Dumpster Diving for Connection
Why we use the trash platforms of social media and how we can have a healthier perspective and stay out of the reactionary crowds
Elon Musk bought Twitter … and over on Twitter and in the media, it’s FIRE AND HELL AND LIFE IS OVER FOR US ALL.
If you wandered into Twitter today, you’d think someone had died.
The Weird Wake Over on Twitter
So much lamenting, so much sadness. So much … waiting.
It’s like they’re sitting shiva for a social media platform. Or like a wake for a website.
Wtf?
I don’t mean to be callous — I too had initial fears over Musk buying Twitter and there are significant potential issues arising — but I swiftly came to realize that I need to lay this burden down. And maybe you should consider doing the same thing.
Musk/Twitter. Zuckerberg/Facebook. Bezos/Washington Post. The list goes on.
Do You Have Billions of Dollars?
We can’t stop any of it. Unless you have billions, you haven’t even been dealt a hand in this poker game. And no one is reading a gazillion tweets or posts and deciding, “NOW I’ll step in and save society!”
Complaining is almost always a solid waste of time. Action is better — but there’s not a lot we can do in this particular situation.
Besides, we have SO MUCH shit to deal with in the world right now that stopping to lament over the sale of Twitter feels a bit like crying in the fully-stocked cookie aisle of the supermarket. Yes, the recipe has changed on your favorite cookie but is it really worth weeping over?
And then there’s this one huge, incontrovertible truth: they’re all trash platforms.
Yup. Trash.
Picking Through Garbage
Every single social media platform out there is a trash platform.
Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. TikTok. And whatever the latest flavor is. (Remember when Clubhouse was hot for a minute? Like about 20 other platforms before it.)
A platform full of garbage that you pick through to find a treasure. Because the basic truth here is this: We are hungry for each other and we are willing to sift through shit to find something real.
We are all dumpster diving for connection.
But the hunt is exhausting. And our clothes are starting to smell.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Strong by Lisbeth Darsh to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.