Realize that you are stuck in false beliefs and find your way back to the truth. We do matter, you do matter, try to see why.

The notion of "mattering", whatever that means is something philosophical.

Nor is any of the sentiment in the OP particularly insightful or even original, given that even the most ancient scientists and philosophers, such as in Ancient Greece or before, would have wrestled with the same problems and existential questions, yet such a conclusion had no bearing on their thoughts and insights, nor "pop cynicism / nihilism" in general, which in some variety would have always been around, whether in the days of Epicurus, or the regurgitation or re-incarnation of said thoughts or varieties of thinking even today.

That was quite a bit of energy spent trying to convince other people who don't matter to believe something. In fact it's hard to believe you think they don't matter. I mean, you could have done something hedonistic in that time, but you wanted others to think X, for some reason. When their thinking X or not thinking X wouldn't matter, since they in total do not matter. So, why not do something fun or as close to it as you can get given your circumstances.

If agree, if "we don't matter" then there's nothing wrong with believing that we "do matter", if on the other hand, one is contradicting themselves and saying the meaning of life is for everyone to believe it's meaningless, then that's a laughable oxymoron.

If it's meaningless, I can believe in or do whatever I want for any reason I want, including believing in Santa Claus, Tooth Fairies, or anything else (assuming we accept that 'elective belief' is true).

Well, if we all die due to this coronavirus pandemic, then I think this question will at last be settled! :cool:

It's funny, I've posted something sort of like my response earlier quite a number of times and the only reaction I've gotten is for the person in question to re-explain that nothing matters or to demand that I demonstrate that there is objective meaning. So, it was pleasant to find someone who actually not only understood what I wrote but agreed.

Then on the tangent. I don't beIieve in elective beliefs in any short term sense. Like, hey, I'm gonna believe in God...ping, now I do. I do think one can aim at certain beliefs - say by exploring something experientially that one hopes or considers it possible will lead to belief X. And I think one can aim at consciously undermining certain beliefs - which can result in belief B rising to the fore. So, I think there is an elective potential.