That’s why we’re featuring the “wait a second this is wholesome content” Facebook group. A community of like-minded people who like sharing “the most wholesome things out there.” Their mission is as simple as that – to keep the world more wholesome. So scroll down and get some dopamine from our selection of pics from this group! We reached out to the creator of this group, Illie Nilbog Curtis. She kindly agreed to tell Bored Panda how the group was created, what it’s like moderating such a big community, and what challenges the admins run into most often. Read our chat with her below! Illie says that moderating the “wait a second this is wholesome content” group of 169k members can be difficult, but, luckily, she has help. “I have a team of mods that I can’t even tell you how much I adore each and every one of them, as a whole and individually. They have become some of my closest friends, whether they live in another state here in the U.S. or overseas. I would be lost without them.” “The biggest challenge we run into, though, is keeping an eye on comment sections, making sure everyone is actually keeping it wholesome. And duplicate posts as we’re going through post requests.” “It turned into a safe haven for only positive content, allowing discourse and educating but no bullying, trolling, or put-downs, and making sure that everyone has a chance to be heard and validated.” Let’s face it – most of us spend too much time online. Sometimes, we might seek emotional support in the form of positive content. In fact, a survey by the Richmond Foundation asked people ages 13 and 25 if they are likely to turn to social media to deal with their emotions. 24.3% of the respondents said they were more than likely to do that, and 9.2% said it would be very likely. In 2022, Dr. Michèle Lamont, a sociology professor at Harvard, conducted a study where she interviewed 80 undergraduate students. She found that they greatly valued optimism and being active towards social change. Whereas the older generations expect hardships, the younger gen focuses on positivity to move on from them. Comments sections are often anonymous, so people rarely feel the consequences of their words in real life. There’s also the online disinhibition effect: some things that are acceptable online would hardly be acceptable in real life – there are rarely any checks and balances. Cuncic also says that educating yourself outside of the comments section can be helpful. “Read trusted sources of information and form your own opinion rather than relying on what you learn from the comment sections of news sites or social media pages,” she writes. Follow Bored Panda on Google News! Follow us on Flipboard.com/@boredpanda! Please use high-res photos without watermarks Ooops! Your image is too large, maximum file size is 8 MB.
