I guess I just want Japan to be truly a part of this planet and part of the human society, not a virtual dreamworld Timbuktu beyond the Gate only accessible by embarking high-tech Boeing aerospace product. That's what the Japanese government always wanted to since coal-powered US gunships appeared out of nowhere, after all. Squatting top 18/20 of top 10 busiest stations list don't help achieving that goal. I sort of also feel that East Asia is underrated while at it.

I don't mean to artificially undermine this country, nor look down on anyone. I just naively believe, better data drive us forward faster. And the data at hand don't really look down to Earth. So it gives me an itch.

You're right that I shouldn't be addicted to social media. I know, I shouldn't be...

Before I disappear into the ether, I will just say its best to not engage with such diatribe on the internet. I say that for your sanity.

I've observed that discussions of foreign cultures online tend to devolve into ethnocentrism, with exchanges hinting at cultural superiority/inferiority. If I were to hazard a guess, Japan is particularly prone to this on English social media given its rising popularity and how little overlap it has with western cultures. When a culture is fundamentally different, its distinguishing features show through more on the surface, because they are naturally manifestations of the differing underlying values. Again, none of it is about good/bad, correct/wrong, superior/inferior. Just different. Like flavors of icecream.

They say outrage is addicting. These online discussions are particularly addicting in a pernicious way, probably because any feeling of threat to one's own cultural identity (i.e. one's tribe) will stoke the fires on the most basic parts of our human psychology. Engage enough times and start taking sides on cultural judgement/appraisal, and you'll probably end up feeling constantly triggered for no reason from minor instigations online (intentional or ignorant).

Now combine that feeling of outrage with scrollable access. To me, it is no wonder that there are many stories nowadays of ordinary people that become radicalized online.

I remind myself that various cultures exist worldwide that reflect different values. Comparisons and feelings of superiority/inferiority exist separately from that.

So I generally try to avoid hints of such discourse online that tend to confound these things, though I still come across it in random places when I'm not looking for it, and admittedly that urge to join in arises. In real life, I have relationships that come from a place of understanding, that are more complex than online diatribes about cultures. A far more rich set of interactions with individual personalities, both Japanese and non-Japanese. I can only hope that enough AI drivel will lead to critical mass of brainrot online and force us to engage outside more.