Social media, such a powerful tool. Or is it a weapon? Or is it a scam? Or is it a platform? Whatever it is, it is certainly powerful.
I am on several social media sites. I have my blog. I have a Facebook account. And I have others. It's the way of the world. There are not many people out there that do not have a social media link - including my husband who absolutely refused!! I won't reveal what he has.
Today, I was struck by the epiphany of the power of social media. Whether you agree or disagree, social media sends things along a technical superhighway and people can say or do almost anything that can be truth among some and fallacy among others. The facts may or may not matter in certain stories! Today, the Supreme Court made a decision. Now, whether or not you agree or disagree with it, it's a major decision for our country. As this decision was sent down, I get the usual stuff in my Facebook feed, "-----liked this" or "-----commented on this". I have friends that lean very left. I have friends that lean very right. The interesting thing is - the spin things take in both directions. A right friend will like something that says one thing. A left friend will like something that says the complete opposite. The supposed facts are crazy. It's almost like one person can say something and post something and it becomes the truth because they said or posted it. My head spins from it.
And it doesn't have to be about anything as specific as today. And I'm not immune from falling for something. Just a few days ago, someone posted something about a roller coaster at Islands of Adventure failing and 24 people falling to their deaths because it stopped upside down. I totally freaked out, because I was heading to that very location the next day; along with very special cargo - my daughter and two of my grandchildren. My son was very quick to check it out and show me that it was not true. That someone had made a scam report up and posted it. We all fall for it.
But, think about it. Though probably none of us remembers the story, back in 1938 Orson Welles took to the radio waves and made a "simulated newcast" of an alien invasion happening in New Jersey. It was a story. It was an adaptation of "The War of the Worlds" book. This was the day before Halloween. Mass panic hit the country. It took months for the outcry and the scandal to die down from that story.
So, over the past year there have been several stories that have run rampant, truths and lies on both sides, that have enveloped our world. Racial tensions are high because of the power of the internet. Anti-police sentiments are out of control. Political drama is insane. And a lot of this is pushed by the power of social media.
My question is this, are we better off now having social media? Again, I'm just as bad as everyone else. I would be lost without my technical gadgets. Ted has taken photos of me with my laptop in my lap, my IPad to the side of me, my phone in my hand and I'm sitting in front of the television. Shouldn't I be outside playing or something? I shouldn't be in Orlando, Florida looking to see what is going on through Facebook while I'm waiting in line to get on a ride or to see a show, I should be having special time with special people. But, it just doesn't happen.
Four years ago, I hated looking at Facebook. The presidential race was just heating up and my left friends were posting one way. My right friends were posting another way. It becomes exhausting at times seeing that in your feed. I may have to go dig a hole and bury myself until mid-November 2016.
...................................or maybe I'll just go play outside.
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