The Generation X Files

We made it through 2025 then! 😮‍💨

I ended last year with an intention not a resolution. That was to expand my little corner of the internet for us to share our thoughts and build a little community along the way. (Would have probably been easier to just resolve to go to the gym or something instead on reflection! 😆)

Because I’m not the most technically minded, I’ve been using the internet to research how to best achieve that.

The problem (for me) is, it’s not like before when you searched for something and had pages and pages to choose from.

Now, it’s an AI summary, a bunch of adverts to scroll through and hundreds of cookies to ‘agree’ to (which provide you with more ‘tailored’ ads!). Then, if you’re lucky, you get to the thing you were looking for in the first place.

Honestly, I like doing my own research. I don’t want a summary or a recommendation based on algorithms. I can use my own brain to decide whether information is relevant or not.

I think we rely on technology too much already. When it’s no longer required to learn basic things like telling time from a clock, that’s got to be a concern. ⛔️🕐

I read recently that almost 1 in 4 young people have turned to AI ‘chat bots’ for mental health support. I can’t help it, that sends chills down my spine. I mean I do understand the reasons why….but, I can’t believe that’s what the world has come to.

It used to be easier to find support from actual humans online. There were groups and forums you could join and get advice (or even just ‘lurk’ in without actively contributing). Now, even that seems to have changed.

I was looking for advice in different areas about various ways to expand this site and make it more accessible.

I ended up looking through various different online forums and I started to notice something. There are a lot of people who pose good faith questions and either get ignored or worse, lectured by a stranger.

I think if someone is asking for advice on the internet it’s because they’ve probably exhausted all their other options. I don’t think it’s helpful to add an extra layer of negativity to an already difficult situation.

It’s like finding a message in a bottle and throwing it back to sea with all the spelling mistakes highlighted! I think of all those unanswered posts out there…and the people who wrote them. Adrift, asking for a helping hand.

It’s a difficult thing to ask for help. Especially now where there are less and less resources available. It’s why I think we need to build real communities again. If it’s not possible to physically have that where you live, at the very least an online one.

Almost anything has got to be better than having a machine giving you ‘life’ advice! Recent research showed that AI is actually becoming ‘neurotic‘ itself!

One of the best things about starting this blog is the other people on here. It is the kindest and most supportive group I’ve been a part of online. I only embarked on this journey a couple of months ago but I’ve ‘met’ some incredible people already.

The difficult thing as a new blog is being ‘seen’, especially if (like me) you choose to do your own thing and not go for Search Engine Optimized titles etc.

I’m not trying to get monetized….I just want to have a ‘digital tree-house/hideout’ that everyone is invited to! I’ve looked and there’s no category for that. So, how do you make yourself more ‘visible’ to others?

🚨Actually, that’s something we can do right now…..if you’re reading this and you have your own WP site, tell us about it in the comments box below! Or recommend any that you have found and want to pass on.🚨

I know it’s only a small thing….but it’s something.

I started this blog for us to have conversations in a world where we seem to be losing touch with each other. It was my own version of a note in a bottle I guess. Luckily for me, it reached friendly waters and didn’t get left bobbing about! 🌊

It’s all too easy to be critical of each other but we all have our own problems. I still believe we have more in common than divides us.

I still think we need each other. It’s not too late to make real connections. You’ve just proven that by reading this!

Today’s post title was an easy one. (Please listen to it below to see what I mean 👇). I think we’re all feeling a little castaway and looking for a home.

Maybe I should send out my own S.O.S to the world……to Save Our Species.

Before the robots offer to help……!

Happy New Year to my fabulous fellow humans! 🍻🎉

Citizen Jane x