Thread by @JohnnyAkzam

I engage with people who show me respect. I respect people equally, until they give me reason to adjust their status.

I've had Bernie supporter friends turn out to be HORRIBLE human beings. I've had Trump supporters buy me lunch. /1

Now I have to contend with Trump supporters all around me, just like you do. Some support him, even tho they're really clueless to anything he's really doing bc they aren't involved in politics, don't watch the news, are busy working 2 jobs, etc. It's a burden for sure. /2

But don't be fooled into thinking that just bc someone puts on the same logo as you, they're going to treat you with kindness and respect. They don't always, or even ever.

That's the part we have to change. Oddly enough, it's Social media that has contributed the most. /3

Social Media has created a condition that has replaced regular discourse with quick, pot-shots of headline lengthed thinking points to create stimulus to invoke a response in order to get reinforced by instant reward of attention thru gratification rewards, i.e. Likes. /4

I know it's incredibly ironic that this is being shared thru the system being called into question, but in reality it isn't the system itself but the individual's ignorance of these goals that allow the goals to be attained.

What's the answer to escaping the trap, then? /5

Social manipulation happens bc behavior is predictable. Creatures of habit are easily manipulated when they don't know they're being presented with habitual behavior.

One has to be constantly aware of their surroundings, even on social media. /6

Are you a creature of habit for highlights and emotional gratification offered by the manipulative reward system built into Social media to addict people to the experience? Ask yourself that daily.

Then use SM for its purpose, ignoring the traps they have designed for you. /7

Treat the platform like a real life event and every contact you make is a real person (caveat for bots, etc.). Imagine you are having a face to face conversation with a person when you engage. Insist on it in your mind, until you have developed the mindset by nature. /8

Then, retreat from your tribalistic tagging online and address each person as an individual, with dignity and respect first, as you would have people treat you in person.

Cultivate this mindset. Be yourself online. And don't trap yourself in cages of self-isolationism. /9

If you can't be who you really are online, then are you really contributing to the betterment of the human experience? The more people who treat their online personas like their real life ones, the greater of a bond we'll eventually have as a society & less hate will reign. /END