According to Jptoc, they were inspired to create the thread after seeing someone else do it. “I have since found out there's a whole subreddit for it. I was bored working from home and wanted to kill a bit of time towards the end of the day. I don't think there's any way I could have expected it to be that popular. It went a bit mad to be honest. I don't think it's even that funny, really!”
Jptoc said that the popularity of their thread shows that “when people are bored they'll laugh at any old nonsense.”
“I've had quite a lot of people message me to say that it cheered them up so I'm glad of that. I think me staying engaged in the thread helped to humanize me a bit as well, so people responded to that. It seems to have taken on a life of its own now though, I was sent a link to a YouTube video someone has made of the thread. Bit weird,” Jptoc told Bored Panda.
We were also interested to find out how the lockdown affected the redditor. Here’s what they had to say: “I'm fine—I can work from home and go out for my daily exercise without issue. I've signed up to be a volunteer for the NHS and would recommend people do the same in the UK or elsewhere.”
Jptoc recommended that people “check out the stickied megathread on r/CasualUK because there's loads of good ideas of what to do in there” if you’re out of ideas on how to have fun during the quarantine. “Call people as well!” they added.
As fun as Jptoc’s Reddit thread is, it raises two serious questions: how not to sound like a d*ck and how not to be a jerk. Psychiatrist Jeremy Spiegel, medical director of Casco Bay Medical, has some advice about how to control your jerk impulses if you suspect that you might be one. After all, life’s much easier if you get along with most people.
When you come off as a jerk to others, a lot of this has to do with inappropriate timing. So if you have a snippy retort or a passive-aggressive comeback that you’d just love to shout out, try keeping quiet for a minute until the urge goes away. You might just realize that what you were about to say would have been offensive and done more harm than good. To you and to others.
Spiegel also suggests that you take some time, focus on yourself, and examine your life and your character. Because introspection can help fight narcissism.
What also helps is looking at situations from a third-person perspective: this might help you realize that what you’re getting mad about really doesn’t matter all that much and you should let it go.
Finally, if you find that your jerk-levels are out of control, ask a friend for help. They’ll give you honest advice and help you understand where you’re going wrong. When you have everything under control, you can pretend to be a jerk on fun threads like Jptoc’s and have as much fun as you want.
