Each new year brings an opportunity to reset.
Some people like to start the new year off with a new diet, workout regimen, or taking a break from drinking alcohol. Others set different goals like changing careers, visiting a new place, having more fun, or trying something new. Some people are resolute not to have any resolutions.
Whatever choice you make, the backbone of that choice is essentially meant to make you happier and healthier. It is meant to help you for the incoming year and well beyond.
This is why Squamish’s resolution should be to permanently shut down the Squamish Speaks Facebook group.
I know what you’re thinking; it will be tough. But if you really think about it, the group is causing more hassle than help. We know it has devolved into a group filled with constant negativity, none of which has any positive outcomes.
Yes, I know there are times when social media can be useful. It has been linked to community building and connecting with family and friends, especially when you live separately from those people.
Yet, social media has also been linked to depression, anxiety, loneliness, feelings of inadequacy, cyberbullying and more negative effects. Squamish Speaks is filled with trivial complaints and useless bickering. That doesn’t sound like a place that is building community anymore.
That’s why it’s time to shut it down, moderators.
Some might ask, why can’t you just leave or look away? But try as we might, it’s impossible to escape the allure on our own.
Social media companies want us to come back again and again and again. Like flies buzzing toward a light, humans innately look towards negativity again and again and again, even if it’s driving us mad. We, ultimately, need the help of our friends—in this case, the moderators—to rid ourselves of the madness.
And just imagine what awaits us on the other side.
Instead of spending mindless hours with absolute nonsense on the internet, we channel that energy into something good. We talk with our neighbours face-to-face about our ire. We find real solutions. What’s more, we find common ground with others. We listen. We engage. We remember what it’s like to be human and decent.
Sounds pretty peachy, if you ask me.
That future isn’t so far beyond our grasp. In fact, with one simple click of a button, we could just have the best new year yet. It’s time, Squamish.
We all know it. It’s time to let go of Squamish Speaks for good.
