The impact of Social Media/Media in todays society

[kickazz]

Before social media and smartphones, social circles were much more agents of their own doing. Sure, we all got influenced somewhat by advertising, the news, and the norms of the day. But we owned our interactions and controlled the path those social groups went down.

Now, as social connections a more and more manifest online than in reality, they are much more easily directly manipulated by powerful agents like news, fake news, lobbyists, governments, corporations etc. These agents have intricate knowledge of our behaviour like never before and an ability to shape or curb how we interact. I can't fathom how easily everyone has jumped on board the Tik Tok train. Are you really happy that the CCP act as a filter to decide what gets through to your friends and what doesn't?

Yes, it can be good for people far away to stay connected, but it also offers the cop out - posting a birthday greeting on facebook instead of calling someone - how inspiring.

It also has accelerated the narcissism epidemic. The interplay of engaging someone first to the end that you have something interesting to share with them has been replaced with people spray-broadcasting all the minutiae of their daily lives, then anxiously awaiting the accumulation of likes. How pathetically unsatisfying. It's like Coca-Cola for the soul - a quick buzz that falls away all too quickly and leaves you unnourished. People have forgotten how to be happy through genuine shared experience and stories.

Beautiful parts of the world being overrun due to their "instagrammability". Instead of enjoying our wonderful planet it's all about telling how many people at once that you are there. Look at me me me.

Suicide, once the domain of men aged 30-50, is now a growing problem for teenagers. Mental health issues off the charts. Online bullying I can't comprehend how bad it would be - inescapable - but it's not just that. Stressing over how many followers one has, how many likes, etc. How unfulfilling.

It also fuels outrage unnecessarily. There has always been a lot of dickheads. Thing is, before Twitter etc. nobody listened to them. Now, given an event or issue that gets say 10000 tweets, which are the ones that propagate? A few really good ones, and the idiot fringe as well. We've given them a fecking platform.

Even comedy is being affected - great gags and stories are too much effort now and it's all memes. Some are hilarious and they have their place, but most are tired and lazy.

On the plus side I think it can also be good for people who have niche hobbies and interests, helping them find like-minded souls more easily.


Bit of a rant, tl;dr I recon SM has carved out the richer, deeper, more meaningful parts of ourselves and that void is now slowly filling up with shit.

 

[demondavey]

You kinda did

" As far as news goes, well people use social media to get their news in summarised, blog type literature that often comes a Twitter account or an Instagram post. The reach of social media really encapsulates everything, and now we have opinions that are turning into news type pieces of information. We discount experts because we can, we discount science because we can, we do all this in the name of opinion and a right to have a voice. "

Also

"Yes I agree. I wonder what percentage of the time a phone would be used to make calls? I’d be tipping hardly at all. Particularly for millennials and some Gen Y.

Virtually everyone I know have met their partners online. This I also find perplexing. These days with COVID I get it, because social activity is restricted, but when I was a single man I never used those apps and always preferred going out to meet women. I only use my phone for Big Footy!

I agree completely, the awkward nature of face to face interaction engagement has become something just part of the social discourse. Like I mentioned above, it’s all become about popularity via Instagram and other social media programs. People need a like from a post or a love heart to feel satisfied, if you give people compliments they think you’re a creep or get all awkward.

I definitely think it’s eroded our social abilities as human beings. It’s all become very odd and detached. "


Some real strong incel vibes off that quote.

I have pretty strong suspicions you enjoy being labelled "odd" or "different" but the view you have of social media isnt actually odd its pretty popular among older people it more that its just lazy.

Like or dont like social media, you can choose to not be on it as you can choose to not interact with those who are (or those you just dont like) but if youre going to critique it in the way you have at least make it informed. This passing "no one on the train looks up from their phone therefore they arent deep thinkers" thing is just sad. Its also no different to any other time we had something more interesting to look at than the scenery

View attachment 1229555

Ok. So the section you quoted me, from the bolded paragraph, could you please tell me where I said that authors could not transfer it an electronic medium? I never said that. I have read news on my iPad before. So what?

