The Internet would be a better place if we all stopped feeding the trolls with our attention which is now money. Ignore and move on
One of my favorite podcasters (C. Derek Varn) finished his podcasts reminding his listeners to “Protect Your Peace”. There are several ways of doing this. This post is one way. Minneapolis is doing it a different way.
First off, punch fascists, don’t ignore them.
But a not insignificant part of why we are where we are right now is because of information bubbles that are created with social media, compounded by behaviour instead of talking it over in real life, people rage at each other on the internet.
people rage at each other on the internet.
I do not need to accept that behavior.
I’m conflicted on this because if you block enough of people opposed to you, you end up lacking any insight into what they are actually doing.
My own personal mental health has taken a hit because I feel a need to bear witness. And its all… a lot
She’s not talking about people with opposing views, she’s talking about drama queens, trolls, and all the other louts.
She’s right.
This is a good way to create echo-chambers. But hey it is good advice when used with nuance.
“ackshually you have to listen to the miserable fuckwads or you’re in an echo chamber” well good thing this post just provided some great advice
Actually you DO NEED to engage in a few bouts to assess how miserable they are to decide whether it’s worth it to continue a conversation.
Otherwise you’re just another wannabe despot (like Trump) who likes to listen to themselves & thinks the world revolves around them.
It’s difficult to check whether the person you’re arguing is doing it in bad faith or because they’re really engaging in discussion with you.
Blocking is the key to not being miserable on social media. Its okay to just be here for the memes. I dont block for disagreement, but rather how they act
I dont block for disagreement, but rather how they act
This is the key point, blocking is a tool for curating the experience you get. If you block for disagreement you get an echo chamber, if you block based on behavior you get peace.
Excellent insight, friend :)
me tolerating the most negative person I’ve met in an online gaming group because they’re friends with someone (and idek how)
yeah I needed to hear that
Excellent advice.
And it’s often a service for the person you’re blocking too: you’re saving them from having to see your opinions, which might infuriate them pointlessly.
I agree with many people ITT that overuse of blocks could create echochambers, however I still think that blocks are an underused feature of social media. These days much online content is not designed for discourse, it is designed for engagement. Rage bait, over sensualisation, even trolls farming frustration for their hit of endorphins. These are the kinds of people (and content outlets in general) which should be blocked.
But to be clear, not everyone who disagrees with you is a troll, or trying to rage bait.
It’s called curating your community/feed.
By doing this, you get to shape it based on what you want, if you created an echo chamber, it’s because you WANTED an echo chamber.
Or at the very least don’t engage. I understand the temptation, and I sometimes can’t resist, but generally it’s not worth it.
I don’t really block much or at all. I’d rather see what they’re saying, but I have been online a long time as well, and have a thicker skin. If you are affected by online users to a detrimental degree there’s no shame in walking away, ignoring, or blocking.
Look out for yourself.
I only block when I know I am unable to resist the temptation to engage. And usually when I do finally block, I wish I’d done it much sooner.
I’ll generally argue with someone I disagree with online, and see if they’ll listen to reason. Maybe they’ll change their mind, or present new information or a perspective I haven’t considered and I’ll gain understanding and change my mind.
I only block people who are incapable of arguing in good faith.
After all, what’s the point of civic discourse if we’re all only talking to people we agree with? It’s just preaching to the choir, and creates epistemic bubbles.
After all, what’s the point of civic discourse if we’re all only talking to people we agree with? It’s just preaching to the choir, and creates epistemic bubbles.
I agree, but sometimes it becomes a matter of picking your battles.
That’s why I block people who demonstrate that they’re either incapable or unwilling to have a good faith discussion.
Of course it raises my blood pressure a bit in the meantime while I convince myself they’re not worth my time. Sometimes I’ll keep arguing until it reaches a dead end or goes in endless circles, just for the sake of anyone reading the comments. Not everyone has to go that far, of course. It’s quite annoying and gives me apoplexy at times.
How often do you think you reach such a point?
So far I’ve blocked six users and I only made my account 25 days ago. Unless there’s an infinite number of trolls like there is on reddit, the block rate should start leveling off once most of them are blocked.
If they’re just an asshole I just tag them with flair, so I can still see if they’re giving someone a hard time and I can come to the person’s defence.
I also block any .ml communities that pop up in my feed, so that probably cuts down on my encounters with tankies. I instance blocked lemmy.ml but that doesn’t stop them from showing up for some reason.
Yeah, as I’ve gotten older I no longer harbor right wing politics or talking points. Police apologia? Blocked. Pro capitalist talking points? Go jump in the orphan grinder 5000. Billionaires are smarter, better people? To the salt mines. If you’re still arguing against progressive policies and ideals you’re not of use arguing, you’ve already chosen to disregard any evidence to the contrary.
True. Since I started using piefed I’ve been negatively curating my all feed by just blocking everything that is the least bit annoying or not entertaining. It’s much better.
You don’t owe internet people the ability to spam your feed or subject you to their moronic takes.
Also, like, in general, your interactions with these people mean literally nothing. Wasting time replying to them or trying to one up them or dunk on them does nothing but drag you into the miasma of their meaningless bickering.
Also, like, in general, your interactions with these people mean literally nothing. Wasting time replying to them or trying to one up them or dunk on them does nothing but drag you into the miasma of their meaningless bickering.
This is something I need to remind myself of every now and then 😌
I’m a fan of the “downvote and move on” tactic, but it seems to be pretty common sentiment among lemmy mods that this is the opposite of what you should do.
I try and block all kinds of stuff. The ideal is that if I would be down-voting many things in a community I should just leave them in peace.
if you don’t like me, please block me.
Are you a fool, a bore or a drama starter?
There are plenty of people I don’t like on the web, but who I can talk to in a calm, rational way because while they aren’t nice people, they are relatively rational people. They are people you can have reasonable discussions with, even if you entirely disagree with them.
But there are also plenty of people on the web who I’ve found I just can’t talk to because they are not rational. They just… okay, imagine I am waving my hands in a slightly aggravated manner and going “urgh!” because that’s really the only way I can describe trying to interact with them.
The OP (not me - the OP from the post) isn’t suggesting you block everyone you encounter. Just those who will not be good for your mental wellbeing.
And I have to say - having encountered quite a lot of people who were not good for my mental wellbeing, I find it hard to disagree with them :)
i have experience and perspective and opinions. when i see people i agree with, i’m less inclined to comment. if i feel i can correct someone or point out a flawed premise, i’m highly inclined to do so. most people don’t like having their unspoken beliefs questioned, and that has led, often, to being called a troll or similar.
am i a fool, bore, or drama starter? i suppose that is up to the people i encounter.
my comment wasn’t to you but it was for you, and anyone else. most of my comments have no expectation that anyone will respond, i’m just pointing out, as i said, incorrect or flawed statements.
When someone tells who they are listen. That comment without elaboration is a long line troll. You took the bait.
thanks for the reminder! <3
bye
Amen. Wise words.
