I’ve noticed that there seems to be an emphasis on being extremely serious at all times, as if every single comment is a PhD dissertation being evaluated or something. There’s like this weird, subtle one upmanship about every little thing and a lot of people are very nitpicky and judgmental. It kind of takes the fun out of being on here, TBH. Or am I the only one experiencing this?
There’s a big difference between “I have something to say” and “I want everyone to see how smart I am”.
Not really. If someone is offering their view, it’s often because they want to be valued for what they bring to the conversation. There’s nothing wrong with someone wanting to feel valued. There’s just no way to filter the things people say based on their motivation because even the speakers are often unaware of it. That’s a level of self-awareness very few people can manage. If you could magically shut down all communication that wasn’t at least heavily based in the esteem drive, you’d have a nearly silent world.