this post was submitted on 25 Apr 2025
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.

Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. No politics
    • If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
    • A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct and the TOS

If you made it this far, showerthoughts is accepting new mods. This community is generally tame so its not a lot of work, but having a few more mods would help reports get addressed a little sooner.

Whats it like to be a mod? Reports just show up as messages in your Lemmy inbox, and if a different mod has already addressed the report, the message goes away and you never worry about it.

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[–] WereCat@lemmy.world 8 points 3 hours ago

My parents are already fully indoctrinated. I don't think there's a way back

[–] atrielienz@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

Social media sites thrive on the engagement that comes from those people doom scrolling so this whole premise is antithetical to the purpose of social media sites and the only reason they aren't doing the same to children is because the law prevents them from doing so wholesale (but they will try to edge around the law every chance they get).

[–] Surp@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

Man so much hate in this thread I'm not about what's happened at all with the USA but I'll still protect my family and show them a better way rather than let them rot and die. So many self righteous people thinking they know whats good.

[–] Pulptastic@midwest.social 10 points 7 hours ago

That’s a feature, not a bug. They show that stuff intentionally.

[–] Cocopanda@futurology.today 14 points 12 hours ago

My parents are full blown terrorists. But their so fat they can't actually do anything about their beliefs. I've warned them that if a Civil War starts. They will be the first to die because medications wont be available to keep them alive and I won't care when it happens. They voted for this and support this trash.

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 19 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

My wife stayed at an Airbnb last week, I tried to convince her to turn the parental controls on and block OAN and Fox.

[–] viking@infosec.pub 5 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

What's OAN? Never heard of that.

[–] nickiwest@lemmy.world 17 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Farther right than Fox. Yes, it's possible.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 6 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

So they straight up have swastikas in the background of their set, behind the anchors? Damn, that's gnar.

[–] rumba@lemmy.zip 5 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago)

On the surface it looks just like Fox. * Fox eases you into the bullshit, They choose what they want to cover newswise and just kind of let that tell their story. They let the real propaganda jump in and special events and with their opinion people. If you already have the right mindset and lack the ability to sniff out propaganda you would easily confuse Fox News for being just regular news.

OAN anchors come right straight out with the propaganda. When Biden was getting inaugurated they were freaking out with all the fences around the Capitol, when it was their own people that caused that to need to be there. They're not covering the news to make the narrative they're making the narrative and just fitting in whatever pictures they can to tell their story.

[–] Doctor_Satan@lemm.ee 7 points 16 hours ago

One America News. They used to be a fringe right-wing conspiracy website. Now they have a "news" broadcast on cable TV and a presidential administration that boosts them. It's basically your drunk Qanon uncle rambling about lizard people, but with professional production.

[–] gamer@lemm.ee 7 points 17 hours ago

Another far-right shit hole

[–] reluctant_squidd@lemmy.ca 15 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

It’s the right idea, but too narrow of a demographic. It’s not the old people that seem to be the problem. At least not only them. It’s the uneducated or intellect impaired that should be reined in. The ones that are just smart enough to use Facebook, but would struggle to understand the concept of the Dunning–Kruger effect

The amount of younger people that are sucked in hook, line, sinker, rod, boat, trailer and truck is staggering.

It’s like they decided that reality didn’t work for them, so let’s just ignore it in favour of “insert discriminatory slogan or catchphrase here”.

It’s bonkers.

[–] princessnorah@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

It’s the uneducated or intellect impaired that should be reined in.

Are you aware that this genuinely sounds like some nazi shit? Let's maybe not start controlling what the "intellect impaired" can do with their lives...

[–] reluctant_squidd@lemmy.ca 0 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

I think you are confusing Nazism with genuine concern. Careful with that. Hating people for opposing views is more dangerously close to what you so easily accuse me of, and your tiny tough guy attempt to mask your own bigotry just highlights that you may need to reflect a little.

To my previous point, not somehow mitigating the easily duped portion of our formerly democratic systems is a big part of what’s driving the Nazi ideals back into popularity. As long as untamed propaganda is allowed into the thoughts of the weak minded, the rest of us face an uphill battle.

If you read my previous statement about this again. You’ll notice that I didn’t say anyone should be controlled. Whether we bring facts back into law and punish those who spread lies, or bolster education to teach people how to spot the lies, it doesn’t really matter. But splitting hairs over how I said it won’t change that it is a problem.

Trying to deflect, blame or sidestep that is playing right into the MAGA/Nazi mindset. Division of the people and spooky non-issues to rally fear in the populace is what gives them control.

[–] Doctor_Satan@lemm.ee 10 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

The amount of younger people that are sucked in hook, line, sinker, rod, boat, trailer and truck is staggering.

That demographic is a whole other problem that requires a whole other solution. Conservatives have spent a decade building the online right-wing pipeline with podcast bro's and streamers aiming their content at young teenage boys. Now all those kids are of voting age, and a big chunk of them have spent half their lives being raised on manosphere bullshit that taught them that they are owed the world on a silver platter.

