Is anyone else disappointed with life?

just log off dude, nothing forces you to participate in social media, etc etc.

the task of life it to create your own meaning, no person or institution is going to do that for you. find something to faster your gaze on and get at it.

I think your observation is valid. With the way things have developed, the emphasis is on self and your last sentence is correct. In fact, there was a thread I saw yesterday, something about how many guys over 37 still have all their hair and teeth, blah, blah, blah. Quite a pissing match.

Yeah. The older I get the more I agree with the Unabomber's manifesto.

I don't know if I buy that it's harder to meet people now than it was a while ago. It's probably harder to 'meet women at a bar' or whatever people did in the 80s but if you have interests I'm sure that you will meet like-minded people.

I whole heartdly agree with your statement about the internet. Sadly, the result of widespread use of the internet is that everything has become a subculture, more or less. You become part of the LRC subculture, the (whatever subreddit) subculture, or the democratic socialist/trad conservative subculture. More people strive towards identifying with a group /community/subculture - regurgitating it's memes, talking like them, and dressing like them, etc than they do actually interacting with them and participating in the real culture. It's almost like people are mistaking some of these things that are processes and relations with points and atoms.

Everything exists in it's own tiny little space, the same dimensions as a smartphone screen. or maybe a laptop screen, provided they are true enough to their principles.

Social media has made life worse, no question. I'm old enough to remember life pre-SM, but young enough to "get" it, and it sucks. It has turned life into a one big personal branding opportunity.

Just log off. I quit SM a few months ago and I don't miss it at all.

Also, COVID has made life s**t, so there's that too.

TAA wrote:

Yeah. The older I get the more I agree with the Unabomber's manifesto.

The unabomber is meme-ideology. Nearly everyone agrees that 'the industrial revolution and it's consequences have been disastrous for the human race', especially the ruling technocrats. His manifesto is like a pill (red, blue, whatever) - people want to hear these things and when they do they get their fix til they need to hear them again. It's an easy pill to swallow. As someone who's read one of his books he really doesn't stimulate deep thinking about these things doesn't really address what's going on beyond what he sees. His idea of 'The System's greatest trick' is worth thinking about though.

I am not disappointed in life, but I am disappointed in one of the things you mentioned—and that is the way capitalism/greed has utilized the internet to mine and exploit new markets. It used to be, people you were friends with would have you over to dinner and you’d see their new sofa and compliment it, and then maybe you’d remember you liked that sofa when you went shopping for a sofa next time, and you’d buy a similar one. Your friend would be flattered and that would be it.

Now, there is a Like it to Know It market for that, and it’s degraded the quality of people’s authenticity in relationships because you never know if people are sharing something to help you, or because they get a cut if you buy something similar. You don’t even know if they *actually* like the thing they are showing you either, because maybe they got it for free or were paid to promote it.

And the entire MLM market also thrives online under this premise, where people say they are trying to help you, to give you a paycheck, and a community, and a purpose, but really the almighty dollar stands behind it all and it feels...cheap.

People are more than the things they buy and sell.

Life is fantastic, more music than I can listen to, more books that I can read, sex is great, I feel great, tons of $$$$$$$ and total freedom. This virus thing just a nuisance in my life anyway.

Couldn't be happier.

Anyone getting anything over the internet, hahahaha~~~~

Solution for a happy fulfilling life:

Spend $99 on the LetsRun membership scam.

We just appear in the world without a choice and deal with society. Nothing really matters at all and everyone is out for themselves.

not a Karen maybe a Ken wrote:

We just appear in the world without a choice and deal with society. Nothing really matters at all and everyone is out for themselves.

This is really all it is

nope.

but i also don't have any great expectations about how life should be.

i have family, friends, health and a reasonably fulfilling career. that's enough for me. i try not to sweat the small stuff and the bigger picture doesn't concern me.

I'm happy in my own sheltered ignorace and don't see any reason that needs to change.

* Social media is very youth-centric. It'a young person's game.

* People nowadays compete on who has the best "lifestyle." This is a complex/abstract game. It's not as simple as who dies with the most toys wins.

* The digital age keeps creating "substititutes" for the "real thing" in many domains. Society embraces the substitutes as an alternative that can coexist, or even complement, the real thing, but eventually the substitute basically eliminates the real thing.

* Society is increasingly complex to navigate and many people are overwhelmed by the daily decision making required.

* People are living very long and the vast majority of the age distribution considers their "best years" to be behind them.

* Dating/courting has basically been killed because what men and women really want is "politically incorrect" nowadays. There's a lot of shell games and unnecessary overhead in finding a mutually beneficial relationship.

Do your real friends really do this though? I don't know anyone who is promoting products online and I haven't heard of Like it to Know It. I don't know anyone who shares products online apart from one person who tried selling Aloe Vera for a few months. If someone was sharing products with me all of the time I would mute them. That is unless they explained it was part of their job and they needed the money etc.

In general if social media is getting annoying then maybe cut down on the number of different platforms you use or limit time on it like checking once a week. Disable auto-notifications. I still think there are ways to live where it doesn't dominate your life.

However, I do agree that things were generally better before social media. I'd prefer an earlier version of the internet, say around 2000 or late '90s.

Hey dude!

It sounds like you could really benefit from speaking to a professional! Sometimes a chat with someone in the chair is ll it take to help adjust your perspective! I can't know exactly where you are coming from on an anonymous message board but reaching out to clinical help even just for the briefest of sessions can really help. Here are some great recourses if that might be what you need:

Warm Lines:

https://www.nami.org/NAMI/media/NAMI-Media/BlogImageArchive/2020/NAMI-National-HelpLine-WarmLine-Directory-3-11-20.pdf

This can help if you just need to talk to someone in a non-emergency setting!

BetterHelp:

https://www.betterhelp.com/start/

Virtual Clinical setting! Could be good to get someone to chat with on the cheap!

800-273-8255 - If things are deeper here is the national suicide hotline. Reach out before you do anything hasty! We at lets run don't want to lose ya

It's = it is or it has

Its = belonging to it

Nah, you just gotta build and truly live the life you want.

Re: social media, there's been a big backlash against it the past 1-2 years especially. People know it's bullsh!t and it won't ever let you capture the true feelings of life. Find other people who want to live the RealLife(tm) and team up with them. There's plenty.

The change in the world starts with you. Cut distractions, live right, and you'll start finding other people that share your general lifestyle goals.

I'm actually mostly disappointed from how simple life/the world really is. All my life I thought it was this endless enigma, but it's actually pretty straightforward. Especially society. So straightforward and not that complicated. Animals reproducing, looking for mates, acquiring resources. Social structures to facilitate this, etc.

It's a game, have fun.

I'm totally disappointed about what never materialized in my life and also very grateful about what I do have. That's just life.

Simplify life

Necessities...

Health, food, water, shelter

Desires...

Romance, fame, fortune

If all your necessities are met then be content with life. At the end of your life you won’t take romance, fame, and fortune with you. Take care of your necessities and help other people meet theirs. That’s all that really matters.