For the immediate fit of rage/anger: breathing techniques to take the edge off. And probably not the healthiest advice, but acetaminophen also numbs emotional pain. (Slightly ashamed to admit it, but better than using alcohol.)

I’ve try meditation on/off for years, but it has never really worked for me. In a cathartic way, learning more about the history of collapsing nations has helped me reach a state of inner peace? Reading articles about the fall of the Soviet Union, feudalism, Mussolini’s death feel more topical every day. “Fall of Civilizations” podcast by Paul Cooper is pretty good listening. “History of Japan” by Isaac Meyer is very good overall, and has some episodes on the fall of the Ashikaga, Tokugawa shogunates, the bubble economy of the 1980s. We’re repeating history and there’s nothing I can do about it. All I can do is manage the world around me.

It’s okay to take a break from the internet and focus on your own mental well-being. Don’t let them take it from you.

I don’t care who does IT. I would worship the brave soul who puts that orange cancer out of our collective misery.

I don’t know the motives of others, but I’ve been spending increasingly less time on the internet and more time listening to podcasts & reading.

Lemmy attracts only certain types of people who like reading articles and replying long paragraphs arguing with each other or small details. In a time when literacy is falling, means there’s only a smaller and smaller pie left. Maybe we need a book club or pen pal system or a noobie hub to make it a friendlier environment. There’s a cloud of hostility in the air friends, don’t let it take you. Ape strong together.

Lemmy is great in the techy/gaming, memes, and news/politics fields, but doesn’t have strong secondary communities. I no longer have a reddit account but still lurk to keep up with news focused in Ukraine, Japan, Korea, music, history, minecraft, etc.

Also, social media uses the same tactics as casinos to keep people hooked. I remember a podcast in which they compared the new algorithms to slot machines where sometimes you “win” by getting content you’re looking for, sometimes you lose by getting fed random crap you didn’t search, and mostly you break even & get fed the same repetitive crap (this makes the times you “win” seam more rewarding.) Social media is an addiction and cancerous to modern society.

I can see a generational shift where one of the next few gens just breaks off and goes back to analog tech, libraries, in-person communities, hand written content, etc. Some will go hardcore offline, most will only use the internet as the need arises (GPS, work/legal documents, weather app level things.)

But for the vast majority… the internet is devolving into Idiocracy. The next centuries will be the AI stupid/dark ages with wars started over disinformation.

Or maybe climate change shrekts us in the next 50 years.

China Shock 2.0. The coastal tides are retreating before our eyes, but still a large chunk of the general population believes China only makes cheap crap.