I will hand it to conservatives; they are frighteningly good at organizing and staying on message in ways that the Left can only dream of. If we could get half as organized as them, they'd never win another election.

[–] andros_rex@lemmy.world 4 points 13 hours ago

JK Rowling is doing something extremely similar to teenage girls, and this isn’t really on many’s radar.

[–] viking@infosec.pub 4 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

Yeah, there's a reason the orange overlord is targeting universities now. He knows that election wins come from the uneducated and poor. They either truly don't know, or don't care enough since they have no investments worth mentioning.

[–] nickiwest@lemmy.world 6 points 16 hours ago

You give him too much credit. He doesn't know any of this. But the right-wing think tanks that have been waiting for this moment do, and he's easily manipulated into following their agenda.

[–] seeigel@feddit.org -2 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

Yes, let's normalize censorship.

If the majority of people cannot handle information on their own, how can we maintain democracy?

Are senior cititzens more stupid? Otherwise how do we know that we believe the right things, and not just what is acceptable by the mainstream which will change for the next generation?

[–] Maalus@lemmy.world 13 points 6 hours ago

Yes, senior citizens are more stupid. That's why scams targetting them exist. You can tell them about something being a scam and they will fall for it anyway. They will get fished by "huge savings" and "sales" despite being millionaires. Once someone starts "sliding back", it doesn't matter how smart they used to be.

[–] Absaroka@lemmy.world 74 points 1 day ago (10 children)

Any time you hear Republicans argue 18 year olds shouldn't be able to vote, and they want to increase the age to 21/25, tell them "OK - then anybody over 65 isn't allowed to vote either."

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[–] TheColonel@reddthat.com 10 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

I can’t speak for everyone but I raised my mom right and kept her away from that trash.

[–] explodicle@sh.itjust.works 9 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

I recently thanked my dad for not going all crazy. He fixes up old cars and takes pictures of birds.

[–] gamer@lemm.ee 6 points 17 hours ago (2 children)

I'm jealous. Mine watches far-right extremist content on tiktok and youtube. What's an affordable hobby that wouldn't make an insecure man-child feel emasculated?

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[–] jonne@infosec.pub 135 points 1 day ago (6 children)

If you set up parental controls on your parent's devices I can guarantee they won't find a way around it.

[–] TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works 16 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

my grandpa with dementia installed OVER 40 solitaire apps because he would go to the app store and install one every time instead of opening the ones he "couldn't find"

now he has parental controls blocking app downloading

[–] anomnom@sh.itjust.works 3 points 3 hours ago

I hope you guys checked for subscriptions he may have added. Might still be paying for a dozen of those games.

[–] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 3 points 16 hours ago

I’m glad he has you/y’all Toadski

<3

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[–] cokeslutgarbage@lemmy.world 107 points 1 day ago (18 children)

My mom mentioned that my dad has been watching some concerning (in her words, "annoying") YouTube content lately. Last time she said that it was America's Got Talent, but this time it's white men arguing with cops. I visited and asked if he would show me. He jokingly said "are you gonna violate my rights?" And I very seriously said "yes. I need to make sure it's not Jordan Peterson or Joe Rogan or someone even worse". He got a little bit offended and said "you know me better than that, I'm smarter than that". But the thing is, you start by watching something innocuous like some idiot sovcit arguing with cops and the algorithm pipeline feeds you nazi shit from there and you don't even know it.

For context, my parents are the kind of leftists that don't know what leftists are. My mom calls herself a bleeding heart liberal, and my dad sees the media say things like "radical liberals" and jumps up off the couch screaming "you bet your ass im a radical liberal!" But they're left of liberal, they just don't have the language for it.

I'm not worried that my dad is gonna seek out nazi propaganda, im worried it's gonna find him anyway and I want to throw his phone in a lake.

Maybe shower thoughts wasn't the right community for me to have my existential crisis. But I wish i could block "sovcit" on my dad's phone and "trad-anything" on my mom's phone, not because I think they're dumb (okay maybe a little) but because this shit is so toxic and intrinsic and scary and my parents are so dumb.

Take care of yourself and your loved ones xx

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[–] MangoCats@feddit.it 22 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Simpler still: disenfranchise senile boomers. Of course you don't target boomers specifically, any old person with very little time left to live and severe disconnect from reality shouldn't be allowed to vote on what affects the rest of the world long after they are dead.

https://old.reddit.com/r/DownWithIncumbency/

[–] TriflingToad@sh.itjust.works 14 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 21 hours ago) (4 children)

severe disconnect from reality

Something about that doesn't sit right with me. Seeing how far the definition of an "illegal alien" is being stretched for deportation, I have a feeling people with autism, ADHD, depression, etc, would all be added to the list of people who are "disconnected from reality"

Not to mention some people are dumb enough to argue being trans is a mental illness aswell. (~~dysphoria is~~ NVM it's a diagnosis, being trans is not)

The better solution imo is to inform people about what's going on around them and how to watch out for pipelines.

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