this post was submitted on 27 Nov 2024
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There's so much doom on social media right now. The environment is collapsing. The economy will crash. Civil rights are ending. Democracy is dead.

What keeps you going? Why do you still get up and go do what needs to be done when the world seems to be ending around us?

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 35 minutes ago

I don't know what will happen. It is as much a curse as it is a blessing. Uncertainty is uncomfortable for me, but that very same uncertainty is why I keep going.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 45 minutes ago

There is this video that reminds me that there is no natural law that determines that things will only get better. Yet we have to find purpose. I am not hopeful, but I am happy for everyone that tries to do the right thing. We're in this together even if everything goes to shit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJaE_BvLK6U

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 hour ago

I'm sticking around to witness the collapse, in the hopes things go full mad max. Because that would be a better existence than the one I'm currently living in.

I'm not sure if I'm half joking or being entirely serious.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 11 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 53 minutes ago) (1 children)

Over the past few weeks, I realized that I wasn’t reading the news to “stay informed,” I was reading it because I was bored. As a form of entertainment, it’s pretty awful. 99% of what I read will have no direct impact on me or my family, and just sitting there and worrying about it without doing anything to fix it serves nobody.

Also, I’ve learned to be skeptical of basically every headline good or bad. I saw a headline this week about how upset Trump supporters were with his cabinet picks. Comments in the thread were talking about leopards eating faces. The article was a collection of 8 tweets from supporters showing disapproval.

This news site was just preying on people’s hopes and making a story out of absolutely nothing.

So I started focusing on some personal hobbies and have tried to re-teach myself how to focus by reading some long form fiction.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 hours ago

This is so true. MY eyes are now a commodity and I'm going to choose who gets them more wisely.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 4 hours ago

Easy. The world isn't ending. Ignore the doomers. Problem solved.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 hours ago

Personally, I turn to activism. I realized that regardless of how horrible the future will be, there's good to do in this world.

The world is full of people who are as scared as you and I are. I can make their lives a tad more positive.

The environment is collapsing? Educate and organise, think about how to build mutual aid systems and how to sustain yourself small scale.

The economy will crash? Help others, people who got thrown to the curb by the social system, homeless people, orphans,...

Civil rights are ending? I'm trans and scared. And there's so many other trans children that are counting on me to be the representation that I wish would have had when I was their age. I'm not going down without a fight.

Democracy is ending? Let's focus on preserving what we can and try to rebuild. It won't be over forever.

People being nice to and helping me often makes my day in an otherwise miserable time.I want to be that person for others.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 hours ago

Stop caring and all of the problems go away, as if by magic. The amount of emotional energy that people put into issues that they're unlikely to ever face is unbelievably wasteful.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 hours ago

Study of history.

People have been prophesying the end times for millennia now, for this reason or that reason. I think that ultimately they just don't like the basic fact that change of some sort or another is inevitable in the world, it will not remain static and no system or institution will last forever. This does not result in any concrete end, however.

To quote Morpheus, "I remember that I am here not because of the path that lies before me, but because of the path that lies behind me."

There's also a fair bit of profit-driven exaggeration in just how bad things really are in certain arenas. Bad news makes good clickbait, good/neutral news less so. So the ratio of bad to good news we receive is not actually representative of the full picture of what is happening in the world.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 hours ago

Oh I gave up like 15 years ago.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

Running on hope isn't sustainable in this world, you gotta run on spite!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago

I think you just helped me realize what's keeping me going...

[–] [email protected] 22 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

By avoiding social media and living my life through memes and video games.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

There is a theory that natural human psychology wasn't made to handle all of the world's atrocities. People experience a "bad news burnout" because some of us constantly feel disappointed in humans as a race by hearing/seeing sociopathic behavior on an international level every day.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

I think I just hit that wall. This thread is fucking depressing. There's happiness and hope out there, but it seems you won't find it on social media, I guess. Negativity bias seems more prevalent on Lemmy than others.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

There's a reason why it's common for people to occasionally want to camp out in the middle of nowhere with no technology for a bit. If I read about some horrible news like a grandma getting shot picking olives on her own land I try to follow it up with something more lighthearted such as kittens hugging puppies. Like eating pickled ginger as a pallette cleanser between sushi.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Negativity drives more clicks so therefore is more profitable for reporting KPI.

I block any C that is news, local regional things, political, or US centric. That seems to kill off most negatively in a platform.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago

I think that is a lot of what perpetuates doom. Eyes = $$$$

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 hours ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 hours ago

Not by my definition. I don't friend people or follow people on here.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

There's still a bunch of kindness around. There's good food to be eaten and culture to be consumed. There's drinks to be had and friends to be made. Dances to learn and skills to master.

There's a lot of things to be hopeful about, aside from the whole everything going to shit thing. And if you can brighten up people's lives by doing it, you might even contribute to the world going slightly less to shit.

I think it's time to recalibrate and focus more on the closer things. Doesn't mean one should ignore the world, but we're not fixing it by stressing out, doom-scrolling, and posting about it online either. We tried.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 hours ago

I agree. The thing that keeps me going is the idea of finding community again.

Not sure how many people in this thread are American, but we have a very independent point of view. The "optimal" way of living is leaving your parents, leaving your home, and building a new home somewhere else. We tend to be more independent overall and less likely to look to others for comfort, to our detriment. At least, that has been my experience.

So I think the best thing to do is go out there, find a community that DOES care. Because they DO exist. Look for hobby classes, look for new friends in your interests, look for a church (if that is your thing. I am UU so the people at those churches are often some of the nicest, most leftist people around).

