Is social media bad for society? (1 Viewer)

[blackjack50]

I have been on this thought train for a while. I have been listening to people talk about things like Twitter (I got off social media before this) and tinder and all of that stuff. Does anyone else feel that social media has had an overall negative impact on society? Neutral? I feel it is leaning to bad and here is my reasoning:

People have created a fictional world for themselves. I feel it has harmed the way we interact with people. It is a way to hide our real selves and I also feel it has created a way for us to say things without fear of repercussion. I think it has fostered a realm of unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Just browse your Facebook. Look at it and see if it seems self involved. See if it is a way to bolster your self image and lie to yourself (and others) about the realities of your life.


Ps

I'm not anti social media. I see the positives. My family recently used it to connect about 1000 people to a cousin due to a tragic accident that put him in a medically induced coma for 6 weeks. We were able to raise money and it was a huge morale booster for him when he woke up. But it was more important for his family. It kept their spirits up. So please don't look at this as me just hating on social media. It just concerns me, having been in education and working with kids, as well as having grown up with the creation of MySpace and Facebook

 

[SouthernBelle82]

Yes, I think it has pro's and con's but the con's, at the moment, out weight the pro's. Social media is great for people who have trouble getting out into talking to people in person and it's also great with activism and making communication easier. A major problem is people are WAY too quick to share everything about themselves online. You don't need a stalker these days because people do the work for them! I have people on my sns that will eventually show all of their day-to-day schedule, their place of doing business and banks and inside their home and all of their private intimate moments. I love being able to share and talk to people who live across the country and/or those I just don't see that much but there's a lot of danger with it. And hacking happens now days and how there's stories of people being fired over something they did on their own time and shared it on social media. But, because on their social media they had their place of employment up it's like they're still being a representative of the said employment and that makes things iffy. It's also a legal issue with employers wanting to have access to your social media. There's a lot of good with social media, as you've pointed out, but it's still a community and it's just online. We all have to work together to show what we want to have it be used for. Online bullying and harassment is another issue that happens and people can't escape that. And telemarketing and people using your information to spam you with ads and whatnot.

 

[CMPancake]

Technology isn't good/evil, bad/good, or any of those other nebulous terms and phrases you want to describe it. It's just that, technology. Social Media in particular has it's faults sure. We all know the evil people that use the internet for their nefarious ends on unsuspecting victims whether it's scams, viruses, sexual predators, etc. Yet at the same time, Social Media has collectively done some pretty amazing things, it helps raise awareness to social issues, injustices, scandals. At a personal level, my dad was able to find his old friends from the Army and his high school years. Social Media and by extension the internet is a tool, just like how fire can either keep you warm or it can burn you.

As far as how it affects children and youth, this has literally been said for every little bump in technology, home phones, television, etc. Everyone is always worried about how this affects children. Like I before, we do have people who abuse and misuse social media but like with all things as long as we teach children how to protect themselves online, it'll just be the times changing. I'm sure in 50 years, the same kids you're worried about being negatively shaped by social media will rant about the latest technological advancement that they think is having some sort of negative impact on society.

 

[Crovax]

Social media is just a tool, like a hammer. Some will use it to build a house others will use it to bash a skull in.

 

[radcen]

Neutral. It has its pros and its cons. They about even out.

For example, on the one hand, people do often create fantasy personas. I think this is evident even here at DP. I'm sorry, but not everybody is the uber responsible gun-toting flag-waving non-Walmart shopping non-fast food eating perfect parent with perfect kids eco-hero person they portray themselves to be. I openly call BS on half the people on the internet.

On the other hand, it actually serves to expand our interaction and we end up knowing more people from much more diverse places than we would otherwise.