Is social media and the internet bad for us?
It’s amazing how our lives have changed in the past 20 years – and in ways that few of us could have foreseen. Not only has technology made things easier and increased our standard of living (as expected), it’s also changed our society as a whole and put us on a completely new path – which may have been totally unexpected.
Now, whether that path is good for us or not remains to be seen. From what I’ve witnessed so far, I think we may have been better off before social media and the internet became mainstream.
Why is that? Well, here are a few reasons:
Addiction
While on the subway the other day, my phone died and I was forced to entertain myself by reading the posters above everyone’s head. Then I noticed something strange: Everyone was staring down at their phones like it was the most important thing in the world. I’m sure that 90’s Steve would have thought that a little insane, yet it’s something we’ve slowly become accustomed to. It’s now normal behaviour to be glued to your phone most of the day (sad, but true). Take a second and really look around in public sometime – it’s like we’ve all been turned into brainwashed zombies.
Is this indicative of an addiction that has overtaken our entire society? Sadly, I think it is. Not only are we on our phone whenever possible during the day, we repeat the process when we are at home on our tablets, computers, etc. Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, etc – we simply have to stay in touch with what’s new. Whether it is someone commenting on the clever comment you left, or your friends posting stuff about their day, or a reply from that dating app, or a video from one of your favourite channels, people just need a constant stream of information and entertainment.
Unfortunately, this comes at a cost as many of us will neglect the real world around us. Case in point: I used to enjoy visiting my brother’s family because of the great conversations we had. Now, I often find myself sitting in their family room, staring at the wall as everyone is tuned into their own personal entertainment on phones or tablets. The television rarely gets turned on and though we may watch a movie together, I still see them checking their phone every 15 minutes. How could anything be that important?
Disinformation
This is probably the most dangerous thing about social media. Anyone can now make a decent quality video and distribute it to the world, or start a podcast and make it look legit. Years ago, we could be reasonably sure that our news was accurate and the information we consumed on the radio and television was impartial and factual. That’s because only professionals and actual news corporations had the ability to generate and distribute information. Nowadays, anyone with a phone and Facebook/Youtube/TikTok account can make a reasonably decent video and distribute it without having to adhere to any standards other than the platform’s terms of service. Who made the video and what is their motive for putting it out there? That’s hard to say.
Much of the disinformation we are exposed to in the west comes from countries who don’t have our best interests at heart. Their single purpose is to sow discord in our society. It’s been rumoured that these nations employ thousands of people whose sole purpose is to troll social media and wreak as much havoc as possible using real people or bots. Strangely enough, if they are persistent, they can succeed in planting seeds of distrust and may even end up brainwashing the population over time. If they are lucky, the domestic conspiracy theorists, anarchists, etc will go with it and push it even further. A good example of this is the political stage in the U.S over the past 6 years. It’s literally gone off the deep end.
Much of the disinformation is fed by popular pod casts and internet shows that are too extreme for mainstream media. Pretty much anything goes and often you can see how they serve to fan the flames of an already bad situation. They have millions of followers who take everything they say to heart. The question you have to ask yourself is: “What is their motivation?” Rarely do they ever truly believe the cause they are “serving,” and you can see this if you dig a little below the surface. More often than not, there is an ulterior motive that involves money or power that the audience is completely oblivious to.
These people are users and manipulators and couldn’t care less about the people who follow them and listen to their every word. They lie and exaggerate facts to spin the truth more towards their ideals and brainwash their audience as a result. Again, the current U.S. political climate is a perfect example of this.
Competition
Want to feel bad about yourself? Then just open your social media account and read a few posts. You’re guaranteed to find people living their best life – one that makes yours look a little plain and vanilla. This, in turn, may cause you to start questioning the choices you’ve made along the way.
All your friends (at least those who are prolific posters) seem to be better looking, richer, more adventurous, and much luckier than you in life – and that can have quite a negative effect on you and your self-esteem. You may start feeling that you’re a failure and that nothing ever turns out for you.
Of course, if you take a step back, you’ll realize that only the cream of the crop is posted by these people. Of 100 photos, they may choose a few that meet the criteria necessary for posting. It needs to be the best of the best. The best pose, the best smile, engaged in something unique and thrilling, etc. Add to the mix, photos of their vacations, business trips, and other adventures, and you end up with a profile that would please the best narcissist.
Of course, all this is likely window dressing. Sure, we all like to brag a little about our lives, especially if it’s something unique and interesting, but many individuals take it a little too far in trying to increase their social status and create, what they consider to be, the ideal life. Meanwhile, it may not be anything close to the truth. You don’t really know because of the care they take to be meticulous about what they share and the way they share it.
The bottom line? Don’t be too hard on yourself because all is not what it seems.
Are there any positives when it comes to the internet and social media? Definitely.
Essentially, you have instant access to any information you want, instant location services via your phone, on demand entertainment, and more. That is a big deal.
Just before the the internet became mainstream, I was working and living in an age where you kept in touch by landline or public pay phone. People were not in constant contact and may have actually met up more in person, just out of necessity. We got our news from the radio and tv and used paper maps to find our way around. It was ok because we didn’t know any better. I feel if we had to go back to that era, we would suffer.
Today’s cellphones are a technological marvel. Having the world in the palm of your hand would have been inconceivable just 30 years ago. Today, we would be lost without it. So, here are some of the pluses when it comes to social media, the internet, and your handheld device:
- You always have a phone on you.
- Instant video chat.
- GPS navigation.
- Texting/Sending Photos and Video.
- Keeping in touch with friends and loved ones.
- Instant access to news, weather, sports.
- Always having a high definition camera on you.
- Instant access to any question you may have.
- Instant movies and videos on your phone.
- Interacting with friends and acquaintances on social media. Sometimes it’s nice to see recent pics of your friends (although this could be construed as a negative also).
- Making contact with old friends and school mates.
- Real time learning/how-to videos(Youtube).
Not to mention the numerous apps that you can load.
Are we better off these days? Yes and no. Personally, I feel the world is not better off after the social media rising. Convenient? Yes, but not worth the price.
