Agree with everything my article has to say, and click ‘Like’! Or disagree with everything it has to say, but still click ‘Like’! Or don’t click ‘Like’ at all and stay anonymous, haha. The choice is up to you. After all, there isn’t a specific set of rules and etiquette for social media. Or is there? In fact I think we are all shaping the rules and boundaries as we go, however I strongly dislike the predominant trends which seems to have taken over – Addiction to mobile phones, group tribalism mentality, quantity over quality, and blatant corporate disregard of personal privacy. And a whole lot more bad stuff which I could easily write an A – Z list on.
But let’s start with the good stuff. And it’s really good: Connectedness. FB has connected us all in a much more personal way. 20 years ago, you might be sitting in class, wondering about so & so, or what your friends are up to, or how to become friends with someone, or what are next weekend’s plans. Now with social media it’s pretty hard to not be friends with your entire class online, and know what the upcoming weeks events are. This is beneficial because it broadens our horizons, encourages more social interaction, and opens new doors. FB also connects us more by facilitating keeping in touch with relatives or friends who are geographically out of the picture (out of state, overseas), you no longer need to use your imagination on what they are up to, but rather a quick message or picture posted online gives you that opportunity to keep current with them. Keeping in touch with former colleagues is another good plus, and generally just having an idea of what your old friends, family, contacts, acquaintances, etc are up to creates a sense of community and openness that has unparalleled possibilities. I am constantly thinking wow, I went to school with this guy 20 years ago, but he’s posting all this stuff on Instagram and FB, and yep he’s still a cool dood just like I remember. Sharing, openness, and involvement in social, educational, professional, and recreational activities is what humans are all about, right? To learn and grow and help others learn and grow, if it’s made more possible by connecting with folks online, then go for it.
That being said, there are many negative implications as well. And similar to any social environment, there is a lot to be learned, and it is going to take time. And society seems to be way behind the eight ball. Here’s what I see wrong, I am curious whether others see the same and care, see the same and don’t care, or just haven’t thought about this stuff.
Addiction to mobile phones: Constantly see this. Every day. People getting off the train after an hour long ride, still staring at their phones. I mean if you are staring at a phone while walking through a crowded train station, don’t look surprised if you walk into someone… or if you develop neck spasms or blurry vision from shrugging and squinting at your phone all day. Sorry went off on a tangent.. – Other example – Checking, re-checking, and re-checking your newsfeed. I have done this before and have since broken the bad habit. But I know a TON of people check their social media 10, 20, 40, 50 times a day. It is obvious to everyone based on the fact that you are publicly clicking and liking things throughout the work day (what does your manager think by the way?). If you are clicking anything 20+ times a day you have an addiction. The thing is, FB has failed every one of us in that they have taken no responsibility for smartphone addiction. It is no different than electronic gambling or any other behavior which you are compelled towards. It would take minimal effort for FB to have a notification pop-up on your phone (Hey, I’ve noticed you’ve checked your newsfeed 10 times the past hour, how about a break? Or here’s an 800 # for electronic addiction, or Hey go out and get some sunshine, etc.) But rather than take any responsibility, FB intentionally does the exact opposite. FB wants you to be on your phone all day. It’s in the best interest of their profit margins, no doubt about it.
Group tribalism mentality: Similar to high school (another reference to school, because social media is very much like high school – Loud, obnoxious people trying to get attention, clicky groups, etc), there is a lot of tribalism going on. Whether it be political or otherwise, when User A posts something, all of User A’s friends who agree with the post click Like, make excited Comments, etc, while all of User B’s friends who don’t agree with the post generally don’t even see it or just ignore it, or on the other hand start a flame war (online argument). The level of ‘excitement’ generated by posts is absurd. I don’t think people talk with exclamation points in real life. Or say lol. Or agree with every single thing their friends say or do. Aye… social media should be promoting a greater sense of connection as described earlier, but many times just re-confirms the groups that already exist, and those folks re-affirm one another, and nothing changes.
Quantity over quality: FB has failed us here, as well as LinkedIn, and IG. All three of these platforms utilize algorithms so you see the posts they want you to see. Long gone are the days when posts were in chronological order. In fact, of my 500 or so FB connections, I probably only see posts from about 20 people regularly. Everyone else has been ‘dissapeared’ by the powers that be. I remember a few years ago when FB introduced shared ‘Likes’ to the newsfeed, meaning if others comment or like something, it shows up in your newsfeed. Seriously.. I don’t care what other people have clicked. This was a power move by FB (and the other platforms have since implemented the same) to generate more content, to keep people re-visiting their feeds. LinkedIn is no saint either, my notifications generally consist of ‘It’s so and so’s birthday’, ‘it’s XYZ’s anniversary at ABC company’, etc. All useless junk. There are definitely some good authentic unique and meaningful posts from time to time, but most content has been pushed out, recycled, re-hashed, thrown at you several different ways and times. FB wants to control what you are seeing, when you are seeing it, predict how you will react, and show you more spam based upon those criteria. That ain’t good. If you want quality pickup a good book. Oh, and the FB site basically looks like it was designed in the early 2000’s by a mediocre web designer, and hasn’t since been updated:
Blatant corporate disregard of personal privacy: If you don’t know about Skynet, go watch Terminator and Terminator II. It’s real. Heh. Social media seems like it’s the beginning of the end when it comes to personal privacy. I recall not so long ago when FB had mediocre face recognition technology, when a user uploaded a photo, it would suggest ‘Tags’. It was sometimes accurate. Now if you (or someone else) uploads your photo, the recognition feature is extremely accurate, FB almost certainly tags you on it’s own, stores the info in it’s own databanks, and builds up a profile on you. I noticed a year or two ago FB also changed it’s policy on individual users right to privacy – You used to be able to ‘opt out’ of being included in posts where you are tagged, now even if you opt out, the post ‘may still appear in others newsfeeds’. i.e. You have zero control. FB also frequently pings your location based upon GPS service, combs your phone for it’s contacts and all your media, and has access to what you are typing and also your microphone. And just when you think you have your privacy settings under control, said platform releases an update, and all your privacy settings revert to their original state. One should assume zero privacy and confidentiality with anything and everything that is transmitted through your ‘smart’ device.
To close, I would just state my opinion that we should all care about this stuff. This technology impacts our freedom of thought, our physical and mental health, our productivity, our privacy and security, and will shape future generations. Keep it real.
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