Skip to main content

Why? (Post 5)


Social media baffles me. I, being the grandmotherly woman that I am, have tried to steer as far away from it as possible. However, it seems like a majority of the youth population has willingly embraced it as part of their lives. I do not understand why.

Some of my friends, particularly those from ostracized groups, tend to use it as a way to connect with their communities. My queer friends who feel isolated at school use it to connect with others who share the same experiences in the hopes of feeling less alone. My Jewish friends use it to keep tabs on the people we've met at summer camp. Others use it as a convenient communication platform in the cases where iMessage doesn't suffice. But when I talk to most of the people my age about why they use social media, they say that they aren't totally sure. I've been told that it's just a part of culture.

But I don't seem to grasp why is has to continue to be a part of the way we interact. What about the correlation between nationalism and social media use, or all of the horrible, violent things we suspect stem from increased communication? I understand that to some degree, it's good, but it feels like the costs are far greater than the benefits. The anonymity provided by social media allows people to be downright awful to each other, and the power it gives to people with malicious intent is unhealthy. It's designed to be addictive, it paints a worldview that is often one-sided because the images we see are catered to our specific tastes a preconceived notions by complicated algorithms, and it wastes time. Social media is changing politics, it's changing news, and it's changing human interaction. I'm not sure that the change is for the better.

But I'm interested in what our class thinks. If anyone reads this post and isn't absolutely annoyed by it, I would love to hear your thoughts. Do you use social media? Why or why not? And do you ultimately think that it's good or bad for us?

Comments

  1. JoshDecember 18, 2019 at 8:35 PM

    I agree with many of the statements you made in your article. I would also just want to say how crazy technology has been woven into our everyday lives. Although not all may not be good, technology can be used in so many different aspects i our lives. And its just crazy to understand how so many people use technology completely different from each other. One friend is using it for Instagram, one to connect with their family, one to comment on politics, there is just so many uses for technology in our current generation and its just hard to even grasp! Great article.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Si Perfume - Giorgio Armani (Post 2)

Perfume campaigns are notoriously vague, and they often portray sexualized famous people trying to convince the commoners (us) that we will be beautiful once we smell good. This campaign, "Si by Giorgio Armani," takes a different approach. Its main message is that women should take control of their lives and just say, "SÌ." By using their perfume as a symbol of power rather than sex, they are riding the wave of feminism in popular culture and telling their viewers that women will finally have the autonomy and control we deserve the moment we walk through a cloud of their smell-fluid. Shockingly, I think this is absolute bullshit. First, the character in the commercial is very far removed from reality. The idea of freedom she embodies involves sky-diving, wearing couture in a shopping market, and stealing a man's jacket. Few sane people who would buy this perfume, i.e. their target demographic, have the money to go sky-diving, sport couture simply because the
2 comments
Read more

The Internet: The Factual Candy Store (Post 6)

The standard of truth held dear by news media organizations and American culture has been diminished and often disregarded because of the rise of the internet. That is not to say that we were ever entirely truthful. While our version of democracy has always required a certain degree of transparency and communication, we have never shied away from propaganda and smear campaigns and rose-colored depictions of our own society (except when it was inconvenient). However, the internet has given way to a whole new form of communication and unprecedented access to information. People are free to choose whose writing they read and whose version of truth they listen to because there is an overwhelming variety of options and no time to listen to all of them. And this is bad. It opens new markets. Because we want to hear what we already believe, we seem to have reached the consensus that there is no longer a need for local papers and truthful news,
1 comment
Read more

"Loyalty beyond reason is where the profits lie." (Post 3)

Many of the ideas presented in  The Persuaders , a documentary on the advertising industry by Frontline PBS, both shocked me and rang alarmingly true. The line that struck me most was, "Loyalty beyond reason is where the profits lie." As sickening as this concept is, I think we can all accept that there's truth to it. Humans feel the need to be accepted, and when they're not receiving the validation they want from the people around them, they turn to something with which they can affiliate. This is where advertising is successful. Cults require social sacrifice and the worship of an immediately visible leader. Brands are simply more convenient. They require monetary sacrifice of a certain, specified amount, and you don't ever have to see the faces of the people whose pockets you're lining. And all the while, your affiliation with that brand gets you the social acceptance you have always longed for. When an individual becomes affiliated with a brand to t
1 comment
Read more