Cartwright—I think that social media has, in fact, made us less social. Kids and many adults are glued to their cell phones and are unable to carry on conversations or interact in social settings. Look at how many people these days, particularly the youth of America, are socially awkward and socially inept.
Social media has certainly given relevance to people and events that have no relevance. Do we really need to know that some unemployed bum living in his parents’ basement and playing video games had a sandwich at lunch, watched TV, smoked some dope, played more video games, and went to the bathroom? Do we really care what some snot-nosed, self-centered, shithead kid who has done nothing in life, who knows nothing about life, and who knows nothing of the world thinks about anything? Do we really care when some pathetic, bitter, critical liberal or right wing nut spews their hateful rhetoric? Why give relevance to any of this?
People waste so much time on social media in the pursuit of nothing that I think it has really hurt American productivity. I don’t think it’s going to get any better. People seem obsessed with wasting time on trivial pursuits when it comes to social media. In these regards, I think it has been bad for society.
I think the only positive I see is as a means to connect with people who you may have lost touch with over the years. It’s a convenient way to reconnect with these people, if you want to connect with them. But I don’t think this really benefits society as a whole. Has social media cured cancer or anything like that? Nope. Has it ended poverty in America? Nope. Has it increased the safety and security of America? Nope.
On net, social media in my opinion is quite a waste. No one seems to really be benefiting from it in any meaningful way. It’s giving kids and some adults a false sense of security and a false sense of importance in the world. I know people who have tens of thousands of followers on social media outlets but these followers don’t know the person in real life in most cases. These followers aren’t there when the person they’re following needs a shoulder to cry on or needs a loan to buy gas money. Let’s get real. Social media just tries to “fluff” people and get them feeling good about themselves or feeling like their lives don’t suck so much.
Digger Cartwright 