Constant Outrage is All the Rage

There is a lot of outrage to be found on the internet.We're outraged by a reality TV drama.We're outraged by a photoshopped Instagram picture. We're outraged by the existence of Justin Bieber.Difference of opinion? Outrageous. Not doing things my way? Outrageous. Making counter-cultural choices? OUTRAGEOUS.Constant outrage - particularly vented on social media - has become an epidemic, much like slacktivism.With the click of a few buttons, a sprinkling of hashtags or sharing of links we can appear knowledgable and well-rounded and opinionated, all without leaving the comfort of our homes. All without doing a lot.Look, I'm partial to a good rant myself.  But constantly looking for things to be enraged about is exhausting.

• It's OK to not have opinions on some things. Really.
• It's OK to just keep scrolling.
• It's OK to not engage with people looking for controversy.
• It's OK to simply ignore the comment designed to rile you up.
• It's OK if you aren't overly concerned by the latest drama on MasterChef.
• It's OK if you don't watch football and therefore really don't care about the Big Game so, please, for the love of sanity, stop talking to me about it...

It's also OK if you really care about things and get upset and do something about it.There are many, many issues worthy of our attention and outcry and action (think bigotry, violence, prejudice, corruption, abuse of power).But when it comes to the small stuff, why are we always looking for something to be angry about? Why are we sniffing around for a hint of controversy? Why must we be up in arms or hashtagging the hell out of a faux pas?Constant and empty outrage is pointless. It's just noise.Why not slow the outrage and buy yourself some inner peace?Keep scrolling. Shake it off. Ask yourself if it's really important to you. Question if it will matter in one day, one month, one year.Accept that there are things you can't change. Accept that there are things you can't be bothered changing. And change the things you can.