Sometimes, it seems as if social media is all about negativity. “Everyone in (name the) generation is a bad seed, and that (name the) generation is going to be the doom of the world.” “You’re a communist socialist liberal mouthpiece for communist socialist liberal bots. We will ban your comments because they are against our Most Magnificent and Impressively Self-Absorbed Nation. Also you’re against freedom of speech…” “Facebook is going to take your pictures away and charge you (random amounts of money) for regaining your pictures and posting your commentary (saying communist liberal socialist mouthpiece is only part of the deluxe model, which will cost you $2.99 plus tax weekly).
But the internet, in general, doesn’t have to be that toxic or that wacky, depending on your frame of mind. Here are some things that you can do to enjoy the Internet without being surrounded by overgrown middle school bullies:
You can use the Internet as a cookbook. This meal above includes two recipes that I found by doing an internet search. One recipe was for apricot chicken, and the other recipe was for roasted zucchini with balsamic vinegar. There are so many culinary websites that, no matter what you want to eat, you’re sure to find a recipe.
If you want to draw something, but you’re not sure how and you don’t have an art teacher living in your house, you can find directions on the Internet. There are many websites that will give you step by step instructions on just about anything that you want to draw, Whether it’s facial features (eyes, nose, mouth), cartoon characters, trees, or anything else that you’d be interested in drawing, you can find step by step instructions on the Internet. You can find that in written format or in videos. Not only can you learn how to create representational art that looks realistic, you can also get some hints and suggestions for creating abstract art. It’s fun and it’s good practice for those of us who are wanna be artists.
You can find out about opportunities to visit interesting events, such as the one I went to in late winter in Genesee County with my friend Amy and my sister Diane. It was really interesting to see how people did things in the nineteenth century. Diane and Amy had fun cutting a log with a giant saw. For me, this was a really funny spectator sport. I watched the two of them pull back and forth, and I took their picture. The event occurred at maple sugaring time. Yes, we found out about it on the Internet. So the Internet is also a giant announcement of cool and fascinating events.
What have you found on the Internet to be educational, fun, delicious, or entertaining? Feel free to mention them in the comments section below!
I think what I am going to have to be careful about is what I do with the information I take in, especially if it is negative or iffy. But recipes have been very helpful. I make a meatloaf now using a 5-ingredient recipe I found online.
That meatloaf sounds wonderful. And recipes are great. Tonight, I’m eating my leftovers so I’m all happy about it!
Strangely, I just posted about the first steps in learning to draw! Yes, the internet can be fun and useful, especially if you avoid contentious issues like politics and religion. I like to find ideas for photography on Medium – people are generally nice on there!
Agreed, people can get really toxic about religion, politics, and “my generation is better than yours.” And I did see your blog post about drawing! It seems that we must have gotten the same memo.
For sure, I’ll have to check out Medium! Thank you for the suggestion.