Ask Lemmy

Basically a roundabout way of asking: How much do people really care about you?

I know I could vanish for like 48 hours and my parents and older brother probably wouldn't even want to look for me (I'm around 18-25, not a minor so they have no legal responsibilities). Nobody in the world cares about me. I mean they already told me that in my face that if I went missing, they won't care.

Quick definition for those who don't know: Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person's behavior and beliefs do not complement each other or when they hold two contradictory beliefs.

Story time! Please read this in it's entirety as there is important context as well as an actual point.

I have been spending some time with the in-laws over the past couple of weeks, because reasons. They are an immigrant family, but have been in the US since the tail end of the Vietnam war. All hold US citizenship and it's a large family.

Politics has cone up occasionally, but for the most part, we tend to steer away from those discussions when we mistakenly bring them up in conversation. Strangely enough, some are actually Trump supporters but I wouldn't go so far as to say anyone is full-blown "MAGA" or anything. I would describe the support as mild and truly ignorant of broader level politics.

So, there was some discussion about how immigrants needed to be kicked out of the US and there was support for mass deportations. Another conversation was about how "everyone"abused food stamps and welfare, but within about 10 mins, the discussion flipped to what products another person in the family could buy with their EBT card. Medicare and Medicaid is also a waste of the countries money, but then later there was a discussion about how to use those benefits for another family member.

Politics aside, cognitive dissonance is a bitch to deal with, especially when it's coupled with anecdotal evidence that may not even be real. I suspect that any experience with other "immigrants" I heard over the last couple of weeks are likely the result of a single, heavily biased experience coupled with gossip. (The gossip may create false memories of a situation the person believes is true. I think there is a special name for that.)

Telling a person bluntly that they are wrong is usually counter productive. Calling out the contradictions in beliefs can also be strangely unproductive as well. When a valid argument is made and a person realizes they can't resolve a conflicting belief, the tendency seems to be to fall back on a generic phrase like, "Well, I don't fully understand it, but that person must know what they are doing.", or something similar.

Provided that you actually give a shit, how do you go about cracking the shell of someone that has fallen victim to this kind of thing?

Original question by @0_0j@lemmy.world

This might seem as counter intuitive, as there are folks that hijack ideas for a living, But hey, F*IT; lets hear your craziest plots you can concoct. We'll be the judge of them.

I'm down for a good laugh.

They put AI in my truck, I have decided to slow down ALOT, they have to pay me more. I also bend the wires several times a day in the same position. Only thing I can do unfortunately.

I really never have believed times improved, and i am almost positive things will only get worse.

30 years ago we had a future to look to, the unshittified internet, great music, affordable land/housing, affordable durable cars, people actually interacted in real life, no social media trash. Now, we have billionaires and LLMs. I don't see how anyone can possibly think times are better or going to improve.

Yes, everyone will say "civil rights improved" and yes thats maybe the only thing that has changed, however it's getting taken away every day again so I don't think you can even use that point anymore.

IMO the worst feeling is when your finger goes through the toilet paper and you end up going up your own poopy ass. 😖

Inside the Deku Tree

from Ocarina of Time

Very sonorous

I don’t even know how to say this anymore without sounding like a damn broken record, but ever since Trump got elected in November, my mental health has been slipping. And lately it’s not just slipping. It’s more like I jumped off a cliff and freefalling toward jagged rocks.

I’ve done everything I’m supposed to. I stay active. I run 3 to 5 miles on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I exercise 3 to 5 days a week. I spend time outside. I touch grass. But none of it works anymore. It just doesn’t take the edge off like it used to.

I know doomscrolling makes it worse. I know the news and social media are built to keep people angry and scared. I try to pull away from it. But even when I do, I get hit from another angle. My girlfriend sends me political messages all day long, like she’s trying to convince me of something I already agree with. I’ve told her to give me some space, but it doesn’t stop. It’s like she needs me to be in constant panic mode with her, and I just can’t do it anymore.

Lately I find myself dreading conversation. I don’t even want to hear another human voice. I’m tired in a way I don’t know how to fix.

I thought retirement was going to bring me some peace. I’ve worked hard my whole life. I thought I had earned some quiet. Instead, the world keeps getting louder, and none of the things I used to do to cope are cutting it.

Is anybody else feeling this way?

Is there an absolute amount of shelf life to them

Original question by @SugarCatDestroyer@lemmy.world

I started like 3 days ago and i do it in a tiny pocket notebook i had lying around

Reddit has this feature and I used to use it all the time. I feel like this might be the reason many lemmings delete their posts after a while. Not like you get bombarded with notifications on here but still. Sometimes I ask a question and once I have a couple of answers I'm "done" with the post. I want to leave it up for others though so muting it would be ideal.

Watched too many sci-fi shows and kinda getting unsettling to think about.

What do you think is going to change? What tech do you think is going to be introduced? Is it going to be better? Is it going to be worse? Etc

While browsing the fediverse I come across more and more accounts that seem ... a bit off, a little uncanny. The stuff they post seems random, their comments slightly weird. What's going on, is the fediverse being overrun by bots? Or am I as a fanatic anti-AI person just losing my mind and seeing the enemy everywhere?

I hate the fact that I now question every interaction that seems a bit off - it seems such a stupid waste of my time and I'm afraid I might just end up blocking real people who happen to express themselves in a strange way - as a neurodivergent person I know how bad I would feel about being ostracized as 'too strange to be real'. How would you handle this?

Original question by @Tweekerz@sh.itjust.works

"Weird" to be interpreted at the reader's discretion.

Looking for some cool new tunes.

I'll get the ball rolling with one of mine: Scaretale by Nightwish. That song is all over the place... it's like haunted fantasy carnival jingle metal. Love it.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.today/post/33411412

Recently I switched from Apple Music to Spotify free/Navidrome. I am moving my library to Navidrome slowly. I have done a similar thing in the past as well.

I noticed that both times, as well as trying out new speakers, the first song I listened to was In the End by Linkin Park, followed by their latest album.

What is yours?

Edit: Holy Shit! I was not expecting so many replies. It is not possible for me to reply to everyone right away. I will listen to each of your first songs and reply to everyone.