The Toxicity of the Internet is getting to me

I am caught up in two minds, to get off it or stay. Trust me there is no middle place.

The irony of the world today, is that you pay for your own internet connection to get flabbergasted by other people's opinions and ideologies. It seems like crime deserving of punishment, to use the follow, like and subscribe buttons at our friends request only to be annoyed at the rhetoric and banter which many a times would have been treated as abnormal or absurd in the real, physical world. On a daily, we are being held against our will in the name of getting that dreaded disease that has gripped the entire world. The "being left out" syndrome.

I am literally going crazy with what's on social these days. I think I would have rather preferred the closed rooms and secret societies, you know, the ones that wore pointed white hooded robes, burnt crosses and discussed the elimination of races without many knowing. The ones that followed a plan and implemented it in shocking and devastating results, much to the disgust of many. I would have preferred that because my days would be much spent on doing what I love doing without the constant need to check, be alerted or even disappointed at what constitutes as discussions, chats and banter as people go about chasing clout.

While I write this, I am cognisant that I too am adding upon this digital footprint with my thoughts and "wisdom" of all things that I see as wrong in this world. It seems that I too have no place to go than here. This is my choice of platform while others chose their own. Such is the way of the world in 2021.

Truth is, today, we do more of looking than doing. Talking more than walking and since everyone has the power to talk, write, blog, podcast, act or sing, professionally or otherwise, the onus has been removed (to some extent) from the people that used to make it their business. As a journalist. I find it extremely hard to shape a community that I would have, years ago.

There are just too many opinions and "facts" out there. Nobody knows what that actually means anymore. I feel the anger rising up, mistrust building and what matters is not addressed anymore. It's as if someone talks about it on social media, it loses its value as opposed to when it is written or addressed on platforms such as a newspaper or a radio show.

The world has not been kind to people. The perfect life that we think others have while we wonder why we did not get the same, is an illusion. I strongly think that there is a portion of hurt and struggles, no matter how different to the other it may be, that is allocated to each and every individual who resides on earth. Even to the richest of the rich, the ones in polls and latest wealthiest reports. They too have their own share of problems. Theirs could be too complex than money.

And so as everyone goes about chasing for that elusive happy place on all platforms known to men, we tend to consume more of it daily, further inhabiting our social and physical well-being (inadvertently enriching others) and sadly, losing touch with what it is to be human.

We cant forgive those who err because we want to tweet about it and get reactions and responses from it. The writer or publisher makes many (dignity defying) errors because we want to be the first on the list of tweets, re-posts and likes. It is a whole fucken nightmare! A whole nation of individuals whose hatred was tucked under the unavailability of social media and reduced to dark ally conversations are now being loosely thrown in the dirty social streets to breed and stir up emotions. It is a tool that even the powerful and rich is using to see to it their desired end.

I am getting tired of the world we are living in, generally. I mean that in no bad, dark way but because there is absolutely nothing that they sell to us in the ads and books that is the ultimate life! In my 39 years of existence I have "quickly" realised that a man (plus a woman) quickly needs to build upon his own little piece of heaven. One equipped with nothing more than the two and their children (if you have any).

No cellphones, no cellphone reception and no visitors or influence from the rest of the world. This is the ultimate life because the rest are distractions that you want but don't really need for life.

Over the holidays, I pretended to be experiencing problems with my wifi connection and booted everybody out just so I could spend a nice relaxed, physical moment with my entire family. It worked. In a matter of minutes, we where we sharing stories, hiding from the sun under the peach tree until the broken record, "what's wrong with the wifi connection" eventually died down. I knew that the whole Easter holiday would have been faces stuck on their screens and nothing to show for it afterwards if that network was working perfectly. I can now safely tell you the number of black spots on my wife's body, 13. That, I would have never found out on any social media platform, save for the future when I cannot recollect and dig out this piece. We need to unplug ourselves.

TO BE CONTINUED.......