All my friends are social media users. They’re not obsessed with it however. I am saying, and trying to be clear for you here, that I don’t like or don’t understand the obsessive element of it and I don’t like the way these social media platforms are used in a materialistic and superficial way etc. All these influencers and bloggers etc, these people that have their own channels where they spread their opinions as ‘news’. I find it’s reach far too disturbing.

Do I like being called different? I am not called different by people. For example I have a pet sheep and I walk him in the street. He likes to sniff around at the local oval etc and he plays around with the other dogs. I didn’t choose to get him to be different, I got him as he needed adopting due to the mother getting killed. I thought, oh well, this could be fun. Easy pet.

I don’t think anyone likes to be called different, I don’t like people saying I am different because it makes one feel isolated. Not many people say that. I’ve been called peculiar and weird but I reckon 80% of the population have also. I am just a bit quirky at times.

 

[mr bagcroft]

I didnt say it doesnt but your "I read a book or a physical paper" is pretty elitist.

Plenty of people have social media as a little mental break, nothing wrong with that, also doesnt make them incapable of social interaction or deep thought. Additionally they might be looking at social media accounts that have longform articles about climate change or Afghanistan or Educational Reform in Australia (all articles i read off Insta just this morning).

You see these people for a 30 minute commute once every so often and pass judgement that the majority of them are just mindless social media users and you are the outlier reading paper books or newspapers... you have to know how that sounds.

I don’t even think 2% of under 30’s are looking at anything but brain dead schlock to be honest. Hardly anyone is on social media to be informed or educated.

 

[phantom13]

“Oh I’m not saying that at all” then likes

I don’t even think 2% of under 30’s are looking at anything but brain dead schlock to be honest. Hardly anyone is on social media to be informed or educated.

But you’re absolutely not saying it’s all mindless.

You two are super cool.

At least have the courage in your convinctions to make definitive (idiotic) statements like this guy instead of hiding behind vagueries

 

[mr bagcroft]

“Oh I’m not saying that at all” then likes



But you’re absolutely not saying it’s all mindless.

You two are super cool.

At least have the courage in your convinctions to make definitive (idiotic) statements like this guy instead of hiding behind vagueries

Not all, no. But a hell of a lot...yes.
IMO, of course.

 

[phantom13]

Not all, no. But a hell of a lot...yes.
IMO, of course.

2% or less. Nah mate. Absolutely not.

And AGAIN if they are, like we’re not all entitled to a little decompression time. You never switch off with some “schlock”?

 

[demondavey]

“Oh I’m not saying that at all” then likes



But you’re absolutely not saying it’s all mindless.

You two are super cool.

At least have the courage in your convinctions to make definitive (idiotic) statements like this guy instead of hiding behind vagueries

What’s your problem, sunshine?

 

[phantom13]

What’s your problem, sunshine?

What a witty retort, you’d slay on Twitter

 

[demondavey]

What a witty retort, you’d slay on Twitter

No, but really, you’ve conveniently ignored the main points of what I’ve stated even though I have spelt it out for you, and now you’re just content with schlepping around taking pot shots because you don’t like what people are saying.

 

[phantom13]

No, but really, you’ve conveniently ignored the main points of what I’ve stated even though I have spelt it out for you, and now you’re just content with schlepping around taking pot shots because you don’t like what people are saying.

You haven’t spelled out anything except some random anecdote about owning a sheep.

By all means stick with your dated opinions and disengenous niceties but don’t claim you’ve been misrepresented when you haven’t.

 

[demondavey]

You haven’t spelled out anything except some random anecdote about owning a sheep.

By all means stick with your dated opinions and disengenous niceties but don’t claim you’ve been misrepresented when you haven’t.

You’re picking and choosing what to read so you can continue arguing. Either you’re not very intelligent or you’re not very nice.

Why are my opinions ‘dated’? You’re awfully judgemental after attempting to accuse me of such. What is ‘dated’ about what I am saying and why is that unacceptable to you?

 

[mr bagcroft]

2% or less. Nah mate. Absolutely not.

And AGAIN if they are, like we’re not all entitled to a little decompression time. You never switch off with some “schlock”?

