A few, or a few more, years ago you heard the warnings about social media only showing the best of the lives of their inhabitants everywhere. And this is maybe still true, but it’s also true that today, given the fucked-up state of the world, we share much more about all the bad things that happen. And that’s okay if you just have to deal with it yourself or are touched by it.
But today social media is often less of a “Look how great my life is (compared to yours)” and more of a “We are all fucked, and this is another reason why!”. It’s important to have a way to deal with those feelings. But if we live in a world that is maliciously destroyed and where people try to spread dread, sharing the good stories, the inspiring positive stories, the utopian ideas, and the art that makes you feel something is a rebellious act.
It’s a way to remind us that even if the times are currently bad, change, a better world, and even if it is just a slightly better world, is possible.
This is the reason I try to reduce the bad things I post. You will still see enough of them. But I want to share optimism, small acts of joy. Maybe not a utopia, but a signal that there are still good things. If we all tried this, the bad things wouldn’t go away immediately, but instead of seeing no future, we could start to dream again.
Now it might be a dream, but a dream that can help to see a positive future, that gives someone the power for another act of kindness, or change, or so much more. And another, and another. And maybe the dream changes a little but is becoming true, one little step at a time.
And if you tend to say it’s all without hope, it will not fix thing X, it’s too slow or any other reason. What do we have to lose in the current state of the world. Let’s at least give it a try!
This was a thread on mastodon: https://chaos.social/@leah/116052359569933546