This is a hard one and I think you’re asking the wrong question. This post reads to me like you’re trying to prevent getting into the same situation you were in as a child by thinking through everything.
Notice the underlying assumption that people will always act selfish (“capitalism makes everyone selfish”, “a partner only wants to enjoy your stable life”), are unreliable (“people are only fair-weather friends”, “people don’t want to socialize”) and are always out to get you (“going outside is dangerous, because people want to run me over and fascists will kill me”, “someone wants to wipe out my progress”).
And (apart from your parents) is that how people in your life have behaved? (Like e.g. People in school, early childhood friends, teachers or even strangers)
You wrote that your brain is “constantly thinking about everything and everyone that could kill me or take everything I have”, but I think it’s also what your assuming everyone WANTS to do.
So, is the internet useful?
Well depends on how you use it.
You can choose to see the fascists in the streets and get confirmation. Or you can choose to notice the protestors, the actions people are taking against the fascists.
But, if left alone, the internet will reinforce what you already believe, be it true or not. You can use the internet to challenge your assumptions, but it takes as much questioning, soul-searching and conscious effort as doing that in the real world.
And changing a survival mechanism and belief that kept you alive during childhood is one of the toughest things one can do. It’s not impossible, but it requires a lot of uncertainty and finding a lot of little assumptions that were only useful during childhood.
This is a hard one and I think you’re asking the wrong question. This post reads to me like you’re trying to prevent getting into the same situation you were in as a child by thinking through everything.
Notice the underlying assumption that people will always act selfish (“capitalism makes everyone selfish”, “a partner only wants to enjoy your stable life”), are unreliable (“people are only fair-weather friends”, “people don’t want to socialize”) and are always out to get you (“going outside is dangerous, because people want to run me over and fascists will kill me”, “someone wants to wipe out my progress”).
And (apart from your parents) is that how people in your life have behaved? (Like e.g. People in school, early childhood friends, teachers or even strangers)
You wrote that your brain is “constantly thinking about everything and everyone that could kill me or take everything I have”, but I think it’s also what your assuming everyone WANTS to do.
So, is the internet useful? Well depends on how you use it.
You can choose to see the fascists in the streets and get confirmation. Or you can choose to notice the protestors, the actions people are taking against the fascists.
But, if left alone, the internet will reinforce what you already believe, be it true or not. You can use the internet to challenge your assumptions, but it takes as much questioning, soul-searching and conscious effort as doing that in the real world.
And changing a survival mechanism and belief that kept you alive during childhood is one of the toughest things one can do. It’s not impossible, but it requires a lot of uncertainty and finding a lot of little assumptions that were only useful during childhood.