#patronising twaddle

[meisiesmut]

I'm barely on the periphery of the Reylo fandom but I found this article infuriating, patronising and bitchy. Who gives a rats if people make bank out of their Modern AU fics? Good for you ladies. Jealous preachy little poison pen cow.

[aliveria]

once, i thought “cottagecore” was a nice little aesthetique people enjoyed. then i saw a video called ‘living authentically’ about some rich pasty american who makes herb bundles for a living or some shit and i got so angry i blacklisted the term

[pointless-letters]

No Ivor, it’s not. Next question.

[theresemcmahon-blog1]

Dear Agony Aunt: Health and Wellness

Dear Agony Aunt, How can I tell what is good and true online? There’s so many useful information groups and blogs on health and wellness groups out there but I can’t keep up. Who can I believe? From, Ruth Seeking Truth Dear Truth Seeker, Ruth, the truth is, finding authenticity online may be one of the biggest challenges facing our generation.

Our obsession with money and a susceptibility to charisma, status and the Kardashians has propelled us into an age where sham, spin, trickery and twaddle have all become new norms. And this completely sucks, as it means every time we open our phones, scroll our down feeds and read a news headline we must navigate this thorny terrain, with one eye open and a very large lie detector hoisted our left hand. While our culture fosters this environment, I would argue deep down, nobody likes a fake. I learnt this early on, when I told my entire friendship group in grade one that I was a professional Irish dancer on the Wiggles. My friends soon found out this was patently untrue and I was held accountable for days on end with that shameful, patronising tune, “Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.” This, I will never forget. While my actions were arguably not sinister (I was 7 for heaven’s sake), they are a good example of a lot of the codswallop plaguing the internet. People pretending to be something they are not. And sadly, this often applies most frequently to the health and wellness industry. Belle Gibson for example, a young Australian food blogger who claimed she cured her own cancer with her diet, is perhaps the most famous Insta-con artist. She secured a book deal with Penguin and a near half a million in advance, before her ‘truth’ – that she had never really been sick – came crashing down around her.

With more than 200,000 followers on Instagram, Gibson’s message had the Instagram tick of legitimacy (a strong crowd), influence and global reach – until she did not. But how were we to know? Kendall Jenner is another internet sensation regularly lambasted for thoughtless behaviour. This mostly recently included an advert, for Proactiv, where Jenner credited the skin brand for curing her acne, rather than the top-tier beautician known to titivate, at great expense her skin. This carefully omitted detail is a great example of the current state of the internet’s health and wellness sphere - a place of relentless falsehoods selling us lifestyles pinned up on tummy tea and self-love, meanwhile in truth, there is so much else at play here. So, who can you trust? Ruth seeking truth, in the incredibly murky waters of internet land? Sadly, my answer is, probably nobody. Health and wellness has always been any area of fads and trends and the internet has only exacerbated it. My advice to you is be as discerning as a Russian spy: read books, try things and have conversations online about ideas, foods and synchronised swimming routines but take nothing, I MEAN NOTHING, as gospel.

Love, Agony Aunt

IMG’s from: Tanya Cooper, The Australian, Noello Designs