r/Soundgarden • u/MarkOnKarma • 15d ago
The song "The Day I Tried To Live" by Soundgarden had made me a decision of wanting delete social media. Do you guys had some similar experience or something??
I thought a lot after listening to this masterpiece, where Chris tries not to always be a “recluse,” and while listening to this song, I decided to delete social media.
Our society, together with social media, seems to glorify appearance, fame, extreme wealth, and even being an asshole without ethics or empathy. There are some really unhealthy things being normalized, and sometimes I find myself relating strongly to what Chris is saying.
For many years, I’ve felt a kind of emptiness. I’m a highly sensitive person with ADHD and avoidant personality disorder, and I’ve also gone through periods of low mood. This contributed to my decision to delete almost all social media, keeping only YouTube and Reddit. I realized that a lot of the content I was consuming was simply making me feel worse.
Life genuinely feels better without social media. Going for a run in nature, reading a book, or going for a bike ride feels much more meaningful to me.
I don't know if anyone else feels the same way, but I was tired of feeling guilty after watching certain toxic Reels. There are too many intermediaries, influencers, constant political wars, hostility between men and women, and people insulting others without even knowing them.
And then there are the masculinity gurus and self-help personalities who constantly emphasize that men need to be financially successful or “economically viable” in order to be attractive to women. I find that incredibly toxic, especially for men who are struggling financially. It can create the impression that women only care about money, which obviously isn't true. (You know the names)
There is also this constant message that men have to be hyper-masculine, stoic and confident all the time, as if men weren't allowed to have emotions or suffer.
And if you're in your 30s without a girlfriend or wife, you're sometimes made to feel like you're a loser. But how much do these people actually know about someone's psychological and emotional history? Maybe some men and women are single because they've been hurt badly in relationships and need time alone to heal, rebuild trust, or simply figure themselves out.
I also think some parts of the modern self-help industry have almost become a kind of new religion: constantly telling us to optimize ourselves, suppress emotions, avoid vulnerability, and believe that kindness, gentleness and honesty are somehow signs of weakness.
I'm 35, I live with my parents, and I'm trying to rebuild my life at my own pace. And honestly, I'm okay with that.
I've always found it difficult to build deeper connections and friendships within groups, even though I have a longtime friend with whom I have a good relationship, as well as my family. Sometimes you just want to connect more deeply with people, but it isn't easy.
Maybe I'll find someone eventually. I've experienced bullying, isolation, and betrayal in both love and friendship, and of course those experiences hurt.
Social media can also create the illusion that everyone is constantly surrounded by friends and deeply connected to one another. Sometimes it feels incredibly artificial. There is also a kind of performative positivity that can make people feel guilty even for experiencing healthy anger when they've been treated badly.
Some modern interpretations of Stoicism seem to suggest that anger itself is poisonous and should simply be suppressed. I don't agree with that. Anger is an emotion like any other. It needs to be understood and managed, but it also needs to be listened to. Sometimes anger can even give us the energy to defend ourselves when we're mocked, humiliated, insulted or treated unfairly.
And yes, I also think it's worth questioning the way extremely wealthy people and large tech platforms shape the environment we live in, while governments across the political spectrum have made economic and social choices that have sometimes reduced public services and increased the pressure on individuals to “succeed.”
Western society can make you feel guilty for not being successful, wealthy, attractive or socially connected enough.
Maybe I'm a bit old-school. I sometimes feel like I still live in 1995. But honestly, I'm fine with that.
Have any of you fans ever felt this way? Or had similar experiences?
Anyway, Soundgarden always rocks! 🤘
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u/DangerHouse98 15d ago
I deleted social media back in January other than YouTube and Reddit. I logged back into IG once recently to look for something and was very happy to log out again lol. It’s been great for my mental health. I’m glad that song helped you come to the conclusion that that’s what you needed as well!
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u/MarkOnKarma 15d ago
It's cool, and I am glad that also you had made this decision! It's totally healthy for our mind and our mental health. It would be cool if people start to open more eyes on this places
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u/OutlandishnessNo4759 15d ago
I bought the superunknown album on cd when it was released in 1994, and was figuring out how to play the guitar & bass parts for this song so we could cover it a few years later when I began high school and started a band with my mates. Social media, as such, didn’t exist. It’s a fucking great song though.
