Hello, I blog!
I share all my sporadic and toilet thoughts in here, because I am random like that.
Is the internet turning us into assholes?
The first inking I had that the world was a cruel, judgmental place was back when I was 16.
The internet and blogging culture was slowly taking off at that time, and I was very active in a local forum – known as SearchSG back then. (It no longer exists today.)
I can’t recall the original topic of the thread I was participating in. But suddenly someone brought up the topic of fat people. The conversation soon got heavily toxic with one user eventually declaring that “seeing fat kids stuffing their mouths made him sick”.
I called him out on it, saying that that was mean and we shouldn’t be going around fat-shaming (doubt such a term existed back then, so I probably just described the behavior) because they are still human beings.
It was just a matter of minutes before I got shot down, with the user declaring that because it was an open forum and it’s a free world so he could say whatever he wanted. I tried again to point out how we shouldn’t be speaking badly about fat people. Back then, the possibility of some oversized people having medical problems that prevented them from losing weight hadn’t occured to me so I didn’t use that as a point. My argument was entirely based on how “this is wrong, this is not nice, and we shouldn’t be doing this”.
Again, it fell on death ears and the conversation grew even more toxic. Eventually, someone referred to oversized people as “lazy fat fucks” and I lost it. I remember getting so angry that I was practically bawling my eyes out in real life. My mum was trying her darnest best to calm me down but it just wasn’t working. I was just too worked up.
Why are people like that?
Why do people like to judge other people?
How can people get so nasty to people who haven’t offended them?
How can people just diss others so openly online?
I remember mum asking. “Did they say anything nasty about you?”
And I was like “no, but they were speaking very nastily about fat people.”
I’m pretty sure her reaction at that time was “?!?!”
And this was in 2003. There was no Facebook. No Twitter. No Instagram. No viral social media networks. But here was a public forum with some viewership (community was small) and already, there were people flinging shit around.
Fast forward to today – there was a recent case of a BMW driver disputing his bill because he only wanted 10 bucks worth of fuel but he was given a full tank. It could have been miscommunication. Could it be intentional as some speculate? It could go either way but neither you nor I are in any position to judge. It’s between him and the petrol station.
Somehow word got out. Internet vigilantes sprang into action. His workplace, home address, NRIC number, family photos and other personal information were dug out, published and disemminated by these “online justice seekers”.
Is all this even necessary?
Oh wait, to quote a certain forum user, “it’s a free world so he could say whatever he wanted”.
Muck-raking.
Just because they can.
Is the power of connectivity and exposure gained from the internet slowly turning human beings into assholes?
My first experience with Apple’s support was also the worst support experience in my entire lifetime
So I purchased the iPhone X (256GB, Silver). Caved in mainly because of the camera specs, and because my old 6S was slowing to a crawl and running out of space (I was previously on 64GB but I take photos like a maniac).
Excited, I was.
My excitement waned significantly when I was setting up the new iPhone on the 23rd February. I’m the type of user who migrates all my data from phone to phone because I am sentimental like that. (I keep WhatsApp chats from as long as 8 years ago.) The iPhone X was a pain to setup, and I lost some notes and all my WhatsApp chats along the way. As it turned out, iTunes backups for WhatsApp chats have ceased to be effective and I had to move my chat backups to iCloud. Luckily, I got everything restored, although it took 3 hours.
My excitement waned further while getting used to the new gestures for the iPhone X. There was no more home button, so I had to get used to multitasking, killing apps and how to take screenshots. (I actually had to Google to figure out how to use the X.)
The excitement returned when it was time to start using the X for photos. I snapped happily for a couple of days.
Until the dreaded green line appeared on the side of my screen on the 25th February.
Green line, still visible as of today.
#LineGate apparently. A quick Google search showed that other iPhone X users have faced this. It’s a thin vertical green line that extends down the height of the screen. Some on the edges, others in the middle of the screen. Mine was on the right edge which thankfully wasn’t too disruptive, but annoying all the same.
Considering this is a phone with a market worth of close to $2000 (Singapore dollars), this was certainly not acceptable. I’ve been lucky so far with my other phones, and #AntennaGate and #BendGate hadn’t happened to me. But it seems like my luck has finally run out.
And here is where my looooooong battle with Apple begins.
Sit back and grab a coffee. Because this is a ridiculously long post.
Just like how Apple is taking ridiculously long to resolve this issue.
From a Running Man addict
This sudden thought struck me one afternoon as I was lounging in bed and watching Running Man (a Korean variety show).
How in the world can I be so disapproving of ragging and yet still enjoy Running Man so much?
Thoughts drifted back to 2014 when my mum first introduced me to the show.
The concept of people running around and doing missions in real-world settings appealed to me so much that after that first episode (episode 211 was the first one I ever watched), I went on a binge-watching spree and lived vicariously through their experiences. Perhaps my teammate K was right after all, gamification has always been in my blood.
Subsequently, the show introduced me to so many scenic places in Korea, and Korea’s sub-cultures.
The ragging is just an occasional sub-characteristic of the show.
Brenda, don’t think so much.
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