Facebook and LSD

Lately, I’ve been reading a book by American author Richard Albert (more famous as Ram Das). It’s about how to accept “the fall of life.” I was reading it with interest until I reached the point where the author stated how, in the latter half of the 1960s, he would experiment on himself using the drug LSD. Even more, the author stated that the drug was his “chemical instructor.” From then on, Ram Das’ critiques and arguments were uninteresting and unconvincing, and I set the book aside. Maybe I seem backwards, but I strongly reject similar experiments and similar “teachers.” By the way, I don’t accept the discussions about legalizing marijuana in our country for the same reason.

Drugs, in my opinion, are a dangerous way to escape from reality and they damage your mental and physical health. Of course, there are less dangerous but just as unhelpful methods. For example, smoking from “pain” or “nerves.” Or, neutralizing stress with vodka.

But there is a more dangerous and, I would say, destructive addiction, and its influence is comparable to drugs. That is the internet and, more specifically, aimlessly scrolling through social media. It’s been discussed a lot how negatively social media impacts teenagers, cuts them off from reality, takes up all their time, and prevents them from reading and doing homework.

But since us Armenians live in a very politicized society, our “LSD” is discussing politics and close-knit politics on Facebook. You wrote a status or comment, you presented yourself as a revolutionary or anti-revolutionary, you flattered or insulted whomever you needed to, and finally, you’re already a “politician,” you’re an “active citizen.” Armenian Facebook, at the moment, as a majority presents itself as being unrestrained fanatics of the current authorities and having unrestrained fanatical hatred towards the RPA and Kocharyan. And sometimes, just the opposite. People are “in the middle of a fight,” so to speak. In reality, that “fight” compromises their loneliness, sadness, and their strength to face reality.

Another author, Colin Tipping, who is from England but lives in the USA, came to the following conclusion: “People show that happiness is more important than the feeling of being right with their behavior.”

Aram Abrahamyan