leaving facebook

i have decided to leave facebook.

at least for now.

thus far, the facebook had allowed me to be updated with my friends' lives, although sometimes there are just too much information. anyway, of late, there are just so much negative energies that made me very stressed up and very disappointed with many people. many many people. so much so that i need to do something to preserve my own sanity and to preserve views about them. no, let me make it very clear. i do not look down on them. how can i possibly look down on people in my facebook friend list aka my friends? it will be the last thing for me to do so. i love and respect all my friends. but in facebook, i have reached a state whereby there is too much negativity and an information overload of what i want to know of my friends (and for the record, the same could be said of people posting comments in yahoo news, channelnewsasia, etc...)

i learned one very good lesson over the past few weeks - that the cybermedia is really powerful in influencing people. and regretably, there were so much misinformation, incomplete information, distorted information, and so on. well, i guessed this is to be expected. information are factual. but like statistics, it can be twisted and presented in a way that is congruent to people's agenda (well, that's politics right?). but what i find it hard to accept is to see singaporeans taking to it like as though it is the hard truth and become so emotional about it. people have called me an emotional person and i do admit i am. but when it comes to politics, i strongly believe critical thinking and objectivity needs to take centerstage. facts and systems thinking was very much needed.

i supposed my previous work experiences as a geopolitical and regional military analyst and my educational journey had shaped my behaviour towards looking at information. to me, information must be reaqd in context. and before that, information needs to be verified for its authenticity, accuracy and the source needs to be assessed on its reliability before we start to make sense of the issue. such a critical treatment to any piece of information had been a important aspect of my job as well as my educational journey. both my bosses as well as my supervisors have moulded my reading and thinking habit. they have often questioned every piece of information i obtained from the internet and made it a routine for me to quote things accurately and in context. and in making my arguments, system thinking have always been an important factor. such is the discipline i have become used to.

during the period up to the last general elections and in the past few days, there have been much hype and activities in the internet. this was a good sign cos it signalled the fact that many people are not just reading mainstream media but would also want to see what's available online. yes, the cyberspace do provide us to read alternative views compared to the mainstream media that tend to report views that are often seen as pro-ruling party. it is very important to do that as it would make one's conclusions and rationalisation process very robust. the key thing is that one needs to adopt an open mind when reading (both main as well as cybermedia). when one reads anything, one need to be careful about the authenticity of the information presented. if one do not do so, misinformation can cause harm. the interesting thing about misinformation is that it become accepted as the truth after it gets circulated through a few people. unstated assumptions becomes accepted as fact. and it began to spread like wild fire.

but alas, reading internet articles with an open mind was not what i sensed in the last general election. it was most disheartening that see people (much less my own friends) getting easily swayed by many articles and ended up getting emotional and becoming totally blinded by many of the unverified details and allegations. many have called it political awakening and attribute this to the maturing of the singaporean electorate. i disagree. judging by the many postings by people on the elections, i think the general election illustrated a more interesting and painful truth - that singaporean are immature, superficial, greedy and self-centered. their thinking is simplistic and they choose to convince themselves that they are an informed lot although their actions and words reeked so much of ignorance. they choose to see things from a self-centered angle. they are not interested to see the system. they do not want to understand and accept that things must be seen as an integrated whole. they see what they want to see, they hear what they wanted to hear and do not bother to question facts. they allowed themselves to be moved by self-centered reasons and by their heart and not their mind. worst of all, many people do not want to engage in constructive questioning. many did not bother to engage in conversations with opposing views. many of the comments posted were downright harsh, sarcastic, vulgar, cynical and unproductive. this was the same in all camps. you do not get personal with politicians, ruling party or opposition alike. a basic level of decorum and respect is needed.

i acknowledged it would not be fair to expect my friends and people at large to be totally objective and to understand the big picture. but to find them not even bothering to ask further was something i found unacceptable and very disappointing. i had expected more of singaporeans, considering singaporeans these days are generally better educated. sighs. but well, i supposed that is the fact i have to accept. i attribute this to the failure of the policy makers to properly engage and explain the policies to people, as much as i attribute it to people's disinterest in policies when it was announced.

over the last few weeks, i find it very stressful to see so much negative energies in the internet, especially in facebook where i see such negativities coming from none other than my own friends. so, to preserve myself and to preserve my views of my friends, i think it is best for me to leave facebook.

ps: then again, from just simply reading the internet, one would probably expect a total change in government, but looking at the results, it seemed there was a critical mass of people who were afterall, sensible.