A series of unpopular opinions. Share a thought, no matter how crazy or critique the ones other people have chosen to share. The point is to have fun provided we all keep an open mind and respect each others views. Healthy debates are welcome, extended discussions even more so.
<< Held (almost) every Friday >>
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I shared three unpopular opinions in the last post. Thank you to those that participated.
Unpopular opinion #1 Being good at math doesn’t make you smarter than other people. It just means you’re good at math. by u/alcoholyuhlater
Response(s):
Paula Light “Agree. People have their niches. Someone might be really good with tools and fixing/building things, but know little of history and literature. Vice versa for another. We should celebrate all skills and forms of knowledge instead of only the ones that the SAT can judge”
rugby843 “Agreed, people have individual talents and should use them to their best advantage”
Anne leueen “#1. YES! I was hopeless at Math and a good student in other subjects. Math is a subject you can get 100 % in . History? English? Philosophy? No 100% in those subjects. I worked in the financial markets for many years and people would always say “you must have been good in Math”. HaHA! If they only knew!”
Zaexanthe “1.For so long Math and speaking good English have been used as a sign of intelligence. In as much as math is important, its becoming irrelevant because everyone has a calculator. Our education system worldwide is now outdated. It was built on who can memorize the most but thats unnecessary now, we have information at the tip of our fingers. Intelligence is more than book smart, it includes so many other things. Whats the point of being good at math if you are not socially intelligent.”
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Unpopular opinion #2 Kids aren’t dumb so start treating them like the individual they are by u/Delusionaldally
Response(s):
Paula Light “Yes, treat children respectfully. That mom needs to be educated too though before she harms her child with poor nutrition and self-image”
rugby843 “Children are just little people and understand more than we know. Respect that and act accordingly. Ramen noodles are extremely bad for anyone, easy and cheap yes, but not for a good diet.”
Anne leueen “#2 Kids are unique individuals and I NEVER talked to either of my kids as if they were lacking in intelligence. I also referred to myself as I and not “Mummee ” As in “Mummee wants you to put your toys away now. Mummee is getting dinner for you snookums”. Nope it was “Time to put your toys away now Tom and Annie. Lets get cleared up and ready for dinner.” “
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Unpopular opinion #3 Influencers are bad for society, and they should be stopped. by u/Efren_John
Response(s):
Paula Light “I don’t even understand the influencer thing, maybe because I don’t use Instagram. Are companies really paying minor celebs to put their product in a photo? Who cares!”
rugby843 “If you let your child watch or use this type of technology constantly you are doing them a disservice. Teach by example”
Zaexanthe “Influencer culture is the worst disease that has hit our generation. People are being rewarded for being lazy, stupid and just useless. Since everyone is an influencer now what will our future be like?”
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Thanks to Paula Light , rugby843 , Anne leueen and Zaexanthe for participating and sharing their thoughts. Very much appreciated.
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As for today’s unpopular opinion(s) We have three. Check them out:
(Note: These opinions are in no way reflective of my personal views or biases; just ones I think will spark interesting dialogue in the comment section)
Unpopular opinion #1 Stop acting like depression is cool. by u/Uxogh
I’ve been under depression for several years. I attempted 3 times to end my life and the only result nowadays is a constant anxiety against myself.. I have trust issues and I barely even sleep correctly at night.
Netflix and other Medias have to stop acting like it’s something great and important for teenage boy/girl. I truly think a character doesn’t have to be depressed to be a deep character.
Unpopular opinion #3 Dating coaches are ridiculous by u/CharlesElliotFiddler
I saw on instagram the other day that this one girl I know was promoting her friend’s “dating coach services”. I laughed. Is that even real?
I looked it up and there are a ton of ‘professional services’ for people looking to improve their dating life. I swear to god I never saw something more ridiculous than this. People actually pay money for this.
This is something more popular in the US, Canada, and UK. When I was in Scandinavia and Panama, you didn’t really see things like that. Similarly in Ireland too. It’s not as common there.
In Wyoming and Alaska, it’s not that popular either, but in many places in the US it is.
