I had a similar wakeup call a couple of years back.
I'd become really invested in online communities on Twitter, Reddit and Discord. Like others participating, I was becoming increasingly radicalised to the dominant group opinions there, and my world view was being gradually reshaped by every interaction with these echo chambers. I was repeating what I read there to friends and family offline, much to their bemusement. It was addictive and consuming!
My trigger point for escaping this was unintentional. These happened to be a series of 'left-wing' online spaces (though what I'm about to write could occur anywhere really), and I was becoming increasingly internally critical of some of the dogma. After a certain incident on Reddit, where a moderator of a high-profile subreddit was banned site-wide for linking to a critical article about a Reddit admin, I posed a question on the Discord: what if this admin wasn't really what they say they are?
The reaction was swift and fierce - people I'd talked nicely and comradely with for months and years lining up to shout down my question, calling it offensive, sending me insults, calling me a bigot. I was then banned from the server.
This surprised and upset me to begin with, but then I started questioning myself and my motivations. Why was I so bothered about this? Why had I invested so much of my time and energy into these communities? Why would simply asking a question cause such a calamity? Did any of this really matter? Was engaging with any of this having a positive effect on anyone, including myself?
Over time, this led to two major changes in how I approached using the internet. Firstly, attempting to broaden my mind to consider other views and opinions, avoiding dogma and narrow thinking (this is still in progress!). Secondly, not being as tied to accounts and identities online - I deleted or deactivated all my social media accounts, and now just create throwaways whenever I get a desire to comment. This helps me feel that I can walk away whenever I want to or need to.
That said, I've found I still can't give up entirely on consuming social media, it's too addictive. But I hope this is a step in the right direction.
I hope my sharing of these insights provides some value to others who may be experiencing similar.
I'd become really invested in online communities on Twitter, Reddit and Discord. Like others participating, I was becoming increasingly radicalised to the dominant group opinions there, and my world view was being gradually reshaped by every interaction with these echo chambers. I was repeating what I read there to friends and family offline, much to their bemusement. It was addictive and consuming!
My trigger point for escaping this was unintentional. These happened to be a series of 'left-wing' online spaces (though what I'm about to write could occur anywhere really), and I was becoming increasingly internally critical of some of the dogma. After a certain incident on Reddit, where a moderator of a high-profile subreddit was banned site-wide for linking to a critical article about a Reddit admin, I posed a question on the Discord: what if this admin wasn't really what they say they are?
The reaction was swift and fierce - people I'd talked nicely and comradely with for months and years lining up to shout down my question, calling it offensive, sending me insults, calling me a bigot. I was then banned from the server.
This surprised and upset me to begin with, but then I started questioning myself and my motivations. Why was I so bothered about this? Why had I invested so much of my time and energy into these communities? Why would simply asking a question cause such a calamity? Did any of this really matter? Was engaging with any of this having a positive effect on anyone, including myself?
Over time, this led to two major changes in how I approached using the internet. Firstly, attempting to broaden my mind to consider other views and opinions, avoiding dogma and narrow thinking (this is still in progress!). Secondly, not being as tied to accounts and identities online - I deleted or deactivated all my social media accounts, and now just create throwaways whenever I get a desire to comment. This helps me feel that I can walk away whenever I want to or need to.
That said, I've found I still can't give up entirely on consuming social media, it's too addictive. But I hope this is a step in the right direction.
I hope my sharing of these insights provides some value to others who may be experiencing similar.