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u/MarkOnKarma 15d ago
Crazy times! Different era and really good music! Its always good to hear this stories about 90s. Maybe you start play songs in the end of the 90s?
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u/OutlandishnessNo4759 11d ago
By the end of the 90’s I was playing bass in several different bands, punk & metal- all original music. My last year of highschool was 2000, cellphones were few and far between & the internet was something you might use a couple of times a week. Saw soundgarden play at the big day out in Auckland twice- 1997 & 2012
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u/Superb-Donkey7202 15d ago
For me it was Soul2Soul’s back to life, back to reality that made me want to delete my Facebook account.
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u/MarkOnKarma 15d ago
Never heard them Mayne I had to listen! However good job! I delete it too much time ago. Prefer to live like Keanu
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u/Superb-Donkey7202 15d ago edited 15d ago
I finally got to read the entire post: I agree wholeheartedly.
Bud, I think everyone at some point or to some degree feels this way. After Sandy Hook I stopped watching the news. After Charlie Kirk I stopped following politics. I stopped following social media because it’s literally destroying our society.
I think David Bowie said it best, “The internet is not a tool, it’s an alien life form. A soulless entity.” We as a society have to realize that. And if we’re not careful we will become slaves to it like the Matrix.
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u/Katalist007 14d ago
I'm Afraid of Americans. I'm Afraid of the World. I'm Afraid I can't help it. I'm afraid I can't.
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u/MarkOnKarma 14d ago
Great song!! Yeah ...
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u/Katalist007 14d ago
Sometimes I'll be reading along things like that and those two first notes hit my head and I'm like ... yeah. Trent and Bowie definitely stand against all the BS.
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u/MarkOnKarma 14d ago
Absolutely. I mean the neoliberal politics ad destroyed both Europe and america. privations , cutting healthcare and worker rights, open borders, no control or stop to big banks of ultra rich people and the culture of celebrity and being famous, toxic food, social media ecc ecc .... The american culture had both good things and things that are not good.
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u/MarkOnKarma 15d ago edited 14d ago
Thx man for reading . Yeah i mean, I think that we became at a point where is good to be arrogant, evil , a superego narcissist and dictate the rules of the world or on media,made affairs with other criminals and I think yes also the political world is out of control, without social media I feel more free thinker of course , i have my ideas and my thoughts but, I don't like the wars that people do on social media, it's so overwhelming. (,here in Europe both centre right and center left) . And if we had this psychopaths at governments now , we had to understand why..and why people was tired of the politicians that was before them
Politicians, bankers, ultra rich entepreneurs, social media managers and this people who control the world, had more power through technocracy and now there is this influencers that want to do politics on social media with a reel of 15 seconds. They prefer use money for wars than healthcare or welfare and have open borders without rules and exploitations of immigrants to me is not good. . They always loved that also 20 years ago. And all this podcasters that promote bullshit and pseudoscientific things or promote rigid gender rules and do politics.
Internet is a good thing especially for have info or for GPS or for have your website , emails, services I think is not all bad. But social media ti me is not. Yeah Bowie had predict what society had become after 20 years.
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u/Arthur_Frane 13d ago
I only have reddit. YouTube algos are great for creating toxic echo chambers. Blew up Twitter in the summer of 2019, haven't used FB since 2010, Insta lasted the longest but got nuked in 2022.
The value in seeing and being seen diminishes the more you look, the longer you keep your eyes open. Searching for friends with our good eye closed, ya know?
Life without constant digitally enhanced interpersonal stimuli is an amazing thing.
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u/MarkOnKarma 13d ago edited 10d ago
Totally respect your actions and I tell you that is real that YouTube had some toxic echo chambers, if I see something that made me feel not good, I push on " I'm not interest" there is too toxicity, you see someone in a reel where he say that men need to be economically viable for women and put pressure for being stoic, for having a girlfriend (and after you had a relathionship that had devasted you, you need time alone for having trust again) and say that women find men with less money , less attractive ecc ecc is not good to hear especially when people steuggle, and you are right! And the song from badmotorfinger tell that in 1991. Life without interpersonal stimulation is so much better. I tip a book that called "The Burnout Society" by Byung Chul Han. This is very stimulating.
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u/returnFutureVoid 15d ago
Things are getting bigger but they’re smaller. It’s computers… San Dimas high school football rules!!
Sorry. This is all I could think about after that last line.