Stuck in the ice

The nights have been dropping below zero now which means the last of the leaves are falling from the trees and the darkness arrives quickly. It is this time of year that many start to complain about the cold, the mud, the coming winter and, depression.

Depression in Finland is a widely joked about topic considering it has such drastic effects on society and a significant portion of health funding goes to dealing with mental health issues. There are many factors that influence depression but I think among the highest in Finland is, an unwillingness to talk.

Finns are relatively quiet people who generally have a small circle of friends who they have known for many years. Once the groups are formed, rarely do new people enter into the circle at a deep enough level to have real conversations with which gives a limited view society and life.

Even though it is very common here to speak and joke publicly about depression, in personal relationships, it is much more taboo to discuss with those closest. Combine this with the drinking culture and viewing seeking help as a weakness, and it is a recipe for a range of negative behaviours with many ending in suicide. Everyone knows someone who took their own life.

With such limited social interaction, many I have talked to over the years feel that they have no one to really express themselves with, to get out what is inside and with which to explore why, what and how. They feel somewhat trapped by circumstance and even though life is generally stable for most, they feel anxious about what churns inside them.

Considering the country has one of the best funded and professional school systems in the world, when it comes to learning and understanding emotions, Finns are often lacking. This doesn't only effect the individual however as with nearly everyone being somewhat emotionally blind, they often fail to see when another is struggling and even if they recognise, they mind their own business and avoid the situation. Even with the people closest to them.

This is of course further exacerbated by a continual technological retraction from face to face interaction and the ability to manage life without ever having to come directly in contact with people. The chance to withdraw and disconnect is increasing.

When I was a child there was a game called Stuck in the mud where if tagged by the chaser, you would be frozen in position. Perhaps in this case however, the opposite is true. The way to unfreeze is to get tagged, interact with people, discuss, talk, laugh, cry. Perhaps just having someone to sit and drink a cup of tea with is all it takes for some people.

One of the benefits of Steemit is that it gives a platform to increase the circle of interaction with people from many various walks of life and views. Friends can be made with which deep discussions can be had and, content is encouraged that explores the dark depths, as well as the light. A different view of life and definitely a much wider life experience can be discovered through the words of each other.

On top of this, the platform is not just a place to share thoughts, real world things are being organised and developed. Development teams are forming for new application, charity workers are connecting and pooling resources and occasionally but increasingly, people are meeting each other face to face. Not like a dating app for a hook up based on material information, but where people have interacted and shared thousands of words and thoughts with each other, seen life activities and supported each other both emotionally and financially in many cases.

Perhaps this is the type of platform that can actually be the bridge. Perhaps it can be a place where real people meet and discuss digitally yet act in the walking world. From Steemit and the Steem blockchain, it may be possible that this hybrid experience can actually bring deeper social interaction rather than one-sided soliloquy thrown out into the ether.

Maybe through all of our posts, replies, comments and chats, we will be able to tag each other and create the connections and relationships that release the legs that have been frozen and free the mind and body to enact real world change. This is not about global change, it is about the ability to act at a local level. There is even an inbuilt currency that can be directed with accuracy to just about any point on earth.

People spend a lot of time frustrated and complaining about the UI which sucks and the issues voting, the loss of potential income and a whole host of performance issues but, rarely do they step back to see the bigger picture. Steemit, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are in their infancy and are on the boundaries of what we currently know. There are issues that arise across these areas that we haven't faced before and did not consider in the original designs. Fixing these issues then is a challenge, and creating viable solutions for all will undoubtedly come with unintended consequences.

Perhaps this is a piece of the digital legacy too. We are so used to being fed information at light speed from sources invested in selling that we have lost the art of patience, lost the ability to listen to each other and instead think that driving our issues and agendas are the most important factors. With the continual throwing up into the digital void, we have come to believe that our opinions are the only ones that matter.

When it comes to our evaluations of ourselves, this may be true. When it comes to our evaluations of systems that will affect millions, we have to take a much more pragmatic approach and consider broadly. Perhaps, when we consider the positions of others, we we will actually learn something that helps us with our own struggles.

Yes, I am idealistic in much of my thinking yet I am practical in my actions as that is what actions are. So at least for me, I can use Steemit to interact and engage myself with discussions that not only walk on the edge and look into the darkness but, help provide some with a small light.

It doesn't take much to change a life. It doesn't take much to save one. It doesn't take much to lose one.

Taraz
[ a Steemit original ]

A mixed bag of connections. Just like Steemit.