Unpopular opinion #4 Women who dress certain ways for modesty reasons are empowering in their own way. by u/thishams
I don’t believe in controlling women, and how they dress, but being half Middle Eastern, I have a lot of female relatives who wear hijabs and keep themselves covered for modesty reasons.
I live in the US, and my relatives are in no way forced to dress this way. They aren’t even practicing religion.
I just find it so empowering how they choose to dress this way because it makes them feel better about themselves.
I’m not trying to slut shame, or say that women who dress differently aren’t empowering either, I just think that women who dress certain ways for modesty reasons are empowering in their own way.
O.D. 
As for the first one about depression, I am pleased that more characters are depressed or show signs of dismay. This isn’t a new thing either. The Breakfast Club which came out in the 80s –I think– is all about mentally disturbed teens. However, it is true, or I feel it is true, today that mental illness is becoming a saturated niche. In the end, corporations care nothing about the culture. They just take advantage of whatever people are willing to consume. The culture today has a lot of depressed kids who rarely enjoy interacting with each other sexually or socially. We watch movies or T.V shows while living vicariously through them. The corporations understand this and provided relief in the form of relatable characters.
My opinion is coming from a man that has been depressed his whole life. I don’t think I know what happiness feels like.
As someone who believes happiness to be a distraction I feel as if I have some understanding of where you’re coming from. I can’t pinpoint what happiness truly is but I do know joy.
And when joy is gone all we have is existential dread. Baseline human experience (at least from my understanding)
Living vicariously through these characters really is a relief. I thought of House M.D. and Rick from Rick and Morty when you mentioned that.
I liked House M.D for a while too. I know joy in a way, but I need to smoke cannabis to achieve it–i would never recommend drugs to anyone though. Personal preference. As for existential dread, I think the smartest among humans feel that, but not all people. I think absurdism sums up human life. People live and go to their grave holding onto beliefs that mean so little. That is why I consistently question myself and my views.
Absurdism comes the closest to identifying how the universe works. Its indifference to our presence etc. Many people are afraid to let go of their beliefs because that would make them come to terms with how grim reality actually is.
I think repeatedly questioning everything carries a measure of control. Not absolute but, personal control. Keeping what we understand of our own reality and building values that work for us is a full time job. Im a person who is consistently skeptical of people that impose certainty or carry dogmatic views that are somehow meant to work for everyone. Questioning everything, even ourselves seems to be the “healthiest” approach. Or at least the one that leaves me less surprised. I have been exploring ego deaths recently. Waking up every morning and destroying what I thought of myself before. Illusions really, of how I see myself and by extensions how others see me. I’m finding myself less disappointed these days because of that.
I like your approach Ramone.
Thanks. I like the way you think. I got to try your ego death morning routine. I usually try to meditate in the morning before getting too into social media and other influences.
Depression is cool? What? Depression is a mental illness. It is a hideous thing that causes so much pain for some people that they take their own lives and choose darkness over that pain. Sometimes I feel like I have lived too long to understand the younger generation who would think a serious mental illness is “cool”.
#1 – I’m not sure if I was getting exactly what they were saying, but my take is: it sure seems like EVERYONE has a “mental illness” with depression being the big one. I just don’t think that many have it. I believe that people are misinformed and uneducated about depression (and other things like OCD, etc). It’s not “cool” to actually have these. It can be debilitating. How is that “cool”?? A person can be depressed, for a while. Or go through a season of depression… but it shouldn’t be a lifestyle. It’s almost like, especially amongst artists, I’ve observed an almost addiction to the depression. It’s strange. I don’t think we should pretend it doesn’t exist… but also… we shouldn’t glorify or deify it either.
#2 – I’ve never felt that ignoring phone calls or texts is rude. This seems more of a generational issue… I have only had a “smartphone” (or a cell phone for that matter) for four years. You can survive JUST FINE without constant bombardment of electronics and other people’s lives. Also, don’t be so impatient. It’s OKAY to wait. That includes responses. I think it’s more rude to be face to face with someone and have them rudely cut you off, talk over, or text over you due to a phone notification. Like the person in front of you is less important than the phone person.