I'm sure the original tweet didn't intend it, but effectively it did ask everyone how it impacted them, direct or indirect.
> instead they get a bunch of attention seeking people who have never served
That's a bit harsh. Seems many of the people writing in that thread have relatives that did serve, but now are unable to tell their own story, for one reason or another.
I'm glad people are telling their stories about it, but you're probably right as well that social media might not be the best area to drum that up, as it's hard to have real conversations about whatever subject.
I think you are highlighting a more fundamental issue with social media: it's impossible to separate signal from noise.
On one hand, OP is almost certainly right about attention seeking, and I'd go as far as to expect that many of the stories are outright fabricated. There is a well known
(and growing) phenomena of military imposters that falsely claim service [1], and the secondhand stories here are even harder to verify and present a clear motivation for falsehood.
On the other hand, there is also plenty of evidence that growing PTSD rates [2], and overall worse outcomes [3] for service members, is a real phenomenon. The true stories here that deserve analysis will have to compete with other stories that angle towards particular or personal ends.
End result: every viewer sees plenty in this thread to confirm their own expectations.
> instead they get a bunch of attention seeking people who have never served
That's a bit harsh. Seems many of the people writing in that thread have relatives that did serve, but now are unable to tell their own story, for one reason or another.
I'm glad people are telling their stories about it, but you're probably right as well that social media might not be the best area to drum that up, as it's hard to have real conversations about whatever subject.