I'm concerned one day one of your many hyperlinks will refer back to your substack and I won't be able to exit the article and nobody will be around to press Ctrl+C.
Huge +1 for the Godspeed You! Black Emperor reference. I'm obsessed with that dialogue, and the moment I read that, a cold chill went up my spine. Great article as usual!
Wow, Benn... From the perspective of someone who doesn't look at Twitter or care about what people are saying on social media, the world is, in many ways, looking pretty normal. Maybe it's time to cold turkey that bubble?
So I get it and know this is a kind of throwaway line about touching grass and all that, which, sure. But, I also think this discounts how very real the internet actually is. For better or for worse, the internet is where we as a society live now. To say the world outside of it is normal is akin to saying that, in 2020, rural Montana is pretty normal. It's not wrong, but that's not where people live. (Now, maybe we'd all be better off without Twitter and things like it; I think we probably would. But that's not the world we have, sadly.)
Nov 21, 2022·edited Nov 21, 2022Liked by Benn Stancil
yeah, this is probably a better conversation over a beer sometime. :) Too much nuance. the world may be all on the internet, but there is really good reason to believe that Twitter provides a poor representation of the state of the world and what the world's problems are. Accessibility bias is powerful and it can be hard to spot. Switching contexts can be helpful there. But hey, you do you. Only wishing the best for you, Benn.
Fair, certainly don't think Twitter is good representation of the world beyond it. But, I think I'd also say the opposite is true: the offline world isn't a good representation of what happens online - and both have very material effect on people's well-being.
Hugs Benn
stay off the internet kids
I'm concerned one day one of your many hyperlinks will refer back to your substack and I won't be able to exit the article and nobody will be around to press Ctrl+C.
There will be one escape hatch, probably to a Billie Eilish music video.
Hi there, long-time listener, first-time caller. Love your blog, and love this post as an avid void-screamer myself. Just wanted to mention that "peanut gallery" might be a phrase to do away with: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/commonly-terms-racist-origins/story?id=71840410
well damn. I had no idea; thanks for sharing.
Best commentary on the situation I've yet seen!
Huge +1 for the Godspeed You! Black Emperor reference. I'm obsessed with that dialogue, and the moment I read that, a cold chill went up my spine. Great article as usual!
The best ever use of that song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeKC7cH1-kI
https://www.sbnation.com/2014/1/30/5351052/breaking-madden-super-bowl-broncos-seahawks
Welcome to the #metacrisis (hey, at least it has a catchy name).
As always, I applaud you for your willingness to stare into the abyss so eloquently.
Today, I also grieve for you, and with you.
I do believe there is hope, but only on the Other Side of the abyss of infinite nothingness. Let me know when you feel like exploring it together....
i mean, the world is probably better off without all of this nonsense, so why not, burn it down.
Wow, Benn... From the perspective of someone who doesn't look at Twitter or care about what people are saying on social media, the world is, in many ways, looking pretty normal. Maybe it's time to cold turkey that bubble?
So I get it and know this is a kind of throwaway line about touching grass and all that, which, sure. But, I also think this discounts how very real the internet actually is. For better or for worse, the internet is where we as a society live now. To say the world outside of it is normal is akin to saying that, in 2020, rural Montana is pretty normal. It's not wrong, but that's not where people live. (Now, maybe we'd all be better off without Twitter and things like it; I think we probably would. But that's not the world we have, sadly.)
yeah, this is probably a better conversation over a beer sometime. :) Too much nuance. the world may be all on the internet, but there is really good reason to believe that Twitter provides a poor representation of the state of the world and what the world's problems are. Accessibility bias is powerful and it can be hard to spot. Switching contexts can be helpful there. But hey, you do you. Only wishing the best for you, Benn.
Fair, certainly don't think Twitter is good representation of the world beyond it. But, I think I'd also say the opposite is true: the offline world isn't a good representation of what happens online - and both have very material effect on people's well-being.
Hope you have a chill weekend Benn! This playlist might help: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2gvrqMgEz3Jz1vtLkqXLCZ?si=7AJ2qUrbTK6vinP9AHU5FA