If for some reason your submitted piece from August did not make it into any of these three parts, (check thoroughly), it was likely obliterated by Gmail’s spam filters and, if so, I apologize for that. Please re-send it so I know what I missed and I'll try to figure out a way to share it.
Thank you for taking the time to read. I appreciated that you got my intent in the piece. Your Substack covers a very broad range of topics and themes. It is very hard to do.
A lot of anti therapy, anti happiness, anti social media writing in this one. I haven't read them all as deeply as their due, and I'm a more than a little skeptical about their premises, but my main question is why is it that social media makes us feel bad? My hunch is that it isn't so much that individual self expression (rather than repression) is bad for you, but that absorbing the expression of others, in many instances, can be. That would explain why when I read a really vituperative political opinion online, even when it doesn't affect me, and sometimes even when I agree with it, I feel like I'm being judged. It's hard to shake that feeling (Substack has been bad for my mental health, though The Intrinsic Perspective might be a net positive)
I've noticed that reading perspectives with which I agree *too often* is as enervating as seeing objectionable ones. My attempts to fathom this boil down to it being an example of complexity, with emergent effects arising from combinations of affect. It's hard to express this coherently because it's thoughts in progress. For example, I've just published a piece suggesting that ego, or vanity, is overlooked but significant in the 'sensemaking crisis'. I'd like to see more thoughts of yours arising from your comment. It seems valuable. (Another naive thought is that certain *emotional* topics (eg almost all of politics, but also anything which conveys an emotional state from writer to reader) drain a lot of energy, which has a mood-flattening effect.
The simplest, most concise version I've settled upon is that comparison is the thief of joy. Social media opens many, many doors and windows for us to look through and invariably someone who is more successful in some facet where we are failing short becomes visible. With repeated exposure, this comparison and contrast chip away at us, even if we rationally know better. Like in War Games, the only winning move is to not play; limit usage and exposure accordingly.
Have been having a crazy few weeks and am just now catching up on reading and commenting... Thanks so much for including my poem, and for the kind word! I quite like the idea of a techno-pastoral. And, yet again, what a great and fascinating selection of pieces! Still working my way through them, but really blown away!
This is a remarkable list, in its breadth. I want to read so many of these that my inbox will feel like a neglected and scolding presence. Thanks for reading and recommending so thoughtfully, though.
Erik, thank you so much for your generosity and thoughtfulness in proposing and carrying out this project! Yes, thanks to you I finally made my first post to Substack! May I gain momentum at exponential speed in 2024! I have an awful lot to post. Thank you for sharing and introducing me to such a fine community of human beings!
If for some reason your submitted piece from August did not make it into any of these three parts, (check thoroughly), it was likely obliterated by Gmail’s spam filters and, if so, I apologize for that. Please re-send it so I know what I missed and I'll try to figure out a way to share it.
Thank you for taking the time to read. I appreciated that you got my intent in the piece. Your Substack covers a very broad range of topics and themes. It is very hard to do.
Agreed. Thanks for taking the time, Eric. This series has been really cool and has introduced me to a lot of great (undiscovered) writers
A lot of anti therapy, anti happiness, anti social media writing in this one. I haven't read them all as deeply as their due, and I'm a more than a little skeptical about their premises, but my main question is why is it that social media makes us feel bad? My hunch is that it isn't so much that individual self expression (rather than repression) is bad for you, but that absorbing the expression of others, in many instances, can be. That would explain why when I read a really vituperative political opinion online, even when it doesn't affect me, and sometimes even when I agree with it, I feel like I'm being judged. It's hard to shake that feeling (Substack has been bad for my mental health, though The Intrinsic Perspective might be a net positive)
I've noticed that reading perspectives with which I agree *too often* is as enervating as seeing objectionable ones. My attempts to fathom this boil down to it being an example of complexity, with emergent effects arising from combinations of affect. It's hard to express this coherently because it's thoughts in progress. For example, I've just published a piece suggesting that ego, or vanity, is overlooked but significant in the 'sensemaking crisis'. I'd like to see more thoughts of yours arising from your comment. It seems valuable. (Another naive thought is that certain *emotional* topics (eg almost all of politics, but also anything which conveys an emotional state from writer to reader) drain a lot of energy, which has a mood-flattening effect.
The simplest, most concise version I've settled upon is that comparison is the thief of joy. Social media opens many, many doors and windows for us to look through and invariably someone who is more successful in some facet where we are failing short becomes visible. With repeated exposure, this comparison and contrast chip away at us, even if we rationally know better. Like in War Games, the only winning move is to not play; limit usage and exposure accordingly.
Have been having a crazy few weeks and am just now catching up on reading and commenting... Thanks so much for including my poem, and for the kind word! I quite like the idea of a techno-pastoral. And, yet again, what a great and fascinating selection of pieces! Still working my way through them, but really blown away!
This is a remarkable list, in its breadth. I want to read so many of these that my inbox will feel like a neglected and scolding presence. Thanks for reading and recommending so thoughtfully, though.
I picked 10 good new essays from this to read and enjoy. Thanks for sharing, Erik!
Erik, thank you so much for your generosity and thoughtfulness in proposing and carrying out this project! Yes, thanks to you I finally made my first post to Substack! May I gain momentum at exponential speed in 2024! I have an awful lot to post. Thank you for sharing and introducing me to such a fine community of human beings!
Thanks for including me - honored to have made the list!