Internet Stresses Me Out

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In my real life, I have managed to cut out anyone who believes in violence especially anyone who believes in violence against someone who is physically weaker than themselves. We never joke about things like famine and genocide so I haven't had to cut out anyone who did that.

However, I keep coming across justifications of violence, and even violence against those who are physically weaker, when I go online.

And jokes about things like famine and genocide.

How am I supposed to deal with this? Stay offline? Ignore them? (I always find it hard to ignore bullies.) Argue against them? (it falls on deaf ears). Argue against them and hope that someone in an abusive situation sees it? Find sites that don't advocate this stuff?

It affects my sleep thinking of all the people who are in physically abusive situations and can't get out. All the people who die from abuse. All the people who starved to death in the past, or all the people in Africa who continue to starve to death in famines. All the people killed in genocide. I can't do anything to stop it other than keeping myself safe and away from it which I'm increasingly aware is a privileged position to take.

Look, everyone, if you can do something today for someone who is physically weaker than you, or someone who is poorer than you and is working hard to get out of it but can't or who is stuck in a country where there is famine and therefore nobody can survive long enough to 'pull themselves up by the bootstraps', please do that and I'll do the same.

I'm fed up of the amount of scumbags there are on the internet and I'd like the internet to be a force for good instead.

Social media and the internet in general is very toxic at the moment. I only realized this a few years ago when I was in a similar situation. My advice is to just cut it out of your life, use it only as much as you enjoy it. I stopped using Twitter, Facebook. I don't follow news outlets on Instagram, which is my only social media app now, and I stopped going on sites which bum me out.

Life becomes much easier when your not constantly blasted with images of death and violence around the world. The internet can and will be a force for good eventually but right now it's far too negative.

personally even though i spend a great deal of time online, i never connect to places with scumbags ie social media of any sort. except here and similar formats.

Yes, it is for many. You should take steps to limit your exposure to "triggers." Don't visit sites that you can't handle. Facebook lets you stop stuff from people sending you stuff you don't like without having to unfriend them.

You may also want to find a hobby you can do instead of the internet. I do gardening and sewing.

I think you have answered your own question.

Bye!

Its not really scumbags that bother me. But I am getting tired of the internet. I think it has stopped me from doing other activities like reading or drawing. I also hate how fake people are on the internet.

Im starting to miss the real world.

Yes, you need to set aside time for reading and drawing.

Well staying offline is obviously the easiest solution, but that can be hard since there's a lot of great stuff online and some great people, too. Ignoring them is a good option, it's what I try to do, but I also know it isn't always easy, especially if someone says something that is strictly against my morals and values. The best way to ignore these things, for me at least, is to avoid the sites and parts of different sites that I know have stuff against my morals and values. Of course I can't avoid it all, but in time I've managed to learn to filter stuff quite well. It might seem like running away and it kind of is, but in my opinion it's nothing to be ashamed of. It's completely fine to run away from those conversations if it puts your mental health in danger, especially if you've already tried to do something about it and noticed that it doesn't work. Besides, if you let these things make you a wreck then as time goes on you'll have less and less energy and strenght to help others, so trying to do something completely out of your leaque by force will just lead to less people getting the help they need from you, not to mention you might end up being the one in need as well.