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Social Media

Rick

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Where do people stand on Social Media at the moment? This story came out today and I found it fascinating - it touched on quite a few thoughts that I have been having of late that led me to deactivate all of my social media accounts a few weeks ago (bar Instagram, FYI). What Chamath Palihapitiya said in his remarks were very similar to what Sean Parker said a while back and that's fascinating to me - given that they were such driving forces in its creation.

I came to the conclusion that it does more harm than good to our society and generally became aware (slowly) over time that my desire to share things with people in a non-targeted way has reduced and is now at levels almost zero.

Don't get me wrong, I understand Facebook, Twitter and the like do some very good things - they help reunite families, find lost dogs, assist people in raising money etc - but I also think they undo a lot of our great social traditions, perhaps don't help mental health and reduce real interaction between people.

I use messaging services very frequently, being able to target conversations with groups of people or individuals is how I much prefer to communicate about most things - popping something on my Facebook timeline for all my 'friends' to chime in on feels so unnecessary. I also tire of the constant adverts and product placements that it feels increasingly difficult to escape.

I realise it may appear that there is some irony in starting this conversation on a message board, but the distinction that I would make is that I only know a handful of members in real life and don't post under my 'real' name.

Anyone on the same page, or do you love to share everything with everyone on all platforms? Maybe it comes with age or maybe I am just grumpy. I guess younger people don't know any different and conclude it's always been this way.
 
I guess younger people don't know any different and conclude it's always been this way.

First of all, great topic, and something I've been thinking about hugely recently.

I'm nearly thirty, and something I had highlighted to me by an artist working on a project concerning this very matter, is that those under twenty don't make the distinction between 'online' and 'real' selves as older people who have watched the internet develop. Oddly, they are therefore arguably behaving more authentically than your mate whose decade-long relationship has finally collapsed, and is in the habit of posting inspirational memes to make up for the sudden identity crisis. On the other hand, many teenagers see Facebook and Twitter as crap, preferring much more instantaneous formats such as Snapchat. Whether this is a good or a bad thing isn't really any of my business, but I can't help but feel the quality of discussion, reportage and well, 'self' has seriously suffered online over the last decade.

Social media has definitely had it's advantages. I feel it has left me feeling more emphathetic, more aware of the lived experience of others, than I was throughout my childhood and teens. It's created amazing spaces for marginalised people - people of colour, LGBT, disabled people - to thrive and discuss and make a difference. It's also been equally great for specialist interests, like us, or even lower-league football team supporters, or any other corner of the universe you care to mention. On the other hand, I also feel (perhaps cynically) that while community and awareness are the buzzwords of the day, the internet really just fosters extreme individualism. Back when I were a lad, my Dad would tell me that I thought the world revolved around me. Of course, I was a daft kid, so it did, but I felt I grew out of it. These days, everyone is very much the protagonist in their own narrative. Social media tailors a world for you. Everyone, left, right and centre, both theoretically and politically, seems to be a paragon of virtue. The world and society is complex, sticky and uncomfortable, but instead of making the experience of living easier, social media has just made it more binary and unforgiving.

I also feel that social media, Twitter in particular, is just too fast for our human brains to process. The news, culture and outrage cycles clip along far too fast to learn anything particularly valuable. This is my predominant reservation with social media; I think it's been, and continues to be bad for my mental health. Which is ironic, because that's a discussion that has hugely beneffited from social media's influence. But the little dopamine kicks we get from it are just too easy. I need to interact with it to a degree, but I'm slowly making changes to try and live a happier life without it.
 
Yeah, there a was an article about that in the DM yesterday. I've never had a Facebook/Twitter account and probably never will; I don't trust those sorts of sites. Sites like Towersstreet are fine, as they are actively moderated and discussions are on certain topics.
EDIT: It was on the front page as well.
 
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I stopped using Facebook years ago after it caused a particularly nasty incident to a friend who was outcast by their family for not commenting on an attention seeking post from one of them, even though we pointed out soooo many times that Facebook decides what posts you see, they wouldn't accept it, and these were not your social media nutters but what society would consider very well to do highly educated people. It made the scene from the Vacation film about the photos look like a tea party.

