a young person who works for one of my vendors told me of her side business. as she marketed it on a social media platform, i told her i’d sign up and follow her. while i joined popular site. as a troglodyte, i did nothing else.
surprisingly, i became flooded with notifications that people have signed up to be my followers. my “nothingness” apparently is attracting. what is depressing concerning it is that i will soon have more followers on that site than wordpress!
i surmise that my followers on that site are chasing the popularity lottery. they are hopeful that their following me will be reciprocated so that they can build up their numbers and become a big success. it was quite reminiscent of facebook’s early days when people often compared the number of “friends”. [my kids, of course, crushed me on that quite quickly.]
over time, social media participants monetized their online engagement; as such, clout chasing emerged. individuals began to act outrageously to draw attention much like the am radio “shock jocks.”
the internet’s nature promotes unhealthy actions and ideology. long ago, a jewish community recognized this problem and organized. almost eleven years ago, ultra orthodox jews rented out a baseball stadium and additional facilities to hold a huge rally to address modern technology. they were gravely concerned of technology’s impact on their religious way of life. timesunion.com one of the individuals, mr. eytan kobre noted that the “rally’s purpose is not to ban the internet but to learn how to harness it.” “there is a very significant downside to the internet,” he said. “it does pose a challenge to us in various aspects of our lives.” he cited online pornography and gambling as well as the risk of social media undermining “our ability to pray uninterruptedly, to focus and to concentrate.””
unlike that insular community, strong wise voices to appreciate and implement standards and guidelines were absent across the united states. rather, politicians, and others, seized the power of the applications and have turned them into instruments for disinformation. politicians further have recognized that they can use internet influencers to obtain votes. as such, a tik tok star whose actions insult women is given an audience at the white house to meet the president. further, the administration has fully embraced popular social media ideology for votes despite the fact that it is both destroying and mutilating children.
on a broader scale, smart phones addiction is disrupting education. recently, a child viciously punched a teacher in the face after taking away the student’s phone. beyond pupils, many people simply cannot function without their devices firmly held in their hand.
in sum, as the internet grows with the incorporation of ai, wise voices are needed to express the pitfalls of the new technology. initially, there should be great concern over the sourcing within the product. is the product balanced to appropriately discuss all relevant points of view. or, will it simply produce propaganda?
be well!!
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