To some it’s a weapon. To some it’s a podium. To some it’s a news source. To some it’s a photo album. It can build egos like statues or crush them like ants. It molds society. It divides friends and families. Everyone has it. Everyone uses it. It has existed for less than two decades, but its impact on society will be felt for generations. It was designed by scientists but consists of nothing tangible. This disruptive force that has drastically changed the way people live, communicate, and work is nothing other than social media. Despite the positive claims of social media, it is all but beneficial. Social media strangles society and restricts people’s ability to communicate. Algorithms blind the public to subjects they disagree with and promote bias. The world would be a better place if social media was never created.
The name social media makes society view it as a social outlet. It’s seen as a place to share pictures, chat with friends, and meet new people. Social media creators do a great job of marketing it this way, but looks can be deceiving. It is evident that social media is negatively impacting the social aspect of life. As someone who often loves to eat out at restaurants and cafes, it discourages me to see the large number of people who can’t put down their phones. When I look around a restaurant, I should see friends and families talking about their day or discussing their plans for the weekend. Instead, I see parents neglecting their children with their attention glued to their phones. I see companions mindlessly paging through Instagram or Twitter instead of having meaningful dialogue.
I can’t say that I’m completely innocent of ignoring the world and being consumed by social media. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. I have constantly caught myself completely disconnected from conversations because I was distracted by social media. I have had to be constantly reminded to put my phone away at meals and social events. My parents have always been very cautious with what I can access on the internet. I was only allowed to download my first form of social media, Instagram, at the end of my eighth-grade year. Throughout most of middle school, nearly all my friends had some form of social media. This caused me to feel left out and uncool. It was a common occurrence that while hanging out with friends, I would just end up awkwardly sitting there while everyone else sat quietly, mindlessly scrolling through social media. Rather than socializing with one another or making memories together, we were engrossed in social media. It disgusts me to think about how many valuable moments with friends and family I may have missed because I was consumed by social media.
On the surface, people may not view the lack of dialogue in society due to social media as a significant problem. Many believe we will simply shift to an age of technology where the majority of communication will be online, but this could lead to major issues. For one, emotion is lost when communicating through social media. Humans read things like tone, body language, and facial expressions to help find the connotation of dialogue. When communication is all online, these valuable things are lost. This becomes a common problem on social media. Outbursts are generated in comment sections of nearly every viral post on social media. More often than not, this is simply because words are misinterpreted due to a lack of social cues. The lack of dialogue in society is also causing it to lose its ability to talk about controversial subjects without hostility. It’s no secret that civil discussion is becoming rarer and rarer. This was made clear to me while watching Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential debate. Instead of discussing political matters in a calm and productive manner, the candidates seemed more interested in just hurling insults at one another. This caused the debate to be chaotic and nonproductive. Much of this hatred between Trump and Clinton was fueled by social media. This trend of the media fueling hatred continues in politics today. If it wasn’t for social media, more time could be spent fixing political and social problems, rather than hating one another.
Just like any other product, social media was designed to be profitable. The creators of social media want the user to remain on the platform for as long as he or she can. Social media platforms use algorithms to promote content that the user likes and shares. This reduces the likelihood that the user will see something they disagree with and stop using the media platform. While these algorithms keep the user happy, they also restrict what the user is seeing. For example, I play and thoroughly enjoy watching the game of American football. As a result, I like and share content related to the game. When I open my Instagram or Twitter feed, I see an endless number of posts about football. If someone were to argue that basketball is a better sport than football, I would be blind to their perspective. All I have been exposed to is content suggesting that football is the greatest sport. I cannot relate to the other side of the argument and I’m more likely to simply turn hostile towards my opposer rather than reason and debate with them. Social media isn’t an open news source giving everyone all the facts. It manipulates the mind of users by creating biases.
The potential and promise of social media have been realized as little more than propaganda. The world’s addiction to social media leads to a lack of dialogue between groups that could be working to make communities better. Families become more and more disconnected from one another. The spread of false information leads to distrust and bias. The creators of these platforms do nothing to help the problem and choose to continue adding fuel to the flames. Nothing in these negative consequences suggests that social media is contributing to the fabric of our society.
