I'm guilty as charged too. I don't have a Facebook but I still eat fish, drive a car, etc, etc.
This trait right here is why I am not optimistic about the future no matter how much technology progresses.
I'm guilty as charged too. I don't have a Facebook but I still eat fish, drive a car, etc, etc.
This trait right here is why I am not optimistic about the future no matter how much technology progresses.
Personally I never claimed that I will quit Facebook, because I know I ain't going to do it, as all my family is on it.
That said, I only visit Facebook about once per week or even less, because frankly it's not that interesting. I was also checking out my ads profile. Turns out, I never clicked on any ads. And when posting content, I'm always careful to post for my friends only, which isn't a big list of people. Meaning that in the large scheme of things, Facebook isn't getting much from me. My social network of choice has been Twitter.
I also own two cars. But I ride my bike to and from work every day, in all seasons but winter.
I ate a lot of meat, but I'm trying to cut down on it due to health benefits. Considering that I gave up smoking, sodas and alcoholic beverages completely, it's a little hard for me to further restrict what I put in my mouth.
And yes, I am only human. FYI the actions of any one particular individual to cut down on usage based on moral or social factors are zilch. If you want meaningful change, there are only 3 ways to do it:
1. invent technology that makes the status quo irrelevant, but this isn't actually something that most of us can do
2. keep the competition alive by voting with your wallet, because every dollar counts
3. get involved in politics, or at least talk more often with your representatives, go vote and convince the people around you to do the same
Because cutting down on meat due to environmental reasons, quitting Facebook and so on, that's the bullshit we do to feel good, but doesn't actually matter.
Smoking is orders of magnitude harder, at least it was for me. But it's doable indeed, millions have done it.
Having a motive, not the same as "motivation", makes a difference indeed.
Militant vegans do make it hard to listen at times but there are also other some other voices starting to speak up. Laboratory meats are probably going to be a monumental moment for the movement.
Moderation is key to everything. Facebook and most social media is built on feedloops that, in my opinion, stifle human potential. It’ll will be looked back on one day like people view cigarettes today. I’ll bet money on that.
I’ve gone through a crazy adventure through out my 20s to feel how I feel today. I feel healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, financially, spiritually, etc etc.
I’m kinda out there now, renouncing all my possessions besides one backpack, working on Option 1 in your list. I’m 28, first generation American
That happens in authoritarian regimes where blasphemy against the official truth can mean jail or execution. But even in democratic, liberal societies going against the "right way of thinking" can get you in a lot of trouble.
Edit (accidentally sent before finished): it's reasonable that hypocrisy increases when you share your opinions with the whole world (potentially) instead of a like-minded circle of close friends.
Even instagram is breeding mental instability in millions of people around the world. It may not be you or me. It’s a real phenomenon.
Still, no single indvidual is to blame in most cases.
The education and the media in practice are means to shape the values, believes and perception of people. At the mass scale, people flows into an unstoppable current, growing, fed by itself.
Taking a stand against these currents from the outside would be suicide. (Fortunately there is not only one current to go into, yet).
FB will likely reach a dead end someday, but that sort of current will continue to flow.
IMHO, the best effort for an individual is trying to get other individuals realize and have some understanding in what kind of current they are flowing.