It was only settled several years later when Facebook finally admitted they had been conducting social experiments on users and the penny finally dropped, but without doing irreversible damage to those involved (one member of the family died and my friend was excluded from their funeral so they never got to say bye and the person buried died believing a lie about their daughter rather than the truth).

My wife still uses it and I often take a quick look and I still see the same kind of behavour from other people, there are also plenty of people warning about this, not just ex-Facebook employees.

Forums are fine because everybody gets to see the message, phpbb or whatever doesn't pick and choose who sees it.
 
I wouldn't say I use social media as often as other people of my age group do. I only have a Facebook account which I literally use to look at theme park pages and theme park news. I probably only look through Facebook about once or twice a day; I much prefer sites like forums for chatting about theme park related topics than Facebook. I do also have a Google account so that I can subscribe to YouTubers I like (e.g. Theme Park Worldwide, Coaster Studios etc.) if that counts as social media. I do watch YouTube videos quite a lot, but I wouldn't class that as social media. I'm probably classed as quite weird for someone of my age group in the way that I don't have Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and all the other social networks other than Facebook, and in the way that I only check Facebook once or twice a day for coaster news or to see if Shawn Sanbrooke is doing a live video.
EDIT: Another thing I'd like to add is that the only reason I even got Facebook in the first place was so I could play Candy Crush Saga and other Facebook games with my family. And I don't even play Facebook games anymore. Also, I have noticed that the use of social media and technology has changed a lot in the last decade and even in the last 5 years. Social media and technology now play a more crucial role in our lives than they did in 2010, for example. In 2010, I was 7 and my sister was 9, and my Mum only let us go on the family computer for an hour a day each to go on those virtual world-type sites, like Moshi Monsters and Club Penguin. But now my sister and I are 14 and 16, respectively, I think my Mum cares a lot less about the amount of time we spend on the internet. I now have a laptop and an iPad of my own. The only limit we have now is we have to come off 30 minutes before bed (9:30pm, in my case.) I'm only telling you about that to show you an example of how the world has changed in 7 years.
P.S. Sorry for the long post.
 
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Yeah, I have a Google/Youtube account too, although I disconnected my Google+ account ages ago, as I wasn't using it. I do sometimes post Youtube comments, but mostly on theme park and roller coaster related videos.
 
I do sometimes post Youtube comments, but mostly on theme park and roller coaster related videos.
Same here. I sometimes watch computer/tech review type videos as well, but very rarely. 99% of the time it's theme park videos only for me.
 
I wouldn't say I use social media as often as other people of my age group do. I only have a Facebook account which I literally use to look at theme park pages and theme park news. I probably only look through Facebook about once or twice a day; I much prefer sites like forums for chatting about theme park related topics than Facebook. I do also have a Google account so that I can subscribe to YouTubers I like (e.g. Theme Park Worldwide, Coaster Studios etc.) if that counts as social media. I do watch YouTube videos quite a lot, but I wouldn't class that as social media. I'm probably classed as quite weird for someone of my age group in the way that I don't have Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and all the other social networks other than Facebook, and in the way that I only check Facebook once or twice a day for coaster news or to see if Shawn Sanbrooke is doing a live video.
EDIT: Another thing I'd like to add is that the only reason I even got Facebook in the first place was so I could play Candy Crush Saga and other Facebook games with my family. And I don't even play Facebook games anymore. Also, I have noticed that the use of social media and technology has changed a lot in the last decade and even in the last 5 years. Social media and technology now play a more crucial role in our lives than they did in 2010, for example. In 2010, I was 7 and my sister was 9, and my Mum only let us go on the family computer for an hour a day each to go on those virtual world-type sites, like Moshi Monsters and Club Penguin. But now my sister and I are 14 and 16, respectively, I think my Mum cares a lot less about the amount of time we spend on the internet. I now have a laptop and an iPad of my own. The only limit we have now is we have to come off 30 minutes before bed (9:30pm, in my case.) I'm only telling you about that to show you an example of how the world has changed in 7 years.
P.S. Sorry for the long post.

The problem for us parents trying to enforce time restraints on kids these days is that the answers we get range from:

1) I use computers all day at school so why does a couple more hours hurt?
2) You watching TV, I'm watching YouTube how is that different? (My son).
3) The teachers say you're abusing my human rights by restricting my play time (my neighbours 6 year old!!!).

