Episode #2 of my Overthinking series, which focuses on the world of social media. In this one we talk about mental health and how it can be affected by social media, focusing more on the content creator's perspective. Episode #1 - Reacts: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/d71hnMmcu6rMZ6c.html

"Lack of fear of getting punched in the mouth brings out the worst in people" Most true statement in this video

Madseason coming back strong with content lately. You love to see it.

I will never get tired of the “told you so, by the way” so please keep it coming😂

I’m Gen Z and social media stunted so much growth for me as a teen. When i deleted it i began to grow and learn faster than i ever did in my life. No distractions, The only validation came from me and seeing myself accomplish things. Not strangers liking videos of me smoking pot online

Something you mentioned a few times that I think is vital for aspiring creators is to really focus on maintaining a healthy work/life balance. When you're self employed you have the ability to work on something every minute of every day, so when it's something you're passionate about AND you're incentivized to prioritize work, it's so easy for people to go through consistent eighty plus hour crunch weeks and inevitably just completely burn out. Especially so because now every time you're resting you have to fight against thoughts of "I should be doing more right now", even if you're already doing way too much. Then that feeling can spiral out of control when your income and livelihood is directly tied to it, so now you're terrified that if you stop working you'll lose everything you have. If taking care of your mental health is a problem in your life (or worse yet you don't even acknowledge it), this type of career will eat you alive

I’m 31 and I’ve never wanted to be a content creator for the reasons cited in this video. I’ve been watching KZfaq since 2006 and I always felt like having so much attention would be a really shit job tbh. I prefer to contribute in the background and let my work speak for itself rather than be center stage all the time. Always have, always will. Great video as always buddy.

the part about Reckful really hit hard, may he rest in peace 😢

In an alternate universe, Madseason is the dub voice for a sci-fi series, the soothing calm voice of a benevolent and mysterious cosmic being, talking at the mind of the astronaut protagonist that has been stranded from his ship and is hopelessly floating in the deep space, telling him it's not over and that there is still hope.

I was born in 1966, just into Gen X. What you said in this video applies to everything in life. You can be young, middle aged, or older and still find these lessons true. I never got into social media, I just don't understand why people find it became so addictive. To me its just a tool to find things out when I need to know them, nothing more. I would add that life is full of ups and downs, when its going well enjoy it but understand it won't last, when its bad try to mitigate it but understand that this will not last either. But it is very important to understand actions have consequences, something I think a lot of people like to ignore. With the internet and social media a persons actions and words are going to be around for the rest of their lives. This has created such an unbearable confluence for so many people I see why we have more people suffering depression and mental illness now than ever before. People are increasingly interact via social media and computers, people are increasingly recording themselves or being recorded, which is the danger, but people are increasingly forced to do this either just to find a social connection with other people, or just to do everyday things like work, ect. There is no forgetting anymore, you can't get away from your past, redemptions is incredibly hard and in competition with a culture full of very hateful bias towards various groups. So just interacting with people, which you need to do, is far more dangerous than it every was before. Add to that the ability to chose to have anonymity of being online if they want to troll or grief others and you have a very odd and contradictory environment we live in. Also, because of social media, and the vast entertainment options available, people have developed short attention spans and are losing the ability to think critically and work things out themselves, making it hard for them to handle problems. Growing up we did not have to deal with this, yes we had issues and those issues still exist for younger generations, but it seems now that one wrong step now in life can do far more damage than it did 40 years ago, that the environment is very impersonal and far more hostile and unforgiving than the world I grew up in, and that was not a piece of cake either.

Everyone knows the saying "Get paid to do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life", very few people consider that being forced to do something you love can quickly kill that passion.

