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               Recently, I've reflected a lot on my relationship with social media. Because even with its penchant for toxicity and its unparralelled ability to send me into a spiral of self-loathing, there's something about the endless supply of memes, videos of cute animals, videos of cute people, and all other things good in the world that gives me the boost of cheap serotonin that I really need sometimes. 

Nevermind the fact that almost every comment section I see now has turned into some battle ground for people who attempt to get their opinion heard but turn cruel the instant someone dares to oppose them, and suddenly, two strangers on the internet are hurling the filthiest insults at each other as if a simple interaction online gave them the ability to cut straight to the bone using the knife of insecurity. Nevermind the fact that the same people who post about how everone should "spread love and kindness" and "be empathetic" would be the first to turn against you the second they don't approve of something you say or believe, as if their love, kindmess, and empathy is only reserved for those who they feel are worthy of it. Nevermind the fact that that the same people who celebrate the successes of other people only do so until these successes reach a point at which people's jealousy of such overpowers their ability to even fake niceties. Nevermind that the same people who criticise that one girl for having a different persona online know damn well that they have one, the way, we all do. Nevermind that it's so addicting to see what everyone else is doing, that we begin lose track all the good things happening for us in the hopes of having a life as perfect as the ones we see other people project online.

But in between the intense moments of heavy cynicism about what the Internet has come to and the happy moments of watching a video of a cute puppy wearing a hat, there's moments of comfort to be found even online. Moments like texting a friend or video calling your cousins seem to lie comfortably in the middle of the exhilarating highs and the dramatic lows of being online. The moments of calm, peacful contenment, simply embracing the ability to connect with someone, no matter how far away they are. Moments that almost seem to be able to measure up to all the moments spent offline.

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