Are we allowed to be happy?

[garbon]

In a Jos-like manner (), this question occurred to me when I read this article about censorship out of China.

China launches campaign to keep killjoys off the internet

The Chinese government is taking aim at an emotion that has become all too common on the country's internet - despondency.

This week, China's Cyberspace Administration launched a two-month campaign to curb social media posts that "excessively exaggerate negative and pessimistic sentiments". The goal, according to authorities, is to "rectify negative emotions" and "create a more civilised and rational online environment".

In the crosshairs are narratives like "studying is useless" and "hard work is useless", as well as stories that promote "world-weariness".

China has been grappling with an economic slowdown in the wake of a property crisis, high youth unemployment and cut-throat competition for admission to colleges and jobs - all of which have given rise to a sense of disillusionment among its younger generation.

Young people in China "have serious questions about future prospects of their lives" and "must confront the fact that their livelihood is very likely going to be worse than their parents' generation," Simon Sihang Luo, an assistant professor of social sciences at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, tells the BBC.

And Beijing's anxiety over the bubbling frustration has shown itself in a wave of sanctions hitting the country's influencers and social media platforms.

'Android people'
Last week, well-known content creator Hu Chenfeng had his social media accounts scrubbed of all posts. No-one knows why because Chinese officials gave no explanation. But it's widely believed that this was in response to a viral comment that he had recently made, classifying people and items as either "Apple" or "Android" - with the latter used to describe things that are inferior to the former.

"Yours is a typical Android logic, Android person, Android qualification," he rattled off during a livestream that has since been widely shared online.

While the gag was quickly embraced by many Chinese social media users, others accused Hu of sowing social divisions.

Such obvious jokes about inequality, it seems, have become tricky territory - because they reinforce the divides that the Chinese Communist Party would rather people not dwell on.

Censorship is not new to the Chinese internet. Anything that suggests criticism of the Party, its leaders, or touches on controversial topics that have political implications, quickly disappears.

What is unusual about this campaign against pessimism is that it seems to target a range of online behaviour that could create or add to a sense of negativity.

...

Now, I'm not in favour of the above, but it did get me thinking. It feels like general discourse online (and the news) is all about terrible things and reasons to be unhappy. Joy, when shown, often feels like it needs to either be limited/specific (happy to have won a medal, happy to have passed ones exams), done by unimpeachable target (happy very old person, children, people with animals), or apologised (Yes, I am happy to win this music award but we musn't forget about the situation in Gaza..). unadulterated joy is often derided or mocked.

What gives?

[Grey Fox]

No, we are not. Because of money.

Unhappy people engage a lot more than happy people. Grifters are always on the prowl for new grifts and that's what the age of social media is.

[HVC]

No, we are not. Because of money.

Unhappy people engage a lot more than happy people. Grifters are always on the prowl for new grifs and that's what the age of social media is.

Social media  took cult tactics digital. Make you miserable and seeking validation and acceptance.

[DGuller]

Now, I'm not in favour of the above, but it did get me thinking. It feels like general discourse online (and the news) is all about terrible things and reasons to be unhappy. Joy, when shown, often feels like it needs to either be limited/specific (happy to have won a medal, happy to have passed ones exams), done by unimpeachable target (happy very old person, children, people with animals), or apologised (Yes, I am happy to win this music award but we musn't forget about the situation in Gaza..). unadulterated joy is often derided or mocked.

What gives?

I agree with the sentiment, although as always the Chinese solution seems dystopian to me (that said, I don't have any solutions of my own).  It does seem like Internet promotes a cult of negativity and apathetic resignation.  Everything is terrible, and everyone is a victim of someone else making it terrible.

[The Brain]

Friend Computer wants me to be happy, which can only be a good thing.

[Valmy]

Heh. It didn't bother me so much before since things outside the internet seemed to be going decently well...but the general attitude of the internet escaped into regular life. Though I feel like this started with talk radio before the internet was even really mainstream.

It is kind of weird because when I am interacting with people in the flesh everybody seems well adjusted and good natured and generally pleasant. Well ok...outside of a few weirdos...

But you go online and suddenly you see those same people act like gargoyles. I have basically left all social media because of it. I just want that nice lady at the gym to stay my friend, not read how she wants all immigrants flayed with their own spines on Facebook or whatever.

If there was a strictly moderated positive vibes only social media site...I don't know...that might be tempting.

[PRC]

Unhappy people engage a lot more than happy people.

I believed this once, but I am not sure it is true.  Look at the online reviews of any product on Amazon, or Google Reviews for any business, restaurant, hotel, destination, etc. 

Outliers exist but overwhelmingly the reviews skew towards the positive.  More people show positive engagement online by leaving simple approving reviews than negative ones.

[DGuller]

When it comes to reviews in general, there seems to be a ridiculous inflation.  If my Uber driver has 4.9 stars, I start sweating.  The idiotic "perfect or nothing" mindset originally pushed by corporate management percolated down to everyone, and now reviews for anything have lost much of their power to differentiate.

[Sheilbh]

Social media  took cult tactics digital. Make you miserable and seeking validation and acceptance.

I think social media is a part of it, but I actually think you need to go one step back. I think the key shift is the smartphone.

It is a gateway to products designed to leave you dissatisfied (including social media), to always want to leave you watching the next episode, scroll a little bit longer, get to the next level, maybe even share your own details.