"the IQ of a mob is that of its most stupid member divided by the number of mobsters" -- Terry Pratchett

It's refreshing to get clarity as well as advice from someone so grounded in this area. That fact comes through, excellent stuff MadSeasonShow

This video really hits close to home. You always speak the truth and that’s why everybody loves watching your videos. You seem like a very intelligent and genuine person and I just wanted to tell you that I appreciate you and have for years are you brother. ❤

I went to a manufacturer once, won't give out the name. They made containers for (product) an I was like "who doesn't love (product)?" One guy said "everyone here" and all in earshot laughed. I can also relate to it as someone who spent a year as a paid GM for a Korean MMO. Watching the sausage get made affects you forever.

It's not just social media. It's also the 24 hour news cycle. It's literally designed to keep you worried about the "current thing" so you keep watching and do exactly what they say.

The lesson is to delete social media when it’s mostly just reading garbage.

Thanks for posting this - these are keen observations, hard-won. Sending you support! I was a tiny channel, and quit when I realized that hurtful comments followed me even when I turned off the computer. I realized that I wasn't cut out for it.

I'm just thankful I got object permanence when it comes to negativity directed towards me. I just forget about it until its brought up again. I couldn't imagine not being able to let things go, and ruminate over negative comments all day, that sounds like hell.

Hi MadSeason, I just wanted to thank you for sticking to youtube even after you're family problems in 2021. I'm glad to hear that you still enjoy doing youtube and hope you stick around for a long time. You're new videos with the more serious topics are very well done and you're takes on the topics are very wise. Greetings from Switzerland

I miss Byron everyday. I learned a hard lesson. I used to watch TotalBiscuit back in his early days. He hardcore criticized WoW back in a time when it was at its height. I thought he was wrong and called him TotalDouche. Months later I learned he passed from his battle with cancer, I learned then, I was the bad guy, and today, he’s more right than ever.

I love you man. Thank you for making videos and being one of the realest and grounded people out here.

Mad, i think the coolest thing about you is that by being so principled about keeping your personal life personal, the few moments we see a bit more of you its that much more powerful The worlds better for having you in it ❤️

Mr Season, you sure are a breath of fresh air when it comes to content, you should take as much time as needed in between videos even if it means taking years. That's when you best content happens, when you're most sincere to yourself. Love your videos man

Another day, another MadSeason video? Best birthday week ever.

I could listen to you talk for hours, man. You have a wonderful way with words, and you're 100% right on the addictive spiral that social media can send us into. It becomes so easy to neglect our lives and ourselves, and get pummeled by faceless people on the internet.

As someone new in the space of content creation/streaming, thanks for the many reminders that it’s deeper than it looks. I’m a small channel and grateful for those I get to chat and hang with and I love not being influenced by the ‘need’ to do anything. And because of that, I see no need to tirelessly pursue ‘success’. Though it is wild how quickly you can be influenced to pursue what you think you ‘should’ do. I can see why many people get blindsided by reality by going too far down that path.

Props to you, bro! It is not easy to be this open in such a potentially toxic environment these days. Being this open will help those who need it, and those who don't...F them!

This video streak has been amazing

ive been really enjoying this new direction the channel is taking. I feel thatyour videos always have something of substance to them, always look forward to them!

I’ve watched your content for years now,and for what it’s worth,f00k the haters.You’re top tier and I look forward to each and every video you take many hours to produce. I appreciate what you do for the WoW community.

Love getting more videos from you man, the edited ones are masterpieces but these are great as well. Definitely enjoy the more stripped down style just as much.

I really enjoy hearing you speak about these topics. Thanks dude. I also enjoy hearing you speak about Zelda, Warcraft, gaming, Blizzard controversies and especially anything about the old days of of the internet. Take care, dude. Edit** Also, dude. Would love to see your iconic lil-mads avatar on the thumbnail of your videos. I almost accidentally scroll past you on my subscriptions page on some rare occasions :D

When I was really trying to grow my channel, I worked, got home, and then made a video or streamed every single day. I barely saw friends or family and my free time was completely gone. It wasn’t worth it and decided to focus on the people in my real life my full attention. My channels are just a fun hobby now.

