Stop Saying “IRL”- The Internet is Real Life Now
Stop Saying “IRL”- The Internet is Real Life Now
It’s 2020, and “IRL” vs “on the internet” is no longer an apt description. Most political stories involve something the president said on Twitter, most of my social life is mediated by wires and signals. The work from home revolution has begun. There’s no possible future where we upload ourselves to the internet, it’s our present.
(Image credit: Rebekka Dunlap)
Connected Culture
As an example of our transition into the digital realm, I predict much of political debate in the near future will involve social media and censorship. Twitter has stepped up to hide a Trump tweet that glorified violence against protesters. Initially, it seemed like Facebook was trying to avoid controversy, as it let Trump’s post stay up. Swiftly, FB seems to have done an about face, as they took down Trump ads that featured a Nazi symbol.
What the hell is Trump’s campaign doing using Nazi symbols? Here’s the ad.
The admin claims that the upside down red triangle is an Antifa signal. However, when you Google “Antifa logo” you get an image of flags, and the only red triangle shown is in reference to this ad. My theory? This is deliberate, the admin knew the post would get taken down immediately and they’d be able to cry censorship. This confirms their narrative that the media is biased, and further discredits people’s trust in the media.
So what do we do about censorship?
The internet needs some censorship. There’s a reason 4chan, 8chan and Voat are cesspools, we need to be able to browse the web without seeing gore or blatant hate speech. One proposed way of dealing with this problem is giving everyone a filter of what they want to see on their various social media sites. Facebook is already applying this, it now lets users pick if they want to see political ads. This doesn’t solve the issue, however. Facebook isn’t doing anything about political misinformation posts, which are a more pressing problem than ads.
Digital Health
The reality of becoming a digital minimalist is that you will, at some point, back slide. This is totally normal, and it’s happening to me. Lately I’ve been depressed, which has led me to be on my phone more than I’d like. When this happens, the goal is to be aware. Don’t beat yourself up, just notice when you’ve slipped into mindless browsing and take a note of how you feel.
I’ve started a journal where I write down any observations and patterns I notice about my internet use. Journaling is a great way to tap into our inner processes.
-Madi
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