Reminder to please CW anything to do with politics and particularly “look at the awful things these right-wingers are doing”. Being able to choose when and how to engage is important and makes a big difference to the overall mood of the timeline.
And please don’t boost politics posts with no CWs either - I’ve been seeing a lot of that recently from new arrivals
@ghost_bird
> to please CW anything to do with politics and particularly “look at the awful things these right-wingers are doing”
... or just don't share this stuff at all. Where attention goes, energy flows, particularly online. Don't feed the trolls. Post about stuff you support, that's solving important problems and making the world a better place. That way you can address the bad stuff indirectly, in a more inspiring and empowering. Read up on #SolutionsJournalism:
Responses to problems are newsworthy. The Solutions Journalism Network is leading a global shift in journalism focused on advancing rigorous reporting about how people are trying to solve problems and what we can learn from their successes and failures.
@strypey Are you suggesting we should just look away from bad things?
Sometimes its important to see whats going wrong in the world, to learn about other peoples struggles, to spread awareness. Thinking about stuff like recent events in Iran, where a positive Outcome is very dependent on the world having accurate Knowledge of "bad stuff". Should we just ignore these things?
I find it a good Solution to use content warnings for such content so people have the choice when to engage. But a lot of problems and suffering are already marginalized enough in society and it would be a pity to continue that trend here. Actually i see one of the great purposes of Social Media to provide a voice to the voiceless and get around press bias and censorship.
@radicalresilience A content warning doesn't mean people aren't going to look at it; it lets them look at it when they have the energy for action. Just because people need water to live doesn't mean standing under Niagra Falls with your mouth open is healthy.
A CW lets people turn on the tap with consent and consume a healthy amount of it so they can act with new vigor instead of being crushed under the full blast of it all the time.
@radicalresilience Opening a CW (which can be applied with the "CW" or equivalent button in your interface) is a single click. It's very little hassle to post and even less to open, but it helps keep the platform healthy.
As people settle in, more of this will make sense. :)
@bluestarultor Yes, I know what a CW is and if you Read our post more carefully you will see I agree it should be used in such cases. We also use CW's ourselves.
What i disagree with and was responding too is the post from @strypey and i quote: "... or just don't share this stuff at all. Where attention goes, energy flows, particularly online."
This for me is a problematic take.
@radicalresilience
> Are you suggesting we should just look away from bad things?
Answered in the post you replied to:
> you can address the bad stuff indirectly, in a more inspiring and empowering [way]. Read up on #SolutionsJournalism
@strypey I Think I can agree to some extent at least. Putting the focus on those who are responding to Social problems makes a lot of Sense, also to avoid News that just makes us feel more powerless.
I do Think both sides are important though. And for me your toot was somewhat Vague so that it was hard to Read the full Sentiments behind it. I Think its an interesting Topic to reflect on and see different perspectives.
@radicalresilience
The concept of Solutions Journalism is to do both, by sandwiching discussions of the problem in the middle of the story.
The structure goes something like:
1) Intro to solution
2) Discussion of the problem and how the solution is trying to address it
3) Conclusion focused on the solution and how the reader might be able to engage with it.
This interview gives more detail:
https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/40-the-power-of-solutions-journalism
Have a look at positive.news for some examples.
Sophie Jane
Strypey
Radical Resilience Film
bluestarultor