Like a Phoenix from the ashes of the World of Warcraft fandom arises a man who can make videos about whatever he wants and everything for him was okay.

The sanctuary part feels so close to home. I'm glad you got over any emotional slump

I definitely don't mind the lesser edited videos! Always nice to hear your take on things!

I think some of the things I really enjoy about your content is your calm demeanor, well written dialogue and excellent choice of background music, and I cant stress enough how much the music harmonizes with the latter two. It's almost like ASMR. Been watching you for a few years, discovering your channel when I was feeling nostalgic about classic WOW before we got classic servers. Your videos were like a bridge to tap into memories of a more innocent time, when life was much simpler. Thank you so much for the many years of good vibes.

I like this video format and don’t mind the lack of edits at all. To be honest I listen to most of your content while driving, cleaning, or working out so if you want to prioritize putting your ideas out there you should go for it!

Just want to go on record and say this video nailed it in every way. Thanks for this. I’ve been doing KZfaq now for about 6 years, my main channel is my main “job” and this one was started as a passion project. Everything you said here is spot on, which is what lead me to starting this second channel as purely a passion project that randomly started gaining traction. I can’t speak to the streamer stuff, I’m pretty small on twitch, but I definitely can understand it all. Anyways, not going to ramble. I love the direction you’ve been taking the channel lately keep it up brother. Long time fan and supporter here.

One of my closest friends quit her job and began streaming on twitch, she got a small but regular viewing, a couple thousand followers, enough subs and what not to go part time while her boyfriend supported her financially. We were her first followers and supporters, but as time went on and the viewers became more involved through discord, constantly giving praise and more attention than we ever would, we spoke less and less, till eventually she would join our calls and stay silent until she’d just leave. She would tell her boyfriend not to play games with us and join calls because she felt left out and jealous, but wouldn’t want to join herself because she’d rather be in calls with her followers. It cause issues in their relationship and our friendship but we still wanted to support her dream, despite regularly being too “sick” to stream or getting burnout. Hating the game that had made her popular but she had to keep playing it for views. In the end, she emotionally cheated on her bf with one of her followers, who she is currently with now in a LDR, and we are no longer friends. And she’s stopped streaming just after she became partner.

Excellent video Mads! I can hear the transparency and authenticity in your voice. I think you are spot on 100%! This is one of the 'realist' videos you have made, and I think folks will feel and respond to that well.

I look at a friend's tumblr account occasionally cause he posts about a tabletop game I run for him sometimes and I'm just astounded how people can keep up with this stuff nowadays, social media just looks like an endless landscape of narcissism and cynicism.

I really resonate with what you were saying at the start about turning your hobby into a job. Its a bigger decision that people realize - Im in a different space than you, but still public-facing, and doing my hobby professionally really changes how it feels.

I just wanted to say, as much as I LOVE the video editing you provide, as much as I LOVE the tracks, I realized that I love the content, the topic, and the subject the most. Your channel delivers issues in life watched from a third person perspective, and by watching this particular video, i realised it. I just loved it and just like the rest of your videos, it caught my full attention during the entirety of it.

As someone who has a member of the family currently going through a mental health crisis, this video hit home. Yes it only takes “one guy”- to ruin a guild, a community, a person. Social media has done more harm to this generation than anything. Keep experimenting. Loving all the content

I'm not the best with putting things into words, so I don't think I'll have much in the way of something useful to say, but I like your content, whether it's this type of chill stuff, the 2-3 hour documentaries or whatever else. I tune in for you and your thoughts, takes on things, points of view on subjects etc. I just find it all interesting. Ultimately you do you and I know I'll enjoy it whatever it might be.

I'm not sure how much time and effort have home into your most recent videos - like this one, compared to your behemoth (and absolutely amazing) length Pandora's Box videos, but I'm still loving this more intimate, seemingly less-scripted / in-the-moment uploads. I can't speak for everyone, but I hope you know a lot of us would prefer to listen to your calming "monotone" voice each week sharing whatever wisdom you feel in the moment - versus you feeling obligated to spend days, weeks, or even months on each video before it's "good enough" to release. We love those too though, but just keep being who you are and feel comfortable to make videos you're passionate about!

