Agree with just about everything that has been stated already on here. Social media really is a poison. There's not many things out there that are improved with the addition of social media.
I'd suggest focusing your attention on the things that you can control, and the things that are most meaningful to you. Yourself, family, close friends, running, faith, trolling letsrun, etc... Once you have that list, focus your energy on those things. Let the rest of it become background noise.
There are like-minded people out there as well. When you go out in public, they are the ones who aren't looking at their phones. Talk to them. (Fair warning - they may also be crazy)
Is anyone else disappointed with life?
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OP needs to quit "should"ing all over himself and go do what you actually want to do.
Life is full of too many pressures. It doesn't matter if you are a billionaire or a thousandaire. 100 years after your death, no one will know or care who you were.
Live your own life, paddle your own canoe. Make yourself into who you want to be. Anything less, and you are not going to enjoy the ride.
Anytime you are anywhere in life, you had an appointment to be there. Take responsibility for what is happening to you. -
15ozshoes wrote:
Yeah bit of a heavy topic for a running forum. I find life tedious and I don't like how technology has made my generation isolated. I find it hard to meet people irl. I feel like I don't have the same opportunties that older generations had. Also the internet was ruined years ago and commercialised just like everything else so it is no longer interesting and a way to connect. Now that my parents are older they have also become more jaded and cynical in general. I see this first hand and it is getting me down because I feel helpless and like I can't do anything to help them. With regards to running I also have to keep my running club and strava at arms length because the constant selfies and virtual back-patting is annoying. It feels like few of us run just to get out there and get some air. No, everything is a competition. Recently, someone on the club put up (what I thought to be) a passive aggressive meme about slow runners being successful in their own right. I mean... I don't care about any of that. Sorry if I run "faster" but that's just how my body is. What I'm saying is a lot of people seem to be measuring each other up all the time and I just think it's pathetic.
I'll touch on the running aspect, but the more serious concern of isolation, drifting apart from parents, losing opportunities is much more important to address. My advice here is never deceive anyone about who are at any moment (it changes). And importantly "anyone" includes yourself. With relationships of any type things like "interests" and "views" don't really matter, it's solely about having the same "spirit/soul" as those around you. The more materialist things can sometimes be a good sign of this, but it should really be a feeling more than anything.
The modern running "culture" is largely trash across its spectrum. My thought is it all comes from people taking on the 'identity' of a runner. Ever notice how people say "I'm a runner" or "MY running is going well". These sentences should not comfort your cochlea. We all run here, and we all take/have-taken running somewhat seriously, but we should still be able to do this while "getting out there and getting some air". The sort of attitude the "MY running" types have - which is easier to feel than to explicate - make running into just another one of these cultures that can be sold to and molded by forces larger than itself.
A LR post that really hit me a few years back essentially asked "where have all the free spirits gone?". Again - why can't people just run for themselves and their running-buddies? Running is so over-marketed at every single level. How many podcasts, profiles, videos, and articles come out every day? And a 30 minute 5ker or a 30 minute 10ker can find "what they want" at any time. Running faster or slower will not make us any free-er. Running on trails or roads makes no difference, the trail running community has just succeeded at making itself appear as a free-spirited bunch. I think this transition is somewhat concomitant with the increased abundance of "student council" types on cross country teams, but I'd guess that is just a symptom not a cause.
What I'm trying to say is more than just "capitalism and social media ruined running". The idea of "being a runner" is (largely) responsible for these things. Capitalism and social media are two of many things that can latch onto "running identity" and use it to their own ends, further hastening it's decline into just another subculture, if it isn't already. Unfortunately these things do 'help' some aspects of running (visibility for clubs, affordable shoes, more competition).
Bra-Ket had 2 great posts, read those too! -
Consider discussing this with a professional therapist.
My .02 c ? Life ain't perfect kid (and it's not supposed to be) good luck! -
I feel like the cure to this is always just finding a community to get involved with. Volunteer for an organization that helps people. Doing that always adds meaning to your life and helps you meet people
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Paraphrased ...
“We are not disturbed by things that happen, but by our perception of things that happen.”
Epictetus -
This is what is wrong with western life! You guys have to pay for everything ! Don't you have real friends that you can talk to?
In Africa, you always have somebody you can share with, even for hard subjetcs. I guess we are not that poor finally 😉...you guys are getting very very poor humanly... -
Read 'The Consolation of Philosophy' by Boethius.