I don’t count I’m a 70/80’s kid. Largely irrelevant In the scheme of things today.
I don’t Insta , Tik Tok or any of that shit. But it’s a free world and people will do whatever they want. Ya grandparents fought for it.

 

[phantom13]

You’re picking and choosing what to read so you can continue arguing. Either you’re not very intelligent or you’re not very nice.

Why are my opinions ‘dated’? You’re awfully judgemental after attempting to accuse me of such. What is ‘dated’ about what I am saying and why is that unacceptable to you?

You’re the one still replying and asking me to clarify to be accusing me of arguing. I’m not. You’ve made your position clear in spite of trying so desperately not to. At least Bagcrofts being upfront.

I’ve said it a few times now “social media consumers are incapable of deep thought” is dated, go ahead and backflip on that again, I don’t really care.

 

[demondavey]

You’re the one still replying and asking me to clarify to be accusing me of arguing. I’m not. You’ve made your position clear in spite of trying so desperately not to. At least Bagcrofts being upfront.

I’ve said it a few times now “social media consumers are incapable of deep thought” is dated, go ahead and backflip on that again, I don’t really care.

What’s not being up front? I just have a more detailed analysis. Big deal. I am talking about the way those users consume news via summarised form. I am talking about Instagram and Facebook and whatever else being a hot bed of mental health issues and perpetuating insecurities and materialism.

 

[Scotland]

Agree. MSN is what I used briefly in the late nineties to talk to girls to organise house parties and dates etc because we didn’t have mobiles. I like what you said about people actually ‘doing stuff’. These days everything is documented. What you wear, what you eat, where you are, who you are with, what you are buying etc etc. All this is then uploaded to draw positive feedback. To me that means that you need to expose your life and behaviours in order to have it approved by total strangers. I am no psychologist, but that sounds like the definition of insecurity. Maybe this is leading to a mental health crisis?

What else frustrates me is people recording everything. Everything seems to have an entertainment element to it. People crave constant entertainment. Someone could be seriously injured and someone will be standing by and recording it, just so they can upload it and get a reaction.

Personally, I don’t care what people think of me or what I do. I’d say I’d dress slightly away from the ‘norm’, I don’t use FB or Instagram or Twitter, and am pretty blunt and honest in my feedback and responses.

I'm kinda lucky I guess is that all this stuff came about when I was young enough to be interested but not so young that it's all I know. Blew my mind when I first started working with people who had iPhones when they were in high school. That would've totally changed the dynamic. I still remember a couple of phone numbers of my primary school friends because that's how we communicated after school. Had a mobile in year 12, just sat in the bottom of the school bag for emergencies.

I used to take a lot of photos travelling. Phone, digital camera, digital SLR. Some made it to social media, most no one except me cared about which is fine. I did notice that over the years more and more people taking photos (presumably) on holiday made the photos all about them. No one cares about your yoga poses, get the **** out of the way.

A virtual trip through how places are photographed courtesy of Google images.

2010: Photo of Santorini with brief caption about landscape and architecture

2015: Candid photo in front of said landscape and architecture with brief caption about how great it is to be there

2020: Multiple staged attention seeking photos with long winded soliloquy and 30 hashtags #blessed #wanderlust #howyourmonday

 

[the_interloper]

I'm kinda lucky I guess is that all this stuff came about when I was young enough to be interested but not so young that it's all I know. Blew my mind when I first started working with people who had iPhones when they were in high school. That would've totally changed the dynamic. I still remember a couple of phone numbers of my primary school friends because that's how we communicated after school. Had a mobile in year 12, just sat in the bottom of the school bag for emergencies.

I used to take a lot of photos travelling. Phone, digital camera, digital SLR. Some made it to social media, most no one except me cared about which is fine. I did notice that over the years more and more people taking photos (presumably) on holiday made the photos all about them. No one cares about your yoga poses, get the fu** out of the way.

A virtual trip through how places are photographed courtesy of Google images.

2010: Photo of Santorini with brief caption about landscape and architecture

2015: Candid photo in front of said landscape and architecture with brief caption about how great it is to be there

2020: Multiple staged attention seeking photos with long winded soliloquy and 30 hashtags #blessed #wanderlust #howyourmonday

There's something really obnoxious about people when they post photos of them not looking at the camera, really shits me.