I like the flow of how you talk and how respectful you are to all parties involved. Good accompanying music too.

Bro, we just love what you do, do you and we'll keep watching

I've been playing Dark Souls 3 and it's refreshing to see a club user deal such damage while discussing the perils of content creation. Yes, there needs to be more nuance our own conversations but we also need to be better at taking care of each other. A huge part of care requires regular check-ins and often adjusting your own behavior to accomodate the change that needs to be made. I think you've realized this since quitting WoW and have tried not to be consumed by the drama that your communities have found themselves in, let your audience know what was going on (as much as possible) and attempted to find some alternative albeit still trailing a little of that cynicism that the Blizzard stuff brought you. At the end of the day, we still have to be ourselves. I am glad you're still making content regardless. -- People often forget that since the start of the internet, things have been rather contentious between internet users. Gaming and streaming spaces have just amplified all of the rage and anger to the point where many content creators have become targets of those strong emotions with consequences similar to cashiers or front-line clerks. The only thing I would add besides this is to suggest that people not forget their humanity.

Man, this title caught me off guard because for the last 4 months, I've been working on an undergrad research project on mental health and social media. Just turned in the final manuscript yesterday, what crazy timing!

Love this content, keep up the “ experimental “ video ideas and don’t overwork yourself! The edit suits this style of video so a nice run through is always easy to watch away :)

Love the new style of videos man. I'm glad you're back!

Love the frequent uploads man. Always happy to see you cranking out content. Cheers!

As always well thought out and presented. I really, really enjoy your content. Please continue to do what makes you happy and those that enjoy your videos will always be here for you. Best wishes

The only social media I have technically used for years is youtube. And, even here, I rarely make comments. I use to have fb, but I found how little I cared about other people’s lives and what theyre doing, so I just deleted it. I’ll never understand the people who have to share everything about themselves and base their validation on others who are lying on their feed half the time anyway. I could also never be a streamer or similar because of how quickly I get burned out from general, every-day interactions. I am glad you came back to making content

yea, relax! your voice is relaxing and I listen to it while I am drawing a comic for some client. I quit WoW about ten years ago, but still have alot of good memories. thank you for I can remember the good old times. stay safe!

MadSeason's speed of releasing new videos is what I call the true return of the king The man is on the roll and everybody loves it

some advice for the young ones out there - froma mid 50s guy on the tail end of a great career - this advice of keeping personal stuff to yourself works at a regular job too. It may sound cliche, but while at work worry about your work, and other than your supervisor, don't get into any personal soties of lost GF's or any other things that can be used against you. And even your Sup, only tell them something when it hinges on time needed off.

Great thoughts. Social media will fuck you up man, I think its more dangerous and insidious than most people realise

Genuinely great insight. Loved the chilled format, it's a match made in heavin with your chilled out voice!

I very much like this kind of videos you make these "days". It's indeed meaningful and very much needed. We need to open our eyes.

Lovely reference to The Wrestler. It's one of my favourite films and works of art made. I love showing it to friends that have never seen it and seeing their reactions to it

I think we as consumers could really be better at expressing our appreciation for the content creators we love. I think expressing positive feelings in comments can outweigh the negative shit talkers. Mads you are one of my favorite youtubers i've watched most of your videos since the start of classic. Keep up the good work your work and you are very much appreciated.

Thanks for adressing something that so many people don't realize, especially the "make what you love your job and you never work a day" crowd, is that turning your hobby into a job means losing a hobby, and gaining a responsibility instead. Wanting to do something is very much different from having to do something. I have allways rejected the notion of turning what i like to do into my job because that would make me hate to do it. Id rather do something else and leave my favorite hobby for me to do whenever i want instead.

