Summary

The website content discusses the negative impact of social media on mental health, highlighting the issues of perfectionism, relative deprivation, and the misleading nature of social media credibility.

Abstract

The article titled "500-WORD RANT #1" delves into the psychological toll of online writing and social media engagement, identifying a "triple threat" to mental health: perfectionism, relative deprivation, and the influence of social media. It suggests that the pursuit of perfection often masks underlying insecurities and can lead to excessive effort for minimal output. Relative deprivation is described as the unhealthy comparison to a small group of similar individuals rather than the broader population, fostering discontent. The article also criticizes the way social media equates popularity with credibility, leading to the spread of unvetted, shallow content that is nonetheless widely accepted. The author encourages critical thinking and skepticism towards social media authority.

Opinions

Perfectionism is seen as a vulnerability factor for various mental health issues, not a sign of actual perfection or talent, and it often conceals self-doubt.
The article points out that only a minuscule percentage of the population can truly claim perfectionism as a positive trait, akin to da Vinci's approach to art.
Relative deprivation is criticized for causing writers on Medium to compare themselves to their peers rather than the global population, leading to unnecessary dissatisfaction.
Social media's role in determining credibility is questioned, as it often lacks the vetting process that traditional publishing involves, leading to the dissemination of superficial content.
The author ridicules the idea that one's life meaning is tied to social media validation and criticizes the glorification of mental illness as a bragging point.
The article suggests that the blind acceptance of social media content as credible is akin to believing in "manna from heaven," implying it is naive and misguided.
A call to action is made for individuals to question everything and think for themselves, rather than accepting social media popularity as a measure of truth or value.

500-WORD RANT #1

Are You Drowning in a Sea of Social Media Sludge?

Online writing presents a triple threat to mental health.

I may have written 100,000 words satirizing Medium, but Henry Wismayer did it better years ago.

Just read his article.

After reading some more popular (and senseless) articles on Medium, I want to look at the reasons readers respond in the way they do.

Perfectionism, relative deprivation, and social media are part of a three-pronged axis of spiritual malaise, representing psychological problems of varying degrees.

Perfectionism involves a “vulnerability factor for unipolar depression, anorexia, suicide, and OCD.”

Nothing about perfectionism indicates you are perfect, or even talented, but it can cause you to feel insecure and be a ball-buster toward others.

2% of the world’s population have genius IQs, but what’s the chance you’re a grandmaster? Perfectionism is the province of da Vinci. Only he can say: “Art is never finished, only abandoned.”

There are two things in this world where I know I perform at a top professional level. While I still work to the best of my abilities, I can stop when the hour is up, or the project meets my professional standards.

On the other hand, perfectionism hides self-doubt, so I waste far too much time doing research, edits, and rewrites. After I hit publish, I still go over the text.

No wonder a 500-word rant still takes me hours to craft — all for a stupid blog post.

If that isn’t crazy, I don’t know what is.

Relative deprivation is the perception that you’re worse off because you compare yourself to a small group of people similar to you, rather than making a global comparison.

Like the well-educated writers with tech devices and online access who compare themselves to Medium’s 230,000 other members, instead of the world’s 7.5 billion people.

If we’re honest, each one of us is saying the same thing: “If I had (fill in the number of claps or followers), like (fill in name of a more popular writer), then I’d be happy.”

Again, this is crazy thinking.

Social media is the third part of the equation.

How can popularity determine credibility without any vetting from a publisher or professional group?

Here are some examples of dumb hot takes pretending to be manna from heaven. (I’m not talking about KCP.)

“We’re not born with a meaning for our lives…”

(I’m betting the 6 billion people on earth who follow a religion might disagree with this statement.)

“I am, just a high-functioning [perfectionist]… when I tell you that I’m a perfectionist, I’m not bragging.”

(You’re bragging about having a form of mental illness? Wow.)

“You either let go or you don’t… People often come up with all kinds of excuses.”

(PTSD victims will be thrilled with this magical solution. Just say no, right?)

Thousands of people swallow this bullshit for one reason, and one reason only: social media popularity equals credibility.

Question everything and think for yourself.