For me it might depend.
The internet is good in forming communities for all sort of niches. David Foster Wallace fans. Slavoj ZIzek readers. And so and and so on....(I wonder whether someone gets this joke...)
I think on many issues I am not all that radical. Politically I have trust in many democratic institutions. The internet gives me access to popular journals, magazines and newspapers.
I consumed some more extreme content from niche media outlets. RT before it was blocked (ZIzek had a show), Fox News, and some German outlets.
I use Youtube and chatbots to find lectures on the internet. And there are so many gems with barely any views. Also on Youtube. Stuff where I am totally baffled it has a couple hundred views.
I think on the Palestine-Israel conflict I don't hold the average German position. But compared to many international activits my takes on Israel are relatively harmless. I think some comparisons Slavoj ZIzek does when talking about this conflict. I think in Germany he probably had to pay a fine for them. I assume such takes are too popular internationally to deplatform all of them from German outlets. But honestly I think a German newspaper would never publish such a piece. Or extremely rarely. Comparing Israel with Nazi Germany. Something Zizek does. That's potentially illegal where I live.
Or questioning the right of Israel to exist. I think could also be illegal.
I think being on here. Maybe I am guilty to be extreme. I have a couple of thousand posts on a pro-choice forum that is hated by the rest of the world/internet. I am in the 0,024% of members with the most posts. But on here I am a moderate. And try encourage other people to give recovery a chance.
The frequency and length of my outpout is probably extreme. Where would all this energy go without the internet? I think the internet is a great gift for me. I lack the social battery for meeting people on a daily basis. It makes me feel way worse. The internet gives me access to the world, to a community and comfort without having to go through the process of extreme overthinking that accompanies meet-ups in real life. The anonymity shields me from the societal pressure.
But honestly I am not sure. If the internet didn't exist. Maybe I would be a little bit better in dealing with social contacts out of necessity. But that's speculation. The society would also be completely different. My grandma lived her whole life in hospitals being insane. She seemingly had sex and drug parties. But my relatives usually don't talk about it. I cannot imagine taking drugs and have sex parties. But maybe this would be a different valve or different drug. The excessive usage of the internet is sort of a drug. Maybe I had to look for different drugs. I could imagine otherwise self-harm would be an option for me. But the internet has the least side effects for me. It is speculative eventually. I wonder whether the rules on SaSu are reversed compared to social media. We don't compete who has the best and most exciting life. Instead one could assume we were competing who has the worst life, who can put their suffering into the best form (of writing), who suffers the most, who self-loaths the most. But I think this would be way too simplified. The dynamics on here are far more complex. But I won't elaborate. I should take a rest.
What about you?
The internet is good in forming communities for all sort of niches. David Foster Wallace fans. Slavoj ZIzek readers. And so and and so on....(I wonder whether someone gets this joke...)
I think on many issues I am not all that radical. Politically I have trust in many democratic institutions. The internet gives me access to popular journals, magazines and newspapers.
I consumed some more extreme content from niche media outlets. RT before it was blocked (ZIzek had a show), Fox News, and some German outlets.
I use Youtube and chatbots to find lectures on the internet. And there are so many gems with barely any views. Also on Youtube. Stuff where I am totally baffled it has a couple hundred views.
I think on the Palestine-Israel conflict I don't hold the average German position. But compared to many international activits my takes on Israel are relatively harmless. I think some comparisons Slavoj ZIzek does when talking about this conflict. I think in Germany he probably had to pay a fine for them. I assume such takes are too popular internationally to deplatform all of them from German outlets. But honestly I think a German newspaper would never publish such a piece. Or extremely rarely. Comparing Israel with Nazi Germany. Something Zizek does. That's potentially illegal where I live.
Or questioning the right of Israel to exist. I think could also be illegal.
I think being on here. Maybe I am guilty to be extreme. I have a couple of thousand posts on a pro-choice forum that is hated by the rest of the world/internet. I am in the 0,024% of members with the most posts. But on here I am a moderate. And try encourage other people to give recovery a chance.
The frequency and length of my outpout is probably extreme. Where would all this energy go without the internet? I think the internet is a great gift for me. I lack the social battery for meeting people on a daily basis. It makes me feel way worse. The internet gives me access to the world, to a community and comfort without having to go through the process of extreme overthinking that accompanies meet-ups in real life. The anonymity shields me from the societal pressure.
But honestly I am not sure. If the internet didn't exist. Maybe I would be a little bit better in dealing with social contacts out of necessity. But that's speculation. The society would also be completely different. My grandma lived her whole life in hospitals being insane. She seemingly had sex and drug parties. But my relatives usually don't talk about it. I cannot imagine taking drugs and have sex parties. But maybe this would be a different valve or different drug. The excessive usage of the internet is sort of a drug. Maybe I had to look for different drugs. I could imagine otherwise self-harm would be an option for me. But the internet has the least side effects for me. It is speculative eventually. I wonder whether the rules on SaSu are reversed compared to social media. We don't compete who has the best and most exciting life. Instead one could assume we were competing who has the worst life, who can put their suffering into the best form (of writing), who suffers the most, who self-loaths the most. But I think this would be way too simplified. The dynamics on here are far more complex. But I won't elaborate. I should take a rest.
What about you?
Last edited:
