Two sides to every coin: Now we have easy access to finding people with similar interests and forming close friendships to people from places we may never have visitied. Now we have a gateway to finding out scams, fake news, and other crimes that can be overlooked. There are more benefits, can't be bothered typing more, but I think we have to consider what it has done for us as well.
It’s interesting to say the least. We like to have things to blame. The Bible was written in Latin, most people couldn’t read. You NEEDED to go to church to know what it said, and you just had to take the guys word that he was reading what it said and not just saying what he wanted you to hear. Then we had news paper and radio- but with no easy way to get information otherwise from far away- you had to take their word. Propaganda is a classic example and many theorize that the relatively unfiltered (compared to other ages) coverage of the American war in Vietnam is what ended the conflict and gave it the historical context it has. War of the worlds and the like are examples of where with limited information- you had to just roll with whatever the people in control wanted you to know.
Now we have so much data on every human in earth that even governments and mega data corporations can’t gather and use it all effectively. Connect it together. The average citizen IS a news source but isn’t a journalist or impartial- so we have millions on millions of conflicting sources for information at our finger tips 24/7, fake news, manipulated and incorrect information... but...
Is it so different? When people were spread out and things were more rural, information traveled slowly if at all. People might be unaware of things happening in their own area let alone the world, and word of mouth, gossip from neighbors and strangers passing by was the primary source of new information. The world before information proliferation was full of rumors and lies too- sea serpents and giants and racial myths- these people are witches, these people are cannibals, rubbing poop in your wounds keeps out evil spirits (who happen to hate poop...) blah blah.
During the Black Plague people knew very little and information didn’t spread as quickly as superstition or misinformation; people selling cures and protections or meaning to instill calm. Leprosy was surrounded by all manner of nonsense and so on and so on. There’s little difference between believing Obama has no birth certificate and believing Rasputin was a necromancer.
So the “bubbles” of community and geography are just replaced by the bubbles of cliques. The rumors from able to spread in a vacuum of information are replaced by rumors able to spread in a flood of information. The reliance on the perceptions and integrity of your neighbor or some random stranger with some claims of credibility are replaced by.... nothing. That’s basically the same.
Social media doesn't do shit, it's you and yourself.
We all know that people post all sorts of shit and lots of them are lies but we got upset over it anyways. My friends post photos taken a year ago as if she just went on vacation yesterday.
I put heavy tons of makeup and nice clothes as if I were attending a party but I'm actually at home doing nothing.
Your fragile feelings are yours, don't blame it on others.
You're old enough to be on the internet (13 and above) youre old enough to know not everything is the way you see them.
We all know that people post all sorts of shit and lots of them are lies but we got upset over it anyways. My friends post photos taken a year ago as if she just went on vacation yesterday.
I put heavy tons of makeup and nice clothes as if I were attending a party but I'm actually at home doing nothing.
Your fragile feelings are yours, don't blame it on others.
You're old enough to be on the internet (13 and above) youre old enough to know not everything is the way you see them.