Aziz Ansari Shows The Ugly Side of Social Media With Pizza Swastika’s

Look around your Facebook feed and you'll find at least one person freaking out about something. Doesn't matter the topic, people feel the need to "feel" online. This is most apparent when you see a post about some heroic thing a dog allegedly did, or a horrible injustice that was probably made up just for the reach. It's because we're so narcissistic as a society now that everyone feels their opinion actually matters... Spoiler - It doesn't.

My favorite social media chains to follow are those where people argue about whether pit bulls are bad or not. One half yelling "Don't blame the breed, it's the owners fault..." and the other half screaming "Those are vicious murder dogs!"

Another stellar topic to watch as a spectator sport is politics... Because 99% of people are told what to say and how to respond to others by the media. Left or right, doesn't matter. Look around the web. The same conversations with the same talking and counter points are all over in very different corners of the web. It's astonishing how politics is nothing more than quips and talking points.

I find the back and fourth pretty hilarious. Mainly, because this is the type of content online that strongly evokes a play on your emotions. Then, when a person gets all emotionally hyped up, they try to argue with reason and logic, or at least what they think is reason and logic. There's the problem... If you're emotionally tied to a subject, you can't be logical.

I already know, you're probably ready to email and tell me how wrong I am about your ability to be logical in an emotional situation... The fact that this is bugging you is because I've dinged your ego. Just hold your horses and humble up for a minute.

The reason people go so nuclear online is simple. We simply value our own opinions well above where they should be valued at. Social media has created super-egos in all of us. We can't just see something that upsets us and move on. We, as humans, have to post a snarky response or use bigger and bigger words to make us seem more photosynthesis all in the name of getting pretend cool points from strangers we don't know, and will most likely never meet.

Just giving an opinion without being asked is about the most narcissistic thing a person can do. That's why young parents get so angry when your childless girlfriend decides to give them parenting advice in the middle of a restaurant. They don't need her advice, but she's gonna give it. And we somehow rationalize an action like that by saying "Everyone is entitled to their own opinion." blah blah blah... That's technically true, but that doesn't make you a visionary of personal freedoms. That makes you a giant b-hole.

So the next time you have an opinion, ask yourself a few questions before providing it to everyone in the room.

1: Has someone asked me for my opinion?
2: Is my opinion really worth sharing?

Answer Key:
1: Yes; 2: No

If nobody has asked you, pipe down. That doesn't mean you can't feel the way you feel, but stop pretending your opinion matters to strangers. Hope on a friends feed. Write a message to your grandma. Catch up with your parents online. Go outside and meet your neighbors. Be the person in real life you expect people to think your are online.