So while I deeply care about politics, it's really not good for me. At least, a little more acutely than it is for others. Slight uptick in daily stress for me will ruin my sleep for weeks. It's a slow build but it happens. And I fall asleep just fine. It's the staying asleep that doesn't work. Melatonin, valerian root, lemon balm, l-thenanine, weighted blankets, good sleep hygenie, all in combination will not stop my mind from racing at 3am about SOMETHING.
I have several interests - classic film, music (typically older), tech (decreasingly)
And I can't find any place that doesn't drag it into modern politics.
The way people "discuss" on these platforms - reddit Twitter, etc is so toxic. And frankly it's made me toxic in how I reply to people once goaded into taking the bait
These platforms and algorithms and mobs are feed off negativity.
Every couple of months I'll get a reddit or Twitter account. I'll enjoy it for a while and then the politics leaks in more and more and I just end up deleting my account (and all my comments or contributions too)
I tried going back to magazines. But the phone is always "there" and my magazines are not and I just end up not reading them
Phones have changed impulses and behaviors and after 10 years of it, almost - I've found those behaviors harder to break than stopping smoking or cutting caffeine or eating poorly.
I'd ditch my phone all together.. But I work for a fortune 500 big tech company in a technical role and we know how that goes.
All I know is I hate social media. Hate..
But there's virtually no modern way to really engage with people on any given subject - nutrition, fitness, classic films, whatever. Without all the pitfalls of those competing mobs.
Going back to the remaining forums sounds nice but they've become content ghettos.