I think you’re describing an important step of online mental hygiene. The reality is that humans have not evolved with the daily emotional bandwidth necessary for one to handle a planet’s worth of grief responsibly and without inuring oneself to others’ suffering.
I’ve seen people criticize this as head-in-sand, that you should remain available to amplify voices and causes in online discourse (especially theirs). I see that criticism as unthoughtful, bordering on unkind, and a critical problem with how we do online advocacy.
(Aside: “conflict” appears twice in keyword list, which has no effect now but can cause unexpected behavior later)
I’ve experienced that criticism. To that I say I already know where I stand on these political issues and I’ll amplify (and have amplified) voices I want amplified. Regardless of how much I filter out, the dust on the upper crust of world news still makes its way to me in some way or another so I’ll always have a general idea of what’s going on. I just don’t need to know every tiny detail about the trillionth example of the dregs of human nature.
Living out from under that black cloud is truly liberating and I highly recommend anyone reading this to establish a filter list and block any communities that regularly kill your mood.
I think you’re describing an important step of online mental hygiene. The reality is that humans have not evolved with the daily emotional bandwidth necessary for one to handle a planet’s worth of grief responsibly and without inuring oneself to others’ suffering.
I’ve seen people criticize this as head-in-sand, that you should remain available to amplify voices and causes in online discourse (especially theirs). I see that criticism as unthoughtful, bordering on unkind, and a critical problem with how we do online advocacy.
(Aside: “conflict” appears twice in keyword list, which has no effect now but can cause unexpected behavior later)
I’ve experienced that criticism. To that I say I already know where I stand on these political issues and I’ll amplify (and have amplified) voices I want amplified. Regardless of how much I filter out, the dust on the upper crust of world news still makes its way to me in some way or another so I’ll always have a general idea of what’s going on. I just don’t need to know every tiny detail about the trillionth example of the dregs of human nature.
Living out from under that black cloud is truly liberating and I highly recommend anyone reading this to establish a filter list and block any communities that regularly kill your mood.