One small factor in my recent exodus from social media was to try to escape the ever present barrage of unmediated thought bubbles and opinion.
Source: palindromos y cronopios
We are living in the age of the perfect soap box, where anyone can stand up and publish their opinion widely, and where the only thing mediating the interaction is the many voices of the crowd. Its like the Feuilleton's on steroids where feedback and interaction is almost instantaneous as we share our hypes of fashion and our many other opinion pieces, like for instance, “The Role of the Lapdog in the Lives of the Great Courtesans.” (Hesse, H. The Glass bead game)
I suppose this is what makes community so important. To be active in an environment where people encourage one another, and where feedback is given fairly, and in an equitable fashion, seemed like a pipe dream...
In one of my last interactions on facebook, one person threatened me and called me out for my supposed sexual preference, just because I argued reasonably, while another complimented me for understanding the rules of discourse.
Given that we are here talking to people unknown it is important to maintain a certain decorum of how we interact and, as one of the lesser understood things that philosophy taught me long ago, if you are someone who likes to be able to reason out things honestly, and openly, it is all too important to be in a safe environment where you can do so.
Thank you to everyone here for the warm welcome received on this platform.
postscript - The ideas here reflect only the authors unmediated opinion.