I think the evidence in schools about smart phones is very persuasive. I think they're distraction machines. And where I think that ties into happiness is the constant FOMO of a phone that leaves people going back to apps and spending so much time. I think it's almost a low level permanent anxiety that you could be filling your time with that - and on the other side are things that we do less of like reading. I think Tyler Austin Harper put it, I think rightly, that smart phones were an extinction level event for hobbies. And it's those things we filled our time with before smart phones that often actually were where happiness was derived from - the hobbies, the interests, the small achievements of daily life and its satisfactions etc.

I also think there's a slightly specific lefty online angle - which is that I think the whole "do not look away"/"all eyes on x"/"you must pay attention" discourse on left-wing circles online is incredibly unhealthy (and I think potentially counter-productive). On the unhealthiness which we see with videos from Gaza, I don't think there is a moral obligation on people to bear witness to something just because they can and care. I think feeling a need to witness a conflict zone or engage as much in the grimmest content as demonstration or condition of caring is very unhealthy. I work in a media organisation - there are journalists who are paid to watch this stuff and do it because it's their job and they have knowledge and understanding to help the rest of us. They are all regularly offered therapy and other support because it is an emotionally damaging thing to do.

On counter-productive I just think there's something fundamentally dangerous that such an important piece of "activism" in the online age is precisely to consume content on the platforms that will then monetise your consumption. I also think it may be a slight distraction from other forms of caring. It is an act that you do alone, mediated through a device and platform - it is atomising and depoliticising, whereas I think alternatives whether protesting, organising, fundraising or doing donation drives for that issue are social and potentially politicising. I was thinking of the contrast with the 60s and 70s when there is huge political contestation and there's something fascinating in us moving from a world of "the whole world is watching" to "do not look away".

When it comes to reviews in general, there seems to be a ridiculous inflation.  If my Uber driver has 4.9 stars, I start sweating.  The idiotic "perfect or nothing" mindset originally pushed by corporate management percolated down to everyone, and now reviews for anything have lost much of their power to differentiate.

Also not wanting to screw over someone's algorithmic ability to make a living. I'd need something seriously, seriously wrong to rate below 5 stars because I don't want that person getting cancelled or pulled from the platform. People are talking about social credit - that's where it is already.

Although I suspect there's also a cultural angle here because I think in London, there's still 4.8somethings - so we still have a healthy base of miserable sods.

I agree with the sentiment, although as always the Chinese solution seems dystopian to me (that said, I don't have any solutions of my own).  It does seem like Internet promotes a cult of negativity and apathetic resignation.  Everything is terrible, and everyone is a victim of someone else making it terrible.

Yeah I'm reluctant to just go in on the Chinese solution. There is a bit of me that feels that maybe our "it's like nailing jello to the wall" approach to regulating the internet was a mistake v China's building it in line with the needs of their political order. Obviously that purposefully built, regulated as you go internet would look different for a liberal democracy than a Communist party state, but I'm not sure the approach was wrong (in retrospect - at the time I'd have thought it was mad).

[Jacob]

I think those are some very valid observations, Sheilbh. It feels to me there's been a very marked transformation towards "this is something you care about? Great! Here's how to monetize it, let's transform it (and you) into a product that can be consumed."

I'd almost argue that it's become the dominant framing for enthusiasm of any kind.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah and even if you don't you're sort of trapped in the monetisation cycle - because, for example, I think 99% of Meta's revenue comes from advertising. So even if you're not going down a monetisation route they're hoovering up the data on the users interested in your content to package them into segments - I suspect often of people who are trying to monetise that enthusiasm.

[Josquius]

It's definitely a thing. It's just a fundamental flaw of psychology that rage and negativity is a better engager than positive things.
As I'm always moaning this is key to the far rights success.

I think bluesky is getting towards positive vibes only. If you want it. It let's you filter out posts based on key words, has simple effective blocking of annoying  users, etc....

I never liked twitter but did used to use reddit and Facebook a fair bit. Bluesky is filling the social media itch at the moment without bringing on many negative emotions.

Also not wanting to screw over someone's algorithmic ability to make a living. I'd need something seriously, seriously wrong to rate below 5 stars because I don't want that person getting cancelled or pulled from the platform. People are talking about social credit - that's where it is already.

Although I suspect there's also a cultural angle here because I think in London, there's still 4.8somethings - so we still have a healthy base of miserable sods.

Could also just be the amount of foreigners in London.
In Japan for instance ratings tend to be a lot saner. A restaurant which is a 3/5 is a solid decent place. Not going to blow your mind. But perfectly fine.
A 4 is great.
5 is not the default, that's food of the gods.

These days I stick to 5 stars with service people like this but whenever I face NPS, for instance workplace peakons, then 5 is fine damnit.

In a Jos-like manner

Ey?

[garbon]

Just you like to post random musings.

[Admiral Yi]

Happiness and rage are not antonyms.  The wokes discovered they can be complimentary a while back, the Trumpists more recently.

[Valmy]

Happiness and rage are not antonyms.  The wokes discovered they can be complimentary a while back, the Trumpists more recently.

Dude. There was a right wing rage machine 40 years ago. I know. I got screamed at by an endless and tiresome series of enraged Republicans in the 1990s for disliking Bill Clinton to a level that was insufficient for them. Like I didn't like Bill but I failed to reach their acceptable level of disliking. And for this crime I was regularly subjected to unhinged screaming sessions.

So stop with the fantasy land shit about how right wing people just started being full of rage.