Troy P Zehnder

The irony of this post is that it is social media that is being used to bash social media, but people of a certain age bracket will certainly understand the point. 30 years ago, I would have submitted this to the newspaper, today its a click away and that isn’t necessarily a good thing. The creation of the internet was a wonderful invention… thank you Al Gore (insert sarcasm). Information was suddenly available at your fingertips in practically real time, and if it was only used for good, all would be well with the world. However, like with anything else, things that can be used for good, can be used for bad. Cue, the creation of social media. Let’s get the few positives out of the way now…it allows people who have not seen each other in years to reconnect and stay in touch, and at times social media has helped law enforcement identify wanted criminals. Now the flip side.

Social media has created the largest moral and cultural shift in the history of the world. People under / around age 30 ask, “How did politicians get their message out for elections before social media?” Easy. News papers and television. Way back in the day, EVERYONE was given the same message through the same mediums and it was up to each individual person to interpret the message they supported. Today, messages are like ice cream flavors, and if you don’t find one you like you can create your own and someone will buy into it. Truth has become relative.

The issue isn’t just political, but social as well. An entirely new mindset has been created in one generation that has irreversible consequences. The divorce rate has skyrocketed to the point where marriage is no longer thought to be a life long commitment regardless of what the vows say. Social media has made infidelity easy, and at the very least has destroyed the communication necessary between spouses. Partners sitting in the same room texting and “posting” are not really partners…. they’re roommates. TALK TO YOUR SPOUSE. SPEND TIME TOGETHER. Social media has advanced human trafficking. Social media has destroyed interpersonal communication. Social media has given an option to escape reality (welcome Meta Face), where you can essentially live in a virtual fantasy. Who cares about the fact that your body is in reality when your mind is warped into a virtual paradise that eventually is unable to differentiate the two worlds. Social media has created 5 billion subject matter experts. Apparently college truly is a waste of money when someone who’s never left their basement can challenge the very basics of common sense and be “fact checked” as being accurate. Social media has advocated the largest division of people in the history of the world, and he who controls the platform controls the narrative. We believe what someone else says is true instead of doing our own research.

Social media has created cultural chasms. I remember growing up in a world where segregation was taught as wrong. We were all equals and treated each other as such. That’s gone. Today we get to celebrate diversity, which is a more positive term for segregation. Social media promotes unity through division… that seems like a lost cause. Social media is responsible for polarizing “group think.” Social media allows for the spread of misinformation. If the Nazi’s had access to this type of platform millions more would have perished. Social media has allowed anyone to be a celebrity. When a tragic accident occurs, or a criminal act is in progress, it is a guarantee that there will be more people watching and holding phones than offering assistance. Social media has had a negative effect on health. How many hours are spent wasted checking your favorite platform instead of being productive in your personal life? Social media has destroyed realistic dreams of our youth. When you ask many kids today what they want to be when they grow up they say, “A social media influencer.” That’s not a realistic job, and it certainly does NOT benefit society in any way.

Social media is a small blessing, and a major curse. It is the devil’s favorite weapon. We’ve allowed something that could be good to be used for bad. We’ve developed a morally warped culture that has quickened its pace exceedingly with social media. What if nothing could be shared on social media? No news articles, no political posts, no pictures. You can post it, you can look at it, but you couldn’t share it. What if you couldn’t comment on a post (I know that is a personal option, but not one everyone uses it) where everyone could see it and possibly be offended? What if you had to have something in common in your profile in order to “connect” with someone? Same school, same city, same group, etc.. What if the option of being an “influencer” wasn’t an option? What if there were no fact checkers because there was nothing to fact check? What if a cell phone was just a phone capable of calls and messages?

In hindsight, growing up without the internet, without smart phones, and without social media was a little more difficult in some aspects, but much more satisfying for the quality of life. Anything that can be used for good can be used for bad, and I believe we are witnessing all of the bad being masqueraded as good. We cannot go backwards to what we were, but we should teach the benefits of what was to those who never experienced it. Bad things are on the horizon, and I hope we are prepared to deal with the fall out.