Other than youtube I haven’t had any social media accounts for 12 years. It’s blows peoples minds especially girls I start dating. It was a wise choice, I only focusing on relationships that matter to my life such as family, girlfriend, pets and my real friends. Everything else is a waste of energy with very few positives.

thank you madseason, you’ve always been one of the best creators on this platform i’m sure i can speak for the rest when i say, we appreciate you and your effort

2:43 - The boss attacks sync so well with what Mads is saying lol And the player attack syncing with "you don't HAVE to"

Not a long time viewer, only discovered you after you already left WoW. I gotta say though, I feel your takes and explanations of things is quite insightful. I did not mind this video format at all, please, continue the pace!

You're so inciteful, man. And the way you explain your point of view is so digestible and easy to understand, I admire it. Thanks for the video

Social media is such a new phenomenon that we're really only starting to come to grips with all the harmful potential it has. I really hope that this type of message reaches a wider audience and we, as a society, begin to educate everyone. It may already be too late for almost an entire generation, but hopefully we can address this problem and affect positive change.

I would listen to you pretty much make any kind of content. I enjoy listening to your voice and you always have an interesting take on things. I don’t think I have missed a single video you have put out since I found your content years ago.

Thank you for the video and hard work. As a viewer, i just re-started uploading "content" about the things I like, and its immediatly clear this is always a door into my life, except with none of the benefits of fame and riches. We went from moviestars to having It-girls, then from it-girls to influencers. Evetytime the barrier between the fans life and theirs have been broken down. And often you become famous for "that one thing", and everyone wants you to stay that person and repeat making the same video/say the same line. Now you are reliant on the audience and you have to choose between financial success or evolving yourself and what youre doing. And i dont know how we can change that either: Its human nature, we want our biased confirmed. Ten years ago i strongly believed that online relationships are just as valuable as in-person relationships. Now, I believe ive wasted the last ten years of my life with nothing to show for. These friendships are more brittle. As soon somebody disagrees youre blocked, or blocking. There is no reason to learn conflict-resolution, you can just tell a moderator. There is no need to change your mind: just join the peoole who you already agree with. And so many circles have their own purity-spirals going on, ratcheting up what you have to agree with before you get ostracized. Now im 31, and this game of social media sucks. I dont want to play it anymore.

Dude that Rekful clip hit so hard. RIP to a legend. Moments like that is why I always err on the side of kindness on the internet, at the end of the day we're all people trying to be heard and loved.

Thanks for this. Really timely for me. Been an extremely hard week.

Your fans enjoy your insight on all kinds of topics. If you feel like talking about something, chances are, most of us will be interested to listen. It's completely fine to focus less on editing for certain videos and let the commentary carry the value of the video. I can't speak for others, but 95% of the time, I'm listening to your videos in more of a podcast format while I'm working anyway. I've been revisiting a lot of Reckful's old videos and streams lately. I wasn't expecting to hear him be brought up, but I'm looking forward to hearing your insights in the future video you mentioned. Thanks for everything you do, keep it up.

im sorry i work a full time job doing telecom infrastructure maintenance, and i can tell you 100000% there are jobs that are WAY more soul crushing than steaming and WAY more joy killing than streaming, like mine for example. take a step back gain some perspective and be grateful to be able to be a streamer. if you arent happy move on to something you are happy with. what you are all experiencing is part of the human condition and is not occupation specific. love you mad season i hope youre well!

I love this new content streak.

I will never forget Reckful. I grew up watching him every time he was live. I would watch him while I was playing WoW and then when it was time to go to bed I would keep watching on my phone until I fell asleep. He was an amazing person in every way. I miss him greatly and still think about him often. Rest in peace legend. Great video!

