On a Cloud

Do you know what I hate about social media platforms these days? Those “For You” tabs. I hate seeing things I’m not interested in on my feed. If I wanted to learn about the topics suggested, I would rather search for them. I don’t want to be force-fed these things. I hate how in some platforms these suggested posts are even stuck between those of people you follow. They end up drowning out the posts that I was there for in the first place. It’s annoying. Especially since most of what I have seen on the feed these days have been doomsday posts.  The kind that tries to scare people into believing that we are in imminent danger, and we don’t even know it. Posts that warn us that life as we know it is going to change drastically and that there's nothing we can do about it.

I don’t know what is going on with people but so many posts are about the world coming to an end in some way or another. An example is how rich people are doomsday prepping with underground bunkers. Some posts talk about World War 3. Others talk about the end of the planet due to a variety of natural disasters. Or aliens (yes, the rabbit hole has gone that far). It’s all so negative and depressing that I find myself blocking the accounts that are posting them.  I don’t want them in my feed. I don’t want to make them a part of my day (or my life, for that matter). 

It’s not that I’m being naive and think everything is fine with the world. I know it’s not. But dwelling on the negative things is not going to change anything. All it is doing is scaring people and creating this defeatist attitude, I don’t see why we should be watching them. Unless it causes a positive movement due to the concern about them, I can’t encourage watching them. Those things can leave you scared and paranoid if you allow them to get into your head. It can drive you crazy! 

Besides, not everything said on those posts is real. Some may have a bit of basis in fact, but everything else is blown out of proportion for the shock factor. For clickbait. I know some of them are even ideas from way back before the internet. One example is the three days of darkness idea. I’ve heard that since I was in elementary school. It’s a rumor/idea that keeps getting resurrected without anything ever happening.  

It is important to be discerning (and rational) when seeing these doomsday posts. Don’t believe them right away (or at all). If you have any concerns, look at other sources to verify before believing anything. If people can use the internet for fearmongering, we can also use it to protect ourselves. Let's use it to become better informed before we panic about anything. We should learn more before trusting instead of spreading the (mis)information to others.  

When I see these doomsday posts I try to skip on them as much as I can. I even click the “Not Interested” button on TikTok. Sometimes some videos don’t look like doomsday posts until the end though so it can be tricky. Some even look like legitimate news videos and can be AI generated. Once I realize what they are though, I block or skip right away.  

Even if there is a glimmer of truth in the scary things they are saying, I’d rather learn about it elsewhere. From sources I trust. Plus, I can’t waste my time on something that I cannot change. There are some things said in these doomsday posts that are beyond our control anyway. And if that's the case, why put too much thought and time into it right?  

As the Prayer for Serenity goes: God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. If I can’t change it, I will accept it. If I can, I’ll do something about it. That’s the best we can do anyway.