Couple that with every do gooder telling parents they must give their kids the freedom to find their independence and every school sending home homework that can only be completed online and you'll understand why most parents think "f this".

Of course if the kid goes blind from too much screen time or goes off to a strangers house it'll all be the parents fault, unless of course you leave your kid home alone to be murdered while you go to Spain on holiday then it's everybody else's fault....

TLDR: we can't win whatever we do, so most parents nowadays just think why bother, plus half the parents I know haven't a clue what their little darlings get up to online because they wouldn't know how to monitor their use...
 
Can't believe I've only just found this topic. Great thread!

Very interesting that the consensus on here seems to be that social media is a bad thing. I completely understand these arguments but I happen to think that, on balance, social media is a very good thing, and I say this as a man in his mid 30's who never posts on Facebook, doesn't have a Twitter account, doesn't get the point of that Instant Grammo thing, has never taken a selfie, has never made a meme and DESPISES emojis.

You see, I think it all comes down to personal freedom and that the majority of the arguments against social media can be (and I think in time, will be) rectified with self control and self discipline.

The printing press, the railways and TV were all seen to have had undesirable effects on the populace until we learned how to live with them. I think we just need to see social media for what it is, something which can be used for bad as well as good and has effected the way we live our lives and we just need to adjust to it. People who can't turn a blind eye to targeted marketing and those who require instant self gratification in the most shallow of ways would always have had those demons inside them without social media.

Social media gives people an opportunity to behave/react/live our lives in a certain way. But how we choose to use it is completely up to us. The challenge will be getting used to how to use this platform and how we educate/protect the young and the vulnerable.

But the good thing social media has done is given a voice to the voiceless. No more do a handful of broadcasters and print media barons control our national discourse. In fact, no longer is there just a national discourse but a international one. No longer can elites hang around in the shadows or make shady decisions in smoke filled back rooms and get away with it. For every person out there to radicalise or groom you with the tap of a screen, there's also a person to help.

I'm terrified of my kids using social media (they already use YouTube and play a lot on Xbox Live), but I've accepted that it's a fact of life and that it's my job to prepare them for it.
 
So let me get that right, you don't post on Facebook, don't have a Twitter account and don't understand Instagram, but think they're all positive developments? Perhaps you should try using those social media platforms for a while, then you might understand why most don't associate them with the wording "positive development". :)
 
Before I start, I have got Facebook, Twitter,, Instagram, Snapchat, discord, Google and accounts on many forums. However, I just don't understand the interest for Snapchat or Facebook, so I rarely use them. Anyway, as you can probably tell, I don't use my real name on social media (and I don't post any photos of myself as well). The problem with social media is that it is all based on perceptions and opinions of everybody else, meaning people probably don't except me to be using them for a greater extent. As a teenager, I've recently done Instagram with my real name and I'm certainly not going to continue. First time was posting more theme park related content, while second time was more just photos I have taken. However, the judging you get from others is to somewhat unecessary, so I'm happy enough staying online as TPC. Sorry for the long post
 
Two of my customers love me because I don't even have a mobile phone, they have had too many tradesmen who spend more time on Facebook etc than they do working.
Lots of workplaces have had to resort to banning phone use...including most theme parks!
In my last post in local government some staff spent half of their time sending worthless non productive emails, the other half of the time hiding away somewhere playing on Facebook or candy crush...productivity nose dive.
Bring back the telegram and semaphore I say.
 
@matthewgcole I get a lot what of you say there, but I think social media is slightly different than some of the other examples you gave because it has already intertwined itself in society. Even my grandmother who is in her 90s uses it.

The reason I got fed up with social media is that I wasn't able to control how much I used it. If you want to give up smoking, or drinking that's largely in your control. If you have an active Facebook account, it's difficult to stop using it because you'll get tagged in photos & posts, have messages sent to you etc. Therefore, the only way to step away from it was to get shut of it altogether.

I was on the Tube the other night, it was quite late on and there were probably 20 people in the carriage I was in. I was the only person not on a phone - it's such a bizarre thing when you really stop and think about it. I know the Tube has never famously been a hotbed of conversation, but it seems as if chance (sober) conversations with strangers in most places are almost dying out and I think that will do great societal damage over time.
 