I have something to say with replacing real social friends with online friends. Ya ever eat a bunch of snacks? You fill up your tummy, but you don't feel full in the healthy sense? But you're physically too full to eat healthy food. You fill up on bad food, and it destroys your ability to consume healthy food. Social media is like that. If people binge out on too much social media and shallow relationships. It ruins their ability to invest in deeper more meaning relationships. So like with snacks. Force yourself not to binge on junk food. And when you're hungry. When you have that craving for social interaction, don't doom scroll. Instead call a real life friend. Train yourself to get off the shallow social treadmill and back into the more healthy relationships. And again, it can apply to food too. If you want to eat healthier, remove all snacks. And when you're hungry, force yourself to eat only healthy stuff. Surround yourself with the kind of life you want. We are products of our environment. But as intelligent beings -- we also have the ability to shape our environment so that it fosters our best growth.

I am nearly 41, but start in the mid 90s as a relative young teenager. I know the old times of bulletin boards and was on nearly all social media. Luckily I st8ll was out of my teenager years when the influence of the offline world starts gettin harder. 7 years ago I deleted all old accounts and even insta and Facebook. This makes my live so much better. Now I am still here and in Twitter. But 2 times in the year I’ll go off completely for some days. This is so much better for my mental health.

These are some pretty insightful takes. I hope this video catches more wind for sure.. especially for content creators themselves.

I found I was missing the more edited style of video. It felt like what you were saying clashed with what was on screen. That being said, thank you for uploading another video! It was great to hear your voice again and I hope you are feeling well.

Just wanted to say, great video Madseason. Thank you for sharing what you were going through during your emotionally low times. I know it will help people deal with their own struggles that they are going through. Also, just know if you are ever going through a tough time, and need a break, go do that. Your health is way more important than anything else. I, and the rest of your fans will be here when you get back.

It's good to have you back. Love your stuff and this was actually refreshing. Interesting to get your take on some of the insanity these days.

I'm glad you shared more of your life with us. Life is difficult for everyone, whether we are rich or poor, famous or not. We just have to fight but unfortunately there are people whose happiness is to destroy other people's

Madseason! Got mad love for your brother, glad to see you again.

Im loving the different videos, its always good to branch out and try new things. Do what ya want brutha!

I really enjoy your introspective thoughts. Thank you for your content.

Couldn't help but tear up a little when you mentioned Reckful and his struggles with mental health, what the internet had done to him can never be fogiven, that was just brutal. He was such a nice guy, didn't deserve any of that, especially with how much shit he had to go through in his life. That's tragic, and I don't ever use that word lightly.

Great vidéo dude ! For me the part where you talk about the loss of freedom when you change à hobby, or something you enjoy into work has to seriously be taken into account in many aspects of life. You brought it very well on this vidéo.

The work you do is as entertaining as it is important. Thank you.

Ooff... the Reckfull clip hit hard

I relate to all of this so much. I've struggled my entire life with work, knowing what to do... I've never felt a spark of passion for any major career. So many people always tell me to turn my hobbies into jobs. It's the go-to that they always say. I could never! I know how to paint and I love to write (though I always collaborate with my best friend). But neither of those things are something I'd want to be obligated to do on someone else's time, with their rules. I love painting so much that if I had an upset customer who didn't like what I did, I'd feel discouraged and might even take it personally. Because my art is such a direct expression of myself. I would never want to do something so personal to me as a job, criticized by others and not allowing me to take a break/step back when I want to.

Loving these recent uploads. You're obviously very knowledgeable, and in some cases uniquely qualified to speak to some of these issues. Keep it up!

Everything in life has drawbacks. Doing it 24/7 is going to drain you no matter what it is. Trying to keep it together especially when everyone is looking at you (will get you back in stranger ways).

Dude you’re on one lately. Loving the frequent uploads

Wise words, well thought out, thought provoking, and appreciative. I think it's helpful to have a sort of reset and reflect on things from time to time. On a side note, you are a literal god at Elden Ring! Keep up the great content!

Every video you do it’s awesome man. Obviously love having more madseason to watch, edited or not. Just happy to see you got the bug back after your break. 👍🏻 If you work full time or steam full time it’s the same trap… it pays the bills. 😅