That thing called social media

I guess I probably watched one too many stupid videos, but I realised that, for some reason, my feed had recently been bombarded with certain types of videos that gave me the general impression that the world was going crazy. When I related with people in real life, however, I found that there were and are still a lot of smart and reasonable people around.

This made me sit back to reconsider how certain social media applications were shaping my mind and how to properly conduct myself going forward. After some thought, I came up with a few points that I consider worth sharing.

Algorithms!

When social media first came to the limelight, present-day algorithms were not implemented into these applications. You could come across almost anything for no real reason. Today, from the moment you begin using most social media applications, your feed becomes structured to reflect content similar to what you have watched before.

There is an upside and a downside to this, apparently. The upside being that you can block out unnecessary information and ensure you only get content recommendations that suit your persona. The way I use this to my advantage is by streamlining those I follow or subscribe to. I try to focus on content that is in line with the kind of person I want to become.

Here’s the downside, though. These algorithms, which have high utility, can also become an impediment to learning. I noticed that the algorithms tend to create a positive feedback loop along the lines of what I already know - ensuring that I hear similar information over and over again and thus keeping me in a bubble.

This means that I will have little to no opportunity to question myself. It is a very dangerous position to be in, especially if the content you consume is mostly ideological.

Now, whether you are 100% right or wrong in your ideology, which hardly anyone ever is, questioning ourselves from time to time is a good thing. It helps us find loopholes in our reasoning or even allows us to properly articulate why we think the way we do as we try to find reasons for our opinions.

In this post, I would like share a few of my musings on the nuances of using of social media. Considering a lot of us spend a significant amount of time online, you might find this useful.

One afternoon (or evening), after watching a few videos online, I was so stunned that I sat and wrote the following in my journal, “As I gaze on the madness that has engulfed the world, I find myself getting entertained by the sheer stupidity and lack of common sense that is prevalent in society. At the same time, I wonder if making a habit of this is pushing me towards a state of paranoia; a situation where I am constantly critiquing the actions or thoughts of others and view myself as more enlightened or assume that my thoughts are better than those of others.”

The con is that it doesn’t seem that we can handle this opportunity responsibly. The cancerous spread of people who gain their popularity by casting aspersions on men and women who have attained their success by hard work and sacrifice is intriguing. Most of this is done with ‘good intentions’, which is why it is even scarier. It makes me wonder where we ought to draw the line on these sorts of interactions.

With face-to-face interactions, it is always roughly understood where the line is. Somehow, people choose their words more carefully, maybe because getting punched in the face is an unpleasant experience. On the other hand, the rules on social media are vague, and the lines are increasingly blurred.

I may consider myself to be of reasonable intelligence, but that in no way qualifies me to be quick to criticise the decisions of someone who has spent decades working to get to where they are. A more helpful mindset would be to aim to respectfully air our opinions both online and offline. We could try to offer solutions and alternate suggestions instead of simply leaving a trail of criticisms.

This is not a general guide to social media usage, as I am still learning the do’s and don’ts myself, but I hope you have found it somewhat helpful. Thank you for reading!

I think a possible way to mitigate this effect would be to attempt to get opposing opinions on different issues. Making a habit of this can help to view information objectively. Ideally, you might want to get a good amount of offline information as well.

Try to have discussions with friends and other people in your social circle to see what they think. You can attempt to specifically seek out the opinions of people who think in a completely opposite manner from you, but there’s another slippery slope - whatever you constantly expose yourself to, you become. So, I try to balance my attention to make sure that my desire for a little more objectivity does not turn me into a person I do not want to become.

It is always helpful to spend some time on your own, thinking through the details and trying to reach a conclusion. Your opinions may change in the future, but the most important thing is that you learn how to think. This is becoming an increasingly rare trait since a lot of people merely echo what they have heard online.

A good aid to thinking is reading, especially non-fictional reading. Non-fiction allows you to see the undiluted patterns in human behaviour, free of fantasy and the unrealistic ideals that often pervade fiction (not that anything’s really wrong with that - fiction just serves a different purpose and is designed to make you see the world a certain way).

While non-fiction may also offer hope, fear, despair, or joy (some of the feelings that fiction offers), it does this in a non-imposing manner. Reality is presented to you, and you determine what to make of it. PS: I enjoy fiction as well.

The Glamor of the Screens

Well, here’s another thing I noticed. Social media has rules that totally differ from the primary media streams that existed a few decades ago. These included the radio, TV, and newspaper; all of which brought to light mostly relevant topics which were (very likely) credible.

I suppose the act of throwing in tidbits of untruth to attract a larger audience has existed for some time, but, for the most part, a certain amount of credibility was expected. You needed to have achieved something of relevance or be an important personality to appear on TV, for example. So, it seems a part of our minds still attaches such esteem to people who appear on the screens today.

Presently, however, on a number of social media platforms, a large following does not necessarily relate to credibility. In fact, I have discovered that almost anyone can attract a reasonable following even if what they are saying is completely illogical, as long as they do it consistently enough. Why? Firstly, the algorithms favour consistency.

Secondly, no matter what crazy thoughts you have, you will find someone who identifies with those opinions and is in need of validation. This becomes quite dangerous in the area of misinformation.

A person with a large following can easily pick up some random unverified information and toss it to their followers, who gulp it up and share without the slightest inclination to do some verification because, well, ‘Why shouldn’t I trust some random guy on a screen?’ After falling prey to this, I now attempt to verify information before accepting it as a fact.

Distorted sense of individual importance

We are all very important and unique beings. However, when it comes to discussions on certain topics, our opinions do not carry the same weight, due to our differences in experience and accomplishments.

Social media has given each individual the ability to share what they think on any topic, the pro of which is that everyone’s voice can be heard. You can comment on a post made by the president of any country or even the richest man in the world. You can publicise your opinions about people who, by reason of their social standing and achievements, you would be in no position to critique or even have a discussion with.

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