above. I didn't want to explain myself, offer private information (about my job, relationships...). I left them to live in their illusions. But I was annoyed and angry.
I noticed that people who worry about getting a microchip via vaccine and being followed are always the ones no one is interested in, who generally spend their days moving from an armchair to a sofa and back, trying to get at least some tiny attention on the internet... Those who really matter don't even bother with such silly ideas... Especially nowadays when people fight to attract attention on various social media, post their whole life online and bag for someone to notice them and pay others to follow them...
That's actually the most important thing to think about.
It's not about US personally, it's about protecting those weaker than us.
Where is empathy?
Empathy is the only thing that can save us in this kind of situation, yet people only think about themselves all the time (ME, ME, ME, MY opinion, MY rights, I want...). It's no wonder this world is going down - people became so selfish! And those same selfish people keep talking about the selfishness of others and constantly criticize something and someone.
Maybe the human race really didn't deserve to go on...
A friend told me this is the worst time to try to meet anyone online, because everyone is at home and you will probably get an "endless chatter" instead of someone interested in dating.
Then again, I cannot really think of dating now during this crisis...
I don't take a flu vaccine, because I'm not really prone to flues (I can't remember when was the last time I had one), but I will take this vaccine as soon as it is tested and safe to use.
... and he says that he will grant you ONE wish. It can be ANY wish, even the impossible one (resurrecting dead, time-travel, being able to fly or become invisible).
I watched some "documentary" called "The Mind Explained" yesterday, but it seemed more the show filmed by some sect (that promotes meditation and LSD as cures for everything) than a science show, as advertised...
RE: Venting a little...
To be honest - I started to be careful of the things I write online. I was never a political person, but sometimes you cannot escape everyday events. However, all sites have their own policy and some even survive because someone gave them the money and that person/organization requires certain political views. I saw people getting banned on different social media for nothing or - even if not banned by the site - then so strongly attacked by other members that they simply had to go.From my first hand experience, from one other forum where I came every now and then (like here):
I started to notice it when the coronavirus happened. At first, there were different views about it, but mostly people (and moderators) thought that we should stay at home, keep the distance, etc. Then they changed the tune. They are financed by some tourist agencies, etc. and their policy very swiftly changed from "be cautious, take care of your health" to "coronavirus doesn't exist, it's all politics". I witnessed that and saw people changing their opinion (especially moderators) and becoming aggressive. Tourism was very affected by coronavirus and everyone who relied upon it wanted it to be forgotten as soon as possible. So, people got very nasty, I was insulted too, because I kept my opinion that we should take care and keep the distance, etc. So, I removed myself from those discussions and soon left the whole forum altogether. It seemed like a silly place to be - where people change opinions as they are told and the owners push the opinions of their sponsors.
But this happens more and more online. And we are less and less able to tell what we think.
You are not alone.