Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media platforms were at first, hailed as marvelous innovations that would bring us all closer together. And at first, they did. However, more and more experts are coming out strongly against social media. They’re right to do so.
We know factually that foreign powers with nefarious objectives are using social media to divide Americans. We know factually that Russia was caught red-handed meddling in our elections by posting patently false information and posting fabricated stories designed to cause fear and discourse. We also know that over-use of social media is leading some people to become depressed and is a leading cause of rising stress levels.
New research reveals how social media platforms like Facebook can greatly affect your mental health.- How Social Media Increases Depression and Loneliness
“Almost every social media platform is in the business of keeping its users online as long as possible in order to deliver as many advertisements to individuals as possible. To achieve this goal, social media applications use addiction triggers to reward individuals for staying online longer. In the same way that dopamine, the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of reward and pleasure, is released when gamblers gamble or when alcoholics drink, social media applications are littered with dopamine release triggers.” – Does Social Media Cause Depression
Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook caught Russia and Iran trying to interfere in 2020
Facebook has stopped Russia and Iran campaigns to meddle in 2020 election
Facebook discloses operations by Russia and Iran to meddle in 2020 election
Facebook: Russian trolls are back. And they’re here to meddle with 2020
Lawmakers Are Warned That Russia Is Meddling to Re-elect Trump
It’s So Obvious
Its abundantly clear that social media can be very dangerous. We’re spending valuable hours surfing Facebook and other social media platforms, desperately searching for…what? Likes? A few nice comments on that selfie we posted? What exactly is so exciting about your friend, who posts 30 times a day…most of which are observations like “I watched “This is Us.” I loved it!” Or, “thinking of making mac & cheese for dinner tonight.” Gee, thanks for sharing. It’s gotten out-of-hand.
Now of course, knowing that our friend is thinking of making mac & cheese isn’t a bad thing…its kind of a boring thing, but not a bad thing. What is bad however, is those pesky shares in which your friend swears it’s true “hey, friend of mine told me about this and it’s true! Copy and paste into your timeline or share it!” But…what if its really all just BS? This is particularly dangerous given the current Corona virus crisis — so much bad, even dangerous information is being spread on social media, that it could quite literally cost lives.
Here are a few examples of claims that have been debunked by the medical community:
- That drinking warm water and or vinegar will wash the virus out of your throat or outright kill it
- That you can test yourself by holding your breath for 10 seconds
- That the virus is all a hoax designed to make sure Trump does not win re-election
- That the virus is a hoax so that some nefarious new world order can declare martial law
Negative People Spreading Chaos
Personally, I don’t know who or what is worse: the people who make up these bogus and dangerous claims/posts, or the people who fall for them and spread them around without bothering to see if they’re true. Social Media poses a great threat to the peace and stability of our world. Lies, hysteria, paranoia and delusion are running rife on social media and it has to stop. Spreading lies and dangerous information, even if unknowingly, is a notoriously negative act. Each one of us needs to be vigilant and we all need to be our own fact checkers.
Social media has its benefits, but its drawbacks may have started to outweigh those good points. Real positivity can only come if we have more peace and harmony and that only comes if we all make the commitment to help foster it. Sadly, since so many of us are on social media, some bad apples really are spoiling the whole bunch.
