The internet is, in my mind, an information delivery service. It has made me more aware of worldwide tragedies. It has also made me more aware of the causes of those tragedies; without the internet, I would probably be a pro-American liberal.

Not deeply emphasizing with all of this is not necessarily a flaw. Humans aren’t built to deal with that on a regular basis. Not engaging with things that don’t affect you is normal. For most of human history, that’s not an issue, but with the world’s information at your fingertips, it suddenly is.

The author has decided to do this by logging off. That’s fine, and it’s probably the correct response if the internet is significantly damaging your mental health. I don’t think it’s required for most people, though, and modern people being more aware of the world is a good thing - it’s hard to imagine a generation of Americans who are generally critical of capitalism, and yet here we are. I hope this weird new enlightenment leads to people that are more ready that previous generations to fight back against systems that are transparently unjust, but only time will tell.