By nature, humans are social creatures. We crave community, friendship, and connection. When social media hit the scene the opportunity to expand our horizons exploded. We were now offered the opportunity to befriend people near and far, in our hometowns and across the world.
It changed the way we interact with each other - for the good, the bad, and the ugly. Things went well for the first few years. You searched for and likely found long lost friends, relatives, and new interesting strangers. Then things started to take a darker turn.
Suddenly you would log in and see random restrictions just for talking or posting something you considered funny or interesting. You were being penalized for being yourself. We were collectively outraged. The whole concept of "Fact Checkers" and "Facebook Jail" became a laughable joke that has only gotten worse over time.
The over reach has become plain as day and yet, still, here we are. Do we like the abuse? Why do we stay? Are we "in love" with our "captors"? I would say yes we are and, to make matters worse, we are addicted to the abuse.
Stockholm syndrome is a coping mechanism to a captive or abusive situation. People develop positive feelings toward their captors or abusers over time. It has become so commonplace to be penalized for expressing yourself that it has become normalized. We laugh it off and take the spanking, and we do not leave.
It's important to know that there are options! You do not have to stay on Meta in order to keep in contact or have fun with friends online.
www.PopTalk.io - is my favorite newer online hangout. It is run by those who believe in and stand behind free speech and expression. I have been on there over a year now helping to build and it has come a long way. This is my #1 pick. You do not have to abandon your old haunts, but creating new and starting to remove your attention to an abusive situation is a good start.
There are other sites out there as well, but PopTalk is where I have been hanging my hat, so I wanted to invite all of you, personally. Social media should be fun, not abusive.
Sarah
*This went out to my blog readers. Just thought I would share here as well.
