Growing up, I had the guilty pleasure of reading the tabloids. Back in those days, the tabloids were confined mainly to the grocery store checkout lanes. They were right there when you first got in the line. The outrageous and fantastical headlines in bold colors screaming at you to read them. By the way, they were often right next to the cigarettes but that's another story. Anyway, when Mom and I would go shopping I would scan the tabloids as we walked by. Then one day she bought me one. I read it cover to cover in one sitting. Even though I was a young teenager, I did not believe what was written there. The stories were so out there but they definitely made for amusing reading. And she started buying me more. For awhile every time she went to the store she would come back with one for me. Usually it was "The National Enquirer" but sometimes it would be others. These were great lessons in creative writing!
I was talking to Lois a few weeks ago about it and how I feel like I'm not just reading these tabloids anymore, I'm living in them. Everywhere I turn there are ridiculous and outrageous stories of things going on in the world. The scary things about these stories is that some are written so well that they become sworn fact for lots of people. And it is also scary because many of these stories are true. There are no boundaries with what people reveal and what people say. That's for another blog, too. These stories seem to come from every possible angle in every possible outlet. And there is not one group to blame for this influx of sensationalism. It comes from all sides of humanity.
The reason I am bringing this up is because 99 times out of 100 these stories and accounts are riddled with violence and hatred in one way of another. Today at work I logged on to my local news's website 4 times. Each time there were between 10 to 15 stories on the front page. Some of the stories changed between times I logged on. But what struck me was that none of these stories had any kind of positive feelings about them. Yes, I realize that the events of yesterday and even the past few weeks and months dictates that things be told. But there was no balance. It was all gloom and doom. Every last story.
I do not exactly try to limit my time on the internet, or at least where I go on the internet. I actually do try not to live my life on the internet because I will miss way too much of what's happening right before me. Anyway, when I am on there, I do my best to keep things upbeat and positive. I was not always like that. When you suffer from depression, having an outlet to express your feelings can be a curse as much as a blessing. I've been cursed in that way many times and so I make a very concerted effort to be someone who's message will make you feel better about whatever you need to feel better about.
Today, my Facebook feed has been filled with anger and sadness from many of my friends. And rightfully so. I, however, chose to put things on my page that were happier. I do that because there is already so much about what happened yesterday that I feel like I just want to balance out the negativity any way I can help. I don't want people to think that I am totally oblivious to what is happening in our world. I don't live with my head in the sand, although sometimes I wish I did. I simply want to use my little corner of social media to give something uplifting to people that may need it. Hell, I need it. I am old fashioned, yes, and make the choice to not use social media for my personal opinions. That does not mean that I never will do that, it is simply not my main focus. I never wanted to write for a tabloid, so why start now?
That is all.
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