my one concern on mastodon is the joking self-deprecation
which is honestly something I noticed a lot on tumblr
inevitably all that negative joking kinda must impact a little on our idea of self
like if I keep joking about myself being garbage a little piece of me is gonna think I'm actually garbage
and I'm just a lil concerned that we encourage that too much w/ shitposting
I just think it's something to be aware of. It's something I personally am trying to be better about anyway.
@aemarc Here's my take on it. As long as you don't do it to an unhealthy degree, it's just fine.
But keep in mind, self-deprecating humour is often used by people with already low self esteem. Self-deprecation almost becomes a coping mechanism, making humour out of feeling like a piece of shit on the sidewalk. Does it help? Probably not. But sometimes it feels like you're just making the best of a bad situation. I know, I've struggled with depression for years.
@aemarc People with depression often use humour, especially self-deprecation, because of an urge to make others feel better, out of an attempt to keep others from feeling the way they do.
It's why there's so many comedians who struggled with depression. Robin Williams, Chris Farley, and John Belushi, just to name a few, were deeply troubled, and ultimately depression indirectly did them in.
Lots of people on tumblr probably suffer from depression. Hence it's so common.
@Elizafox lmao I like how I was like "OH TALK TO ME MORE" and didn't even scroll up to see you wrote more (which I love and am super thankful for)
I definitely appreciate the input bc for the most part I'm a garbage optimist? so maybe this just works for me but yeah
lol for me like I had such horrible esteem when I was younger and FOR ME what worked was putting dumb post it notes on mirror and forcing a smile every day. but thats me. and when i was yngr.
@Elizafox oh totally!!! that's different entirely I think! do you understand sort of what I mean though? perhaps I want to word it a little better
like I love laughing at myself and making other people laugh at/with me, but it can be slightly different you know?
What you describe sounds a bit like 'false humility', @aemarc ? I agree with you, I think. But the other side of that coin is being prideful, which comes with its own problems.
@aemarc I think about this a lot in context of Tumblr especially because the audience there is often very young and I think they sometimes have less of a grasp on compartmentalization. So I am very NO U R THE SUN AND THE MOON with my teenage sister when she gets self deprecating even though I joke about being trash all the time because I KNOW I'm fine, but I can't take that risk with her.
hold on I really like @phire 's commentary on it because honestly, maybe that's my entire issue with it. a lot of it is about the youth community who compartmentalize it less.
like
when I was younger I would joke around with my friends but when they laughed at me I started to feel bad but a lot of it doesn't exist as much any more once I grew a bit more into comfort of my own self but with a younger audience mb that's my main concern?
@aemarc YEAH the peer group reaction is HUGE. Teenagers are bad at picking friends and bad at being friends because they're young and stuck in their own heads and terrified, so they hide behind snark and then start wondering "do my friends ACTUALLY hate me". Whereas I don't have to worry about that at all bc the second I seem sad my buds are like "oh no precious you are actual gold" because I've spent years curating positive people, but that can be really hard to find/do in high school.
@aemarc i believe it is entirely possible to shitpost without putting oneself or anyone else down. i also believe it is morally acceptable for me to laugh irl when people respond by pointing out the joke without actually getting it. having good clean fun on the internet is easy!
@Xibanya manuela i dig u r posts. a little drunk rn to be able to participate. but appreciate you writing this. ur great. good vibes towards u in the universe
@aemarc same back to you fam, have fun and remember before you drift off to sleep to drink water and maybe masturbate too i mean why not
@Xibanya ur so great thank you
@aemarc If you can't laugh at yourself you shouldn't laugh at other people. Because that means you put yourself on a pedestal above others.