Monday Tip-Off: Elder Millennial Yells at Social Media
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some cranky thoughts about social media as an Elder Millennial on those platforms.
As an Elder Millennial who has been using the internet since 1997, I’m no stranger to the negativity of cyberspace (do we even call it that, anymore?). It’s been over twenty years since Penny Arcade bestowed The GIFT upon us, succinctly explaining how utterly feral some people get when they’re anonymous. As you can imagine, running a fansite with a forum attached for over two decades has provided first-hand experience with that! My point is that I’m no stranger to the toxicity of the internet, and that the phenomenon has been normalised long before social media in its current form.
And yet, there’s something about social media these days that makes me, an Elder Millennial – or Millennial Prime, as I personally prefer – feel like channelling Grampa Simpson and yelling at some clouds. After all, that is what we’re doing whenever we rage against social media and online toxicity; both in the punny, literal sense of data being stored in the cloud, and the metaphorical sense of a pointless exercise. We all know that people are jerks online. We know that platforms without moderation invite hateful views at worst and unpleasant discourse at best. Still, I believe that the dismal state of social media continues to hit new lows, without many viable alternatives.
The question, therefore, is why do I still use it? Quite simply, despite its problems, social media remains useful. Messaging functionality makes it a convenient way to keep in touch with people. It’s one method of getting news about my interests, and interacting with brands and public figures. As an online creator, it’s basically essential to have some kind of social media presence in order to promote your content. There are also other creators doing great things that make them fun to follow, whether it’s sharing interesting trivia, nostalgic media, or thought-provoking commentary. Rare as it may be, you can occasionally have some good discussions and positive interactions!
To that point, I envy people who are more disconnected from social media than I am, or indeed have gotten rid of it completely. I try not to doomscroll and strive to curate my feed as much as possible, muting or blocking accounts that I have absolutely zero interest in hearing from, and following accounts judiciously. There are conversations that I’m apt to stay out of, and personalities that just I won’t interact with. Posting on message boards taught me years ago that it’s often better to just walk away when it’s clear that a discussion can’t be productive, pleasant, and in good faith, but the vastness of social media and sycophantic followers frankly makes it worse than any forum.
I learned that when I made the mistake of engaging with a pathetic “journalist” whose career is most notable for trying to tear down Michael Jordan’s legacy at the behest of his Klutch puppetmasters. I dared to point out that some of LeBron James’ “youngest ever” records were – much like Kobe Bryant’s – aided by debuting as a teenager. This egotistical buffoon decided to take my words out of context, quote-posting me with a snarky comment. Naturally, this sent all of his goons after me, and while I tried to clarify my point, he let them do his dirty work. Eventually my notifications settled down, but not after enduring a ton of nastiness when I had been nothing but cordial.
It speaks volumes about that particular individual: that he’s a coward, a bully, and a shill who incorrectly fancies himself a basketball expert. To that end, he exemplifies the sad reality that so many talking heads have egos that are massive, yet fragile. How dare some pleb with a smaller follower count dare to disagree with him! And so, he weaponised the quote-post, as jerks with a big following are wont to do. Even if he didn’t say the words, the instruction is quite clear. “Look at what this person said, they need to be shut down and brought down a peg. Go, go! Attack, attack!” There’s no two ways about it, and it’s never a fair fight at that point. Once again, it’s cowardly.
Incidentally, this is also why the whole concept of someone getting “ratioed” isn’t a reliable measure of the substance and accuracy of their arguments and statements. Yes, people who post ridiculous and/or hateful takes – whether it’s about sports, video games, socio-political issues, or whatever – may well end up with an unflattering ratio of negative to positive responses, and deservedly so. However, much like downvotes on Reddit, a fair, well-reasoned opinion can be ratioed simply because it goes against what a popular person is saying. Sycophancy, brigading, and prevailing narratives all have a way of downplaying and silencing reasonable discourse across social media.
Although I was able to remove myself from that unpleasantness, sadly that tool and his wrong, dull ilk have succeeded in pushing their ridiculous and insulting narratives about basketball and NBA history. They’ve undoubtedly done their job in advancing their agenda and polluting the discourse. So be it; as I said, I make a point of muting or blocking accounts of people who add nothing constructive to the conversation and clearly have no idea what they’re talking about. As such, I admire those who have the patience to push back on “We’re done with the 90s” and other foolishness that not only disrespects the past, but makes the present less impressive by lowering the bar.
It’s not just wannabe experts with a following, though. NBA Cobwebs – a must-follow for long-time basketball fans – posted a clip of Michael Jordan dunking on Bob Sura in 1997. I re-posted it, mentioning that it’s one of my all-time favourite MJ slams. Someone leapt into the replies to remark “Over Bobby Sura”, ostensibly saying that it wasn’t that impressive. Note that I didn’t call it one of the best dunks ever, or even just one of MJ’s best. I only called it a personal favourite. Somehow, positively reflecting on a nostalgic moment – without any further commentary or comparisons to anyone or anything else in history – invited a rebuttal to an argument that I never actually made.
