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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.

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