Daniel@R2R
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My Tank Thread
Ok, so let me be clear what I'm talking about. I'm not asking or implying that IG and YT are bad for the hobby. I'm specifically thinking about the temptation toward misrepresentation that occurs in the world where picture perfection is the standard. Let's be honest, on IG the goal is to "stop the scroll" and rack up followers which is accomplished by having a tank that is picture perfect. This often leads people to post when the tank is doing well and avoid talking about pitfalls and issues where the tank is far less than perfect. The same can often happen on YouTube where videographers cover their mistakes before the latest video or choose to use quick fixes or even old footage to avoid showing issues. AGAIN, I am not saying this is true for all IG'ers or YouTubers. Some do take the painful step of sharing us their missteps or simply the normal problems of reefing, but I do feel that many times even those moments can get glossed over because frankly, people aren't drawn to look at lackluster images, so for example, someone might be less likely to show off a tank in a video in the middle of the uglies because it just doesn't seem like something people want to see.
My concern is that this ultimately can lead to unrealistic expectations for the average reefer, especially newer reefers who might get into reefing because XYZ YouTuber has such beautiful tank and makes it look "so easy." Reefing is tough, and a lot of times there are stages that don't get shown off but that are natural parts of tank maturation. Other times there may be set backs that could have been avoided, and a reefer may feel alone when going through those issues. What do you guys think? Is this a problem that happens in a culture that emphasizes perfection and gives less voice to struggles?
Where this line of thought leads me is back to the value of experiencing this hobby in community. It's why local clubs are so valuable and why even developing friendships in online communities that go beyond mere surface engagement can be helpful. It's one of the reasons that I think it's important to have threads (LOTS of threads) that talk about the run-of-the-mill issues that people commonly deal with. It's why I'm so glad that we have people here who don't mind answering the same questions over and over...because sometimes...sometimes it's honestly nice to see that the issues we face have been also dealt with by so many people before us.
Just some musings I've been thinking through today. What are your thoughts?
My concern is that this ultimately can lead to unrealistic expectations for the average reefer, especially newer reefers who might get into reefing because XYZ YouTuber has such beautiful tank and makes it look "so easy." Reefing is tough, and a lot of times there are stages that don't get shown off but that are natural parts of tank maturation. Other times there may be set backs that could have been avoided, and a reefer may feel alone when going through those issues. What do you guys think? Is this a problem that happens in a culture that emphasizes perfection and gives less voice to struggles?
Where this line of thought leads me is back to the value of experiencing this hobby in community. It's why local clubs are so valuable and why even developing friendships in online communities that go beyond mere surface engagement can be helpful. It's one of the reasons that I think it's important to have threads (LOTS of threads) that talk about the run-of-the-mill issues that people commonly deal with. It's why I'm so glad that we have people here who don't mind answering the same questions over and over...because sometimes...sometimes it's honestly nice to see that the issues we face have been also dealt with by so many people before us.
Just some musings I've been thinking through today. What are your thoughts?