Being an Elder Millennial, I’m obviously aware that this is “Arguing on the Internet 101”, and it’s been that way long before social media came along. Admittedly, it’s also possible that it was intended to be a neutral comment, though I have my doubts. The GIFT has empowered people to be their worst selves, on social media, forums, and in-game chats alike. At least that person isn’t creating multiple accounts to come after me and others with nasty and threatening remarks over a difference of opinion from years ago, and doing so on every social media platform where we can be found. That’s truly unhinged behaviour, especially over opinions on basketball. Seriously, just let it go!
With that in mind, it’s difficult to say which platform is the worst for discussion of my interests. It feels like whenever there’s a fresh start, the same people rush there to keep spreading toxicity. With Twitter/X being an absolute garbage fire, I thought maybe Threads would be a good alternative. Sadly, the “We’re done with the 90s” and “stop complaining and just enjoy video games” crowd have migrated there, too. In my “For you” tab on Threads – which absolutely shouldn’t be the default landing page – I saw some clown claim that Michael Jordan averaged 5 ppg at the age of 40. Hypothetical scenarios about different eras are one thing, but that’s just spreading misinformation!
Needless to say, there are far bigger problems on social media than bad takes about basketball, basketball games, video games in general, and other such hobbies and interests. I don’t want to get into all of those issues as they’re beyond the scope of our content, but as someone who has always tried their utmost to provide a welcoming environment and friendly community on the site that I’m running, I’m appalled by the lack of moderation, or outright siding with people behaving terribly. Free speech is important, in society and in online spaces, but so is decorum and respect. You end up with the community that you cultivate. That’s why NBA 2K online is as toxic as it is.
The way that the people who make social media so wretched for others move from platform to platform is perhaps the bleakest part. Like a schoolyard bully who stalks their victim to torment them further, these prime examples of The GIFT aren’t content to take over online spaces and push people out of them. Instead, they migrate to the new platforms, bringing the toxicity with them. And, like a schoolyard bully, anyone who stands up to them often ends up getting equal or more severe punishment. It’s not about daring to have a different opinion and being willing to express it, but rather the desire to be a perpetual party-pooper, and feeling entitled to control every platform.
Now, as for a viable solution to these woes, that is the million or indeed billion dollar question. It takes time for social media platforms to gain sufficient popularity and traction to be widely adopted. There are no guarantees. Hey, remember Google+ and Circles? Even with all of Google’s money and forced integration with YouTube, it was a bust! Bluesky has potential, but brands, celebrities, and content creators are still warming up to it. It seems committed to being a friendlier platform – a throwback to Twitter long before it became X – but we’ll see how long that lasts, and whether it gains enough popularity to matter. It’s tough to rebuild a following on a new site.
Mind you, even with a decent-sized following, thanks to algorithms and suppression of external links, it’s getting increasingly harder to ensure that your content actually reaches its intended audience when you share it. You can curate your own feed, and hope that your followers do the same, but apart from that, you’re at the mercy of the platform. That is unless you want to pay for boosts, blue ticks, and other BS, but I don’t. It shouldn’t have to come to that, and given what most social media platforms allow and stand for, I’m not inclined to give them a single cent. It’s a novel thought, I know, but the things we share on social media should be seen by our social circle!
And so, we all make the best of social media, across every platform we’re on. Look, I’m not saying that everything was better in the heyday of forums and message boards. Not everyone got along, as cliques would form and personalities would clash. There was performative debate, albeit without the clout chasing and sycophantic backup of social media. They certainly weren’t a haven of civility, because The GIFT definitely was in effect back then, and the people who ran forums weren’t perfect either. I know that I’ve made mistakes with moderating. Trying to find the right grip on the reins sometimes meant fluctuating between being too harsh and too lenient with our rules.
Nevertheless, even with the anonymity of usernames, there was better community spirit than what social media frequently cultivates. It’s astonishing how rude some people will be, how openly they’ll attack and bully, all while using their real names! Again, I’m not suggesting there was never any performative debate in forums, or that everyone got along and was a keen subject matter expert. As it was the nerdiest, most hardcore fans jumping online to participate though, they tended to know their stuff. Anyone who didn’t was eager to learn, if only so they didn’t get shredded in a lengthy back-and-forth! Ignorant hot takes would get you branded as the community dunce.
Then again, there was gatekeeping in that. There’s no doubt that I have some rose-tinted specs here. In some ways, it’s a case of same problems, different platforms. All the same, it’s disheartening to see a useful concept like social media become mired in toxicity and unpleasantness. Even when a new site is created, the dismal discourse spreads there like a disease. Fingers crossed a platform can get it right, but until then, follow me and the NLSC everywhere, I suppose! Unless of course, you just want to hit me up on every platform with rude and nasty messages over not being a fan of your favourite player. If so, it’d be much better if you yelled at some clouds instead.
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