I'm moving soon, and I think the thing that keeps me going is the idea of finding new community after I move. You can also affect meaningful change as a community when you can't do it alone.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 hours ago

This is what I needed to hear. Thanks! Think local, act local to help the global.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 hours ago

My partner and her cat

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 hours ago

My dog can’t feed herself. My family seems to like having me around.

Get off of social media. Other than here I really keep my news to computer stuff that interests me

[–] [email protected] 7 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

What keeps you going? Why do you still get up and go do what needs to be done when the world seems to be ending around us? For me it's my family , my own goal like playing gta 6 (even I don't think I will play) but for me big reason I have friends I like to talk with them and enjoy with them. Because nobody like loneliness even iam introvert guy I still like to share my thoughts with others and knowing thier thoughts.i think it's enough for me keep going .I wanna suggest you to search about absurdism or watch the movie everything everywhere all at once .

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 hours ago

+1 Absurdism

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 hours ago

Strike that. Reverse it.

My lack of motivation prevents me from ending it all.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

I have a teenage son - a wonderful kid who keeps me going.

Not sure what I'm going to do in my dead marriage after he moves out.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 hours ago

Having children leave the house is a re-defining moment, just like establishing a family in the first place. It's scary, but it comes with all kinds of possibilities as well.

It sounds like you did a good job on reinventing yourself as a parent, of course trusting your judgment that your kid is indeed wonderful. But the fact that you love him enough that it keeps you going probably counts as further evidence that you're not doing so bad.

You'll manage to reinvent yourself again. And if you can't do it in your marriage, there's no shame in doing it outside it.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 hours ago

Antidepressants

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 hours ago

The alternative seems really boring.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 hours ago

Keeps me going? drugs and food. Life right now is just like a zombie from 6:00-15:00, and later From 15:00-3:00 life can feel good in rare occasions.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (1 children)

Fear of death.

Like its either nothing. Which is in itself terrifying.

Or there could be reincarnation, which is even more terrifying. Imagine being reborn in North Korea. Or if time isn't linear, imagine being some enslaved person in the dark ages.

Or being born in some universe that paranormal stuff are real. And evil creatures chase you all the time.

Or being in a dystopian futuristic world where every newborn is implanted with a mindcontrol chip.

Like nobody knows what happens.

Thats the only reason I haven't killed myself.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

You don't enjoy ANYTHING? Like, nothing at all?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago)

Oh, lol I tunnel vision and focused on that.

Well I like watching interesting youtube videos about science and various topics. Movies, TV, reading SCPs. And um... obviously eating tasty food.

But like depression is still persistent throught all that. Like no matter how much I enjoy. Like a dark cloud that just block the sunlight.

I guess to answer your question: the possibility of future technology give me hope to keep going.

Like we got a device that can fit in a pocket and instantaneously communicate to anywhere in the world. Most people in history can only talk to people nearby. I can just pull up my phone and talk to like the entire population that uses the internet, well... at least the people who use the same platform that I use.

Who knows what technology we get in the future.

Like you ever flew a drone? Its so cool to see the world from above.

Like why traffic jams if we have flying cars.

An hour travel can become like 10 minutes, or less.

Endless possibilities.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 hours ago

In these difficult times I find that all I need is spending some time with my loved ones, enjoying my old favorite media and games and sharing them with my daughter, and nightly cuddles from my beautiful monster of a cat while I read web serials to unwind.

Well, those things and also cannabis and escorts. And pizza. Keeps me going.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Setting aside my depressive episodes and a few signals of impending doom, I look out my window and see a world that is still generally okay around me. That tells me I'm still in a position to go out and try to improve things.

For instance, my family and I got through COVID. To me, that's a kind of privilege, because I certainly know others who weren't so fortunate. So I'm doing my part to ensure another pandemic like that doesn't happen again, or at least isn't so impactful.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 hours ago

The other night I saw the stars in the sky and thought about how little my problems actually seem.

[–] southsamurai 1 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

That at any time I want, I can opt out.

I don't have to stay here and put up with the bullshit if I don't want to.

That's also a possibility where I could do something useful by taking someone else out with me, if I can manage to get it done.

You have no idea how freeing it is to be okay with death. When you cease fearing it and look at it as a welcome friend, everything changes.

Now it is important to realize that this is not a desire to die. It's simply accepting that death is inevitable, and that it is possible to choose when and how I die, if that's something that seems useful. Life isn't inherently sacred, there's no special glory in not dying, there's no particular benefit to sticking around other than more of the same that's already happened.

This means that every day is a choice. It's something I own. I have alternatives. We all do, but I'm aware of that fact in a way that makes even the truly horrible much less impressive.

Again, this is entirely different from wanting to off myself, it isn't depression. It's just the way I see things.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 54 minutes ago

How did murder-suicide guy get an upvote?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Basically it's self fulfilling if say that. You can believe all that i do too but I don't say it becomes a forgone conclusion as that will make it happen for sure. My thoughts on it are. if it's going to happen im gone to make it as hard as I can for the people that are making it happen and the closer we get to it happening the more radical my actions will become. I will help my community where I can and do my best to make the people responsible pay for their actions. I would read about community network building.

Also there is a YouTube channel Beau of the fifth column that has a lot of great advice. I know the name makes it sound like a crazy person but it's not. They put the news into perspective and talk about ways to help your community. When the government and other social structures are gone.

Also if you want to talk I would be happy to be your penpal.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago
[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 hours ago

The fact that my family would be upset if I stopped living. That's literally it.

Once my older family members are gone I can finally go too. I have no interest in seeing how terrible the future will be as a perpetually single factory worker schmuck with no income potential to keep up with the exploitation of our economic system.