You're right Andrew. There is no point arguing with fantasists. They want the world of their fantasies not the world as it actually is. Because in that fantasy world they are the goodies, the defenders, the morally pure. They can't engage with reality. After all in the real world they might eventually, in the words of the brilliant Mitchell and Webb sketch, have to ask 'are we the baddies?'
Glad to see that I am not the only one logging less and less into social media much (except for Substack).
And I never debate with anyone that disagrees with me anymore as it is a waste of time as we inevitably agree on 9/10 of today’s issues, or they are a flaming idiot.
I deleted all my social media a few months ago and never been happier. Honestly there was a rough period at first - a larger-than-expected proportion of my “friends” disappeared when they discovered keeping up a friendship with me now required slightly more effort than an Instagram like.
However now:
- I spend more time reading (actual books) and other hobbies IRL that are healthier for me
- I’m far happier, more chilled out, and my attention span is longer (I put it down to being less exposed to rage bait, AI and just general weirdness as you describe in the article)
- I’m spending less money because I’m not bombarded with ads all the time
- I have better relationships with my family and friends because I spend my time with them fully engaged and not head buried in my phone
- My friendship circle has been pruned to those who actually care about me beyond a surface level
- When I speak to those friends in real life we have much more to talk about
All massively outweighs the very minor positives of social media (which for me were contact with far-away friends and family, and keeping up to date with local events and businesses). I’m getting along absolutely fine without those things and wouldn’t go back to any social media for the world.
Understand it’s probably far more difficult to completely detox from it as a public figure but I highly, highly recommend it.
Mr Doyle is a legend. Pig/turnip analogy is priceless. And I agree about social media. X is just a swamp of angry idiots with the occasional adult thrashing into a descent into labyrinthine psychopathology.
This post is sane and based in recognisable reality. To read simple truths feels almost iconoclastic - a measure of how far adrift we are on the sea of wacky
Insightful piece. The man singing about fascism is almost certainly yearning for tribal approval. Social media just turns his private delusions into public performance, which is why the narcissistic are so often the ignorant. If he’d been around in 1930s Berlin, he’d be penning odes to Hitler.
You're right Andrew. There is no point arguing with fantasists. They want the world of their fantasies not the world as it actually is. Because in that fantasy world they are the goodies, the defenders, the morally pure. They can't engage with reality. After all in the real world they might eventually, in the words of the brilliant Mitchell and Webb sketch, have to ask 'are we the baddies?'
Glad to see that I am not the only one logging less and less into social media much (except for Substack).
And I never debate with anyone that disagrees with me anymore as it is a waste of time as we inevitably agree on 9/10 of today’s issues, or they are a flaming idiot.
I deleted all my social media a few months ago and never been happier. Honestly there was a rough period at first - a larger-than-expected proportion of my “friends” disappeared when they discovered keeping up a friendship with me now required slightly more effort than an Instagram like.
However now:
- I spend more time reading (actual books) and other hobbies IRL that are healthier for me
- I’m far happier, more chilled out, and my attention span is longer (I put it down to being less exposed to rage bait, AI and just general weirdness as you describe in the article)
- I’m spending less money because I’m not bombarded with ads all the time
- I have better relationships with my family and friends because I spend my time with them fully engaged and not head buried in my phone
- My friendship circle has been pruned to those who actually care about me beyond a surface level
- When I speak to those friends in real life we have much more to talk about
All massively outweighs the very minor positives of social media (which for me were contact with far-away friends and family, and keeping up to date with local events and businesses). I’m getting along absolutely fine without those things and wouldn’t go back to any social media for the world.
Understand it’s probably far more difficult to completely detox from it as a public figure but I highly, highly recommend it.
Mr Doyle is a legend. Pig/turnip analogy is priceless. And I agree about social media. X is just a swamp of angry idiots with the occasional adult thrashing into a descent into labyrinthine psychopathology.
This post is sane and based in recognisable reality. To read simple truths feels almost iconoclastic - a measure of how far adrift we are on the sea of wacky
Haha. Love your articles, nobody does it better.
Insightful piece. The man singing about fascism is almost certainly yearning for tribal approval. Social media just turns his private delusions into public performance, which is why the narcissistic are so often the ignorant. If he’d been around in 1930s Berlin, he’d be penning odes to Hitler.