Relief found for MWS epidemic
You very well could be suffering horribly from MWS and not even know it.
MWS is Mean World Syndrome, by the way.
Yep, it’s a tough world out there. But it might not be as bad as your poison-injecting electronic devices — TVs, computers, smartphones — make it appear.
That’s the theory of media researcher George Gerbner, and we think he’s right. Especially here in North Idaho, where a nice walk around Tubbs Hill or a coffee break on a patio or a short drive into the mountains can remind you in a hurry why it’s so refreshing to slow down.
We also think Josh Misner, Ph.D., is onto something. Misner, a communications instructor at North Idaho College, is a key source in the cover story of Live Well Magazine, which comes out Wednesday.
In an article written by magazine editor Tyler Wilson, Misner talks about the essential nature of liberation from social media, even if it’s just for a little while, to keep some sort of perspective on reality. He points out the peril of FoMo-phobia — the fear of missing out when so much is happening in the social media universe. He notes how Facebook has stoked the FoMo-phobia bonfire by using “red notification numbers (and) ding alerts (that) condition us to come back for more.”
But Misner does more than observe one of society’s great ills, which includes an unhealthy self-centeredness (don’t believe it? Look at most people’s Facebook posts and see where their attention is focused). Misner offers a suggestion.
Turn it off.
Not permanently, necessarily, because most of us simply can’t afford to do that. Just turn it off for a little while.
“Once a week, every Saturday, I put away the phone and the computer, and we play board games, go outside, watch movies and take some time to recharge,” Misner told Wilson. “… On a regular basis we have to step away and interact and see how the world is working.”
Sure, there’s abundant room for world improvement, but keep in mind another little kernel of wisdom. And this is where self-centeredness can actually help.
The most important improvement always starts with ourselves.