In neighboring Baltimore, the Francis Scott Key Bridge tragically collapsed, and social media is awash with conspiracy theories. Right now, Twitter (I refuse to call you X) is full of idiots and villains slamming everyone from Ukrainians to Mossad, and I see that sentiment coming out on Facebook as well. I’ve seen it there.
Real news about the bridge is incredibly difficult to understand. Because the scum of the earth, motivated by money, is crawling out and spewing the stupidest, most vulgar, most hateful things in connection with the collapse of the bridge, showing us how bad our greed is. The overlords of technology have ruined the social media ecosystem.
It is estimated that 6 people died, but could anyone have stopped this?
One of the problems I think with the discourse about the Bridge of Bad Faith is the fact that good people are trying to get involved in the Bridge of Bad Faith. When someone is spreading misinformation, it’s natural to want to correct it. Unfortunately, once again, engagement is monetized, so by participating in this shit show we are giving the freaks and conspiracy theorists exactly what they want .
I wouldn’t be surprised if it later turns out that foreign bot networks and paid actors helped amplify disinformation about the bridge. Because that’s what hostile regimes do every time something bad happens in the United States. Either way, the bridge collapse shows everything that’s wrong with social media today. Rationality is boring and numbers don’t grow. Meanwhile, silly clown shows are posted and reposted.
It is past time to call this the information age. This is the era of paid idiots. The internet is polluted and difficult to navigate, AI is being abused by the worst possible people, and brains are being broken left and right.
Disengagement is the wisest and wisest option, but as I always point out, this doesn’t mean going off the grid to make a hat out of a squirrel in the woods. I’m sure some people like it that way, and I think some people would like to have more power, but one of the key aspects of not letting misinformation rot your brain is is to learn how to put on.
One conspiracy theorist who doesn’t require unfettered attention, who will remain nameless, recently revealed that he spends up to 20 hours a day staring at a screen. He seemed to think this was wise. In fact, he tried to make it look heroic. By the way, this is the guy I once accused of seducing Mike Flynn, whom I’ve never even met. You can see the effects of all this bastard’s screen time as you watch his brain corrode in real time.
One of the problems with too much screen time is that many people, including perfectly well-intentioned people, think it’s noble to be aware of any situation and comment on it. And I’m here to tell them, “No, this doesn’t work.” It’s not good for your body to constantly be exposed to depressing information (or so-called information) that is out of your control. It’s even worse if you try to participate in it habitually. Because you get dragged into stressful online discussion cycles, and then into the next cycle. Stop that shit. Block a bunch of people instead. Then I put down my phone. Let’s make a smoothie. Get a friendly cat. stretch. Read the paperback.
Baltimore is not far from me and I have some good friends who live there, so I am especially frustrated and disappointed by the current situation. Misinformation in a crisis is not only bad for your brain, it can actually put people at risk.
But at the end of the day, I try to take my own advice. So I’m leaving. I’m not going to argue with lunatics and scumbags. I prune my plants, then put on some music, put my feet up, and look at an art book. I’m going to do the sane things that bring me joy, and I’m not going to do the stressful things that make my brain give up and make water drip out of my ears.
Image: Maryland Government Photo
