time spent offline

Quick question: pro or anti-vax? Pause. Pay attention to the feelings that questions arises within you. Anyway. This isn’t a post about wrong opinions on the internet. After all, someone, somewhere is always wrong on the internet. Instead, it’s about what one can do when someone is wrong on the internet.

Laugh or log off

If you haven’t had your life changed by a post from your favourite celebrity, you don’t spend enough time online. Good for you. Stop reading this. Go keep enjoying your life. Anyway. My life changed when I saw Rihanna’s tweet, laugh or log off. There is no lack of agitating content online. The good news is we can log off. Or, as Tyler, the Creator eloquently put it in another tweet, Just Walk Away From The Screen Nigga Like Just Close Your Eyes: It is an option. Quitting the news and social media helps because it significantly reduces the sheer amount of opinions one comes across daily. In any case it’s a good mantra to adapt: laugh or log off.

Avoid anonymity online

All of my online accounts, from Instagram to Reddit and YouTube, are tied to my real identity. That means I’m very careful about what I post online and I faithfully follow a strict rule of never arguing with people on the internet. I’m not the nicest person to ever live or anything, trust me. I would hate to think of the things I would say, the things I’m capable of uttering, if I could hide behind anonymity. Instead, I write in my diary: Dear diary, why are humans so fucking stupid? Except me. xoxo Or, text a friend my grievances. Either way, the world is better off not having another negative output on the internet.

Keep in mind: “If you have to choose between being kind or being right, choose being kind and you’ll be right every time.“

Someone is wrong on the internet. You must say something. Try this: Be kind, or log off.