It felt good to write about a few things that were driving me crazy last week, so here are a few more:
Why do all new beverages have Stevia in them? Stevia tastes awful. It adds a nasty and bitter aftertaste to everything. I find myself having to check every label for Stevia because I want to avoid. I understand not wanting to use sugar as a sweetener – sugar is the devil. But how about not making everything so sweet in the first place? Do humans crave everything being overly sweet? Monkfruit sweetener is in the same category – it's just gross.
On a more serious note, there is all this bad press about social media being “dangerous” for teenagers. This idea gained momentum when Jonathan Haidt wrote The Anxious Generation. This book is highly overrated. He makes Instagram sound like the modern-day boogeyman. I don't think social media is really harming teenagers’ mental health on a large scale. I think we are just looking for a new thing to blame. Social media connects people; it helps you stay in touch with friends you might otherwise lose track of. Sure, there are horror stories where some complete idiot decides to eat Tide Pods or something because they were cyberbullied into it, but why are we making policy around the activities of the absolute most foolish individuals? Let natural selection run its course.
Remember the podcast, Serial? That podcast was the talk of the town and it was one of the first ones I listened to. It felt like suddenly everyone became a detective. But, honestly, it was overhyped and stupid. I think it is likely that Adnan Syed killed that girl AND that he had a bad lawyer. The hype around Serial was like the hysteria for that ridiculous Tiger King show on Netflix. Remember that one at the beginning of Covid? Everyone was glued to their screens watching this weirdo with the tigers, but that sucked too. It’s like we all lost our minds collectively for a moment.
Last one: I hate movies with narrators. As soon as I hear a narrator, I tune out. Didn’t we learn anything from 11th grade English? At Choate, Ms. Abby drilled into us to "show, don’t tell." A narrator is a lazy writing tool. It's like the director is waving a white flag, admitting they can’t figure out how to convey the story visually or through dialogue. As soon as the narrator kicks in, I'm out. Tell me you’re not trying without telling me you’re not trying.