Read on Twitter
“I don’t like (piece of art).”
“(Piece of art) is awful.”
One of these statements is objectively defensible, and the other is not.
“(Piece of art) is awful.”
One of these statements is objectively defensible, and the other is not.
It wasn’t my intention to become the Positivity Police (and I know I’ve become a broken record on this), but I can’t shake the thought as I look through social media on a daily basis.
Social media breeds and amplifies negativity, rather than empathy (and is therefore the opposite of “social,”). It would do all of us a lot of good to try and reverse that.
If you dislike something that someone else likes, you’re not “wrong.” Nor are they. It’s all point of view - the life experiences and expectations we bring to every piece of art. It’s that connection that makes art so special.
But what I see on social media every single day goes way beyond simple evaluation of how a piece of art makes of feel. It’s nastiness for sport. It’s swinging a baseball bat at other people’s experiences in the name of intellectual superiority.
I’m not trying to discourage honest conversation about media. That would be absurd. But it’s turned into yet another tribalistic cultural war that has real victims. As I said, digital nastiness on social media always gets amplified, and it often turns into very real harassment.
And I’ve found it liberating to not take my own opinions so seriously. If I go into something and try to enjoy it... I generally enjoy it. It’s a lot more fun. It doesn’t mean I think everything is perfect or amazing, but it’s a lot easier to dwell instead on what’s good.
Tweets, but editable, please 