I have a phone but barely use it, quiet often I'll go out and leave it at home, it doesn't have any social media on, the most advanced thing it has is some control software I wrote so I can water the greenhouse remotely (very useful when stuck 200 miles away in a heatwave).

The one thing with phones that really irks me is when you're trying to have a conversation with someone and they've got their face buried in Facebook, I'm like can't you put that thing down for 30 seconds while I'm talking to you?
 
The one thing with phones that really irks me is when you're trying to have a conversation with someone and they've got their face buried in Facebook, I'm like can't you put that thing down for 30 seconds while I'm talking to you?
That's what I was getting at before. Electronic forms of communication have had very damaging effects on people's ability to hold a conversation or debate. The amount of people I interview who can barely string a sentence together is astonishing.

Also, where a meeting with 4 people used to be a four way conversation it's now often four people sat in the same room on laptops or phones occasionally glancing up to engage.
 
Sure everything that has been said about phones and social media is of course true. I'm with you all on that. But if we take @grandma Rick for example, I'm sure she doesn't sit in public places glued to her smart phone avoiding conversation, she probably uses it to stay connected with people from the comfort of her home. I think that's a good thing.

@Rick has said that he has deactivated and stays away from Facebook and @IanSR often leaves his phone at home. Now I'm assuming by some of the things I pick up from what you guys say on here that the 3 of us are of a similar age?

Well I got in to the whole Facebook thing around 10 years ago and I got caught in the spiral of it taking over my life until I noticed something around the time my third child was on her way - that no one actually cared what I wrote on there, very few people read my posts and that people who ACTUALLY cared about me were still in contact with me as they always had been. I stopped posting and just people watched and I could see once I wasn't a part of the whole game any more just how liberating it was how little I cared for some of the stuff on there. My relationships with people closest to me actually improved and I feel more content. Now I use it mainly for information and for the odd post to throw the cat amongst the pigeons here and there and that's it. Days go by without me opening a single Social media app and sometimes I simply just swipe the few notifications I get away on my phone screen and never look at them.

What I think we've all done is taken control over it. I don't think that younger people who are glued to it will always remain that way. I'm sure once most of them have families and stuff they will realise the same, get bored of it or just simply see it at a bit of a pointless chore. Although social media has changed our lives and is here to stay, I'm confident that we'll all learn to live with it and that the constant interconnectivity with our normal human social functions is just a current trend and we'll all normalise over time.
 
With me trialling Instagram (ultimately deciding that it's not for me), I've realised how much the liking culture ruins social media. For instance, I got 11 likes on a photo I did, but there's no way or me knowing whether people actually like the photo or are just liking everything. Having followers seems crazy with some people with under 2 posts having 1000 followers.
 
I used to be an avid Facebook user. I LOVED it! I loved the likes! but I think probably since Brexit (sorry) and everybody becoming a politician I've just had enough. I wanted to leave a year or so ago but in Uni we had all sorts of groups for discussing projects etc so it wasn't possible. Since just before Christmas (2017) I've just stopped posting. I couldn't be arsed with the traditional wishing everyone a merry Christmas and new year. who is really interested in generic posts like that? so I've just weaned myself off it slowly, I have a 5 minute look on there per day and I have a strict rule about not liking anything because that will throw the algorithm which decides the posts I see at the top of the feed. I still keep my account open for now as i'm running a business but other than that I've posted maybe 4/5 times in the past 2 months.
I've actually gone a lot further than just Facebook over the past couple of weeks. I've stopped consuming ALL NEWS!
And I feel a lot better about things!
This really comes down to my 5 years studying media and all the tricks of storytelling, It is just blindingly obvious now what we are being fed by the media and it actually made me angry quite a lot and i'd vent out on social media, this is why it's nice to have ditched both. I know longer get the tabloid spin or the daily mail style reaction posts from Facebook.
I challenge people to try it out for a week, see if you feel better.

The only social media I partake in now really is Instagram, I quite like it because I can show some of my work and people can take it or leave it. i'm still a bit clueless as to how to best utilise it but i'm getting there.

I read somewhere that Facebooks audience has now actually peaked and will start to fall now (They lost 1,000,000 last year) especially as the younger generation find it pretty uncool. It will be interesting to see how things develop as it all comes back to advertising money, something that instagram/Snapchat/Twitter find it hard to integrate.
 
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