Discussion Topic- Flaws of Social Media

Let's talk about social media. It's great right? I mean, I can connect with people despite distance. I have access to tons of information, I work my business through social media, I can watch funny videos, and I can spread positivity. It's easy to access and always available. Even if all I'm looking to do is relieve boredom or kill some time.

What happens when we get caught in the darker side of social media? What even is the darker side? Is it real or just perceived? Personally, I believe that there are some flaws of social media that lead to a black hole for some of us. It can be scary. Especially because we don't always realize it is happening or it happens so quickly that we end up in shock and uncertain of how we ended up in the situation. Here are my top 8 flaws of social media that I believe we should always be aware of.

1. Reality and the image of reality are not always the same thing. It is very easy to show what we want others to see and leave out important details needed to understand the situation. There is no tone, no body language, no bigger picture, and no context with social media. For example, if I take a picture of my "office" but only show my computer desk, you miss the huge mess of toys my children left across the floor. I can use filters and photo shop to change my appearance. I can be whoever I want to be. In a lot of ways, social media perpetuates the media constructs of the perfect house, the perfect person, the perfect image. Unfortunately, without context or the bigger picture, we tend to lose sight of the reality behind those images.

2. When we engage in the use of social media, we often times give away our privacy too. If it's posted to social media, it is now public knowledge. It can be used against you in a court of law, data mined for whatever purposes they want, employers can use it to make hiring decisions, etc. The worse part, once it's posted it wont ever go away. You posted something when you were young and dumb? Now your 40 and it's hindering your ability to get a job as a teacher? There's nothing you can do about it. Someone decides to post something to hurt you or make fun of you? You are getting treated badly or bullied over it? There's nothing you can do about it. You have been charged for a crime but not convicted and your employer has fired you over it? It was false charges that were cleared? There's nothing you can do about it. These things can be used for whatever, whenever, by whoever. They don't just disappear because the delete button has been pressed.

3. Facebook algorithm, A computer program that controls who you connect with, what you see, who sees you, etc. We are no longer in control of meeting new people. We are no longer in control of finding new content we might like. The algorithm now determines all of that for us based on trends and patterns in your search history. The problem with this? That means there could be a lot of missed opportunities. It also means that any "random factors" will be discarded as useless information instead of recognizing the humanity behind our sometimes "random interests or behaviors." Welcome to the future. The computer program that can determine everything for us.

4. False information vs. Reliable information. With the sheer volume of information being thrown at us, on a minute by minute basis, how do we make sure it is reliable? Anyone can post anything. Opinions often become facts. The scary part? Those "facts" are then believed by a lot of people. The thing called "truth" or even "science" is now a thing of the past. Instead, we are operating off of the perspective that "if enough people believe it, it becomes a social truth." The even scarier part? There is absolutely nothing that can be said to dispel the incorrect information. They simply wont believe you.

5. Impersonal interactions. When we interact with social media platforms, we are sitting behind an impartial computer (or phone, tablet, etc) screen. We can say what we want. We can do what we want. We lose the social inhibitors that make us act within acceptable boundaries. This perpetuates cycles of bullying, abuse, rudeness, and judgmental behaviors. There is no longer a filter in place. We air our dirty laundry. We can be cruel. We don't have to think about the other people we are hurting. Any repercussions that we may experience just "don't matter" because the internet doesn't actually "matter." It's a false sense of security. As stated above, it can be used against you in multiple ways, but the illusion of impersonal security can be a strong phenomenon.

6. Easy pathways for illegal activities. Information posted is now public knowledge that can be used for any purpose we want to. It's worse than that even. Social media perpetuates sharing and connecting. Think about it. Child porn. Sex trafficking. Abductions, identity theft, home break in's, gun sales, animal fighting. It can all be done over social media relatively easily. Add into that the sense of impersonal security we talked about above, we have a whole new black market happening right in front of us. We don't even know it.

7. Loss of the quality of life. This one is over talked about, so I wont be spending a lot of time on it. Our children are glued to social media. Parents are often always on social media. We use it in bed, at the dinner table, at the park, at the grocery store, while driving, in the bathroom, etc. It is so pervasive, it is literally EVERYWHERE and colors all of our experiences.

8. Lack of censorship. This one is the scariest, and the saddest, one for me. To make my point, I will be referencing a recent event in the media regarding Bianca Devins in Utica, New York (Full reports can be accessed at https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/15/us/bianca-devins-discord-death-trnd/index.html). Now imagine you are the mother of a beautiful 17 year old girl who just recently graduated high school. She is smart, funny, popular, and even finding success in developing a social media following. She is getting ready to go off to college and you are so proud. You wake up one morning, only to find photos of your beautiful daughter brutally murdered in your inbox. Oh, but that's not all. Gruesome photos of your daughter, taken after death, have been posted across multiple social media sites. You see them everywhere. Then other people start sending you the photos. Even after they have been removed by police. This was the horrible reality for Bianca Devin's family. She was brutally murdered. The man who did it then took photos and distributed them for people to make fun of, justify her murder, and torment her family. Even better than that, there is no way to get rid of them. We lose censorship rights with social media. Some of those photos are probably real. Extreme violence, death, abuse, etc. Yes, they "violate community standards." Yes, you can report the post. Yes, you can block people. Guess what? It's still there. It is disrespectful. It is horrifying. It is the dark reality of social media. Our children see this. We see this. There is no running from it. Even worse, our society becomes desensitized to it because of frequent exposure. Which means it is getting worse.

Overall, I personally believe that social media is a double edged sword. You have some good, but you have some bad too. I personally think that social media should be used with caution and not at all by the youngest, most vulnerable, members of our society. What do you guys think? It this real for you or am I just way over thinking the topic? Are there other flaws that I didn't think of? I would love to hear your perspectives and opinions!