We are all so consumed by the guilt that is projected onto us. We feel responsible for saving the planet, the homeless, the animals, the children. There is a dark cloud that sits over Britain, and it’s not just because it’s so often raining.
Families are tainted by the disagreement of lifestyles. Friendships are ruined over politics. Is this it? Is this what we have become now?
No longer can a holiday be celebrated without the doom and gloom of all the pressures of life and social media one-upmanship taking over our lit up screens. No longer can we see the little things that make life worth living. Sure, we all talk about them. People write Facebook posts and share quotes on Instagram about the little moments being the important ones, but while looking at that screen and finding the right hashtags, they may have forgotten to actually take that moment in.
Twitter is a cesspit of negativity, with even the positivity princesses constantly bothering their followers to fix something, feel bad about something, finding the next trend to jump on. Don’t eat meat, don’t wear leather, don’t use plastic straws, don’t buy cheap clothes or follow fast fashion. They think they’re using their platforms for the greater good, but all it does is make people feel bad. Guilt. It’s a constant habit that we all feel everyday now. We’re not doing enough, we haven’t achieved enough, we are not enough.
The differing opinions seem so far judged that some people are scared to share their personal thoughts on hot topics. Some views are socially accepted while others will ostracise people from entire communities online, within their family or friendship groups.
Is it fair for people to keep living on edge, wondering if what they’re saying or doing is okay? Wondering if people will dislike them or try to show them up online if they stand up for something they believe in, despite it not being popular.
Should we not be celebrating people having their own minds and own views? Rather than trying to tear them down and even acting as if they don’t, as if that view was given to them. Maybe it was, maybe the media has gone so far that people don’t know how to think anymore, but shouldn’t we at least all have the option to think freely, to question everything we hear and receive an educated or at least respectful response. Rather than the spiteful diatribe that most people receive should they think outside of the box we’ve all been put into?
Imagine if instead of attacking or being disgusted, you tried to understand their point of view instead. Imagine if people could show what they are seeing and give their own perspective on something and that you actually listened and understood why they might hold those views. Imagine if somebody was against something for reasons they were able to discuss, and they were not cut off at the first sentence. Imagine if everyone was just a little kinder and everyone could have their own views and discuss them freely.
Imagine if we didn’t need the group labels and boxed up communities of apparent free-thinking and instead we all treated each other as people. Beautiful, complicated, thoughtful human beings.
It will never be the case that everyone agrees to disagree. Healthy debate is good for the mind and soul. But surely everyone deserves a chance to at least speak for themselves.
People learn through discussion and learning other perspectives. Nobody changes their mind if they’re taunted by the opposition.
Love and kindness really is the way forward, despite that sounding like a lame Instagram quote.
You can’t just claim you are open and be so. Being part of a particular group of people does not excuse bad behaviour. You have a chance to be your best self and show others why they should listen to you.
Shouting people down is going to cause conflict. Calling people out is going to cause upset.
It’s boring. It’s gone too far. It’s poisonous. Just because you think you sit on ‘the correct side’ it doesn’t mean you’re better than anyone on the other. Open yourself up to more people and you’ll be surprised at what you find.
Look around at plastic faces holding up free toothpaste and smiling as if they still have their souls. The high cheeks that keep getting higher and the lips that keep getting bigger. No sign of a life lived or a memory on their faces. Is this what we want when we strive for perfection? Or do we want true happiness in the form of our inner beauty, shining out to the world and showing them what we’re made of? Does everybody want to be a doll, or do they want to leave a legacy other than their plastic body parts behind?
This little piece of wisdom came to me all at once, without thought, but I thought it was worth sharing. What are your thoughts? Do you find the way some people think toxic? Maybe you sometimes do? Let me know in the comments!
It’s interesting that I read this when I did: maybe an hour ago I saw someone preaching about abandoning fast-fashion and my thought was just ‘Easy for you to say.’
I find a lot of the toxicity comes from this weird culture we’ve bred where we are morally rewarded by acting superior to others. But it’s easy to tell people to abandon fast-fashion when you have the means to spend more money on a sustainable item – not everyone does. It’s easy to say that you shouldn’t use plastic straws (just the tip of the iceberg) and feel good about your superior views when you don’t have bodily limitations that prevent you using metal straws.
Actually, the worst example I’ve seen was a post on Twitter about using bamboo straws, the caption was along the lines of ‘I can’t believe people are using stainless steel straws, bamboo are SO much more sustainable!’ – you can’t even make the “right” choice properly.
I’m sure we’re all guilty about it at some points in time, but unfortunately it’s such a bit part of social media it’s hard to avoid.
Maybe I’ve just had a tough day today and am feeling a bit cynical, but the toxicity is something that has to be addressed. Social media isn’t going anywhere so we should really figure out how to be kinder and more open to all.
I absolutely get this! It seems we can’t do anything right, especially online. There’s always someone looking for the mistakes – or sometimes not even mistakes – we make and now it’s all recorded. It does feel very much like everyone is in attack mode.
Getting something out of acting superior does seem to be where it stems from, which is actually really sad on their part. I just hope that there are enough people who have had enough of it that it starts to balance out. Social media should be a great place to connect, but I fear some online practise is making its way offline too.