Friday, June 14, 2013

Value Judgments and Social Media


Recently I posted something to the effect that making judgments causes us misery. With this notion in mind, I examined my use of social media. While on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr etc, I am compelled to make dozens of decisions per minute about whether or not I "like" something or have an comment-worthy (or share-worthy or reblog-worthy or retweet-worthy) opinion about it. Not only am I using my own judging sense, I'm being subjected to other peoples' opinions about what's worthy of my time and attention. All this agreeing, disagreeing, liking, disliking, etc makes my brain buzz with value judgments, hundreds if not thousands of them a day. And I can tell you from experience I'm a lot happier when I can brush off opinions and just rest in what is.

In a nutshell, social media compells me to put a value filter on everything. And that often makes me rather grumpy. So my summer goal is Less Social Media.

I have a beautiful backyard with a hammock. Come visit me sometime.



And just in case you did want my opinion:

It's my belief that reducing thoughts that mentally make us separate from others is the key to contentment. (I'm aware that's just my opinion and you may disagree). All the same, we naturally fall into the habit of judging, and there's no need to beat ourselves up about it. That's just how it is, and one can strive to be more mindful of one's judging, or not. I'd argue that being mindful of when you are putting a value filter on things can lead to a happier, more peaceful state of mind, even if you can't eliminate the judging itself.




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