 

[demondavey]

There's something really obnoxious about people when they post photos of them not looking at the camera, really shits me.

Absolutely, it’s a real ‘look at me posing’ vibe. Like they think they’re Grace Kelly or James Dean worthy in terms of like ability.

Spare me.

 

[subaru]

High Court ruling means the end of social media | The Spectator Australia

It’s not very often a news item pokes its head above the laughable parody of our national conversation. Get your duct-tape ready; on Wednesday the High Court issued a ruling that changes everything.

www.spectator.com.au

“The most illustrious minds in Australia have decided to make social media account holders legally responsible for third party comments left on their pages and posts. To quote the court, an entity with an account like Facebook will be ‘liable for adverse material in the comments sections’.”

Good luck BF !

 

[edgie]

How did your grandma feel about Metallica?

Oddly ive come to appreciate my parents musical tastes more as ive gotten older, i thought Fleetwood Mac sucked when i was a kid but now listen to them all the time.

My boomer parents listen to a bit of Marilyn Manson but they'd euthanize themselves after a few tiktoks.

Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using Tapatalk

 

[edgie]

Every now and then I watched one of those sponsored posts on Instagram or Snapchat and it's the worse. It's just awful.

Good looking people followed by hundreds of thousands for just looking at the camera receiving adulation for doing nothing. Nothing.

How much has society gone to the pits? What is wrong with people, mostly young people?

Sent from my Nokia 7.2 using Tapatalk

 

[Stratton_Gun]

Social media can definitely be useful but overall it would lower peoples happiness in my opinion

 

[viesun]

Media and social media can influence society both good and bad. On the one hand, society has become dependent on it with the advent of social media. On the other hand, people can now communicate and exchange information over great distances. In addition, many people use social media for work. For example, I run an online store using the platform https://onlypult.com/, which helps me in many ways.

 

[dumb]

New genre of music is birthing on Tik Tok. A "song" will go for approx 15 seconds.
That is the biggest load of sh*t I have ever heard and plainly demonstrates the extreme dumb sh*t intellect you need to be a Tik Tokker.
******* lowest of the Low intellect gravitate to that platform.

sounds like they're playing catch up




for me, those videos of a person acting out a scenario with themselves is some of the lamest shit to exist online.

 

[Purple7x08_24]

I'm kinda lucky I guess is that all this stuff came about when I was young enough to be interested but not so young that it's all I know. Blew my mind when I first started working with people who had iPhones when they were in high school. That would've totally changed the dynamic. I still remember a couple of phone numbers of my primary school friends because that's how we communicated after school. Had a mobile in year 12, just sat in the bottom of the school bag for emergencies.

I used to take a lot of photos travelling. Phone, digital camera, digital SLR. Some made it to social media, most no one except me cared about which is fine. I did notice that over the years more and more people taking photos (presumably) on holiday made the photos all about them. No one cares about your yoga poses, get the * out of the way.

A virtual trip through how places are photographed courtesy of Google images.

2010: Photo of Santorini with brief caption about landscape and architecture

2015: Candid photo in front of said landscape and architecture with brief caption about how great it is to be there

2020: Multiple staged attention seeking photos with long winded soliloquy and 30 hashtags #blessed #wanderlust #howyourmonday

I've been guilty of this, and that's the social media trap, particularly Instagram being one of the worst. It entices people to compete with everyone else to share the best parts of your life; where you've been. Thinking a little deeper, posting a photo of a holiday in a hidden picturesque town in Italy, perhaps Positano I wonder about the psychology behind it and I feel it's mostly validation in order to feel good about ones self but all one is doing is making everyone else feel envious, and in turn those people do the same at some stage, or end up feeling shitty about themselves.

It's as if in order to feel happy and accomplished people need to prove they were somewhere amazing. When I was using Instagram, (mostly gym stuff, and nearly always a big life lesson in the comments with hashtags) but since logged out. I had these typical people on my feed who would constantly post images, reels, stories about their adventures and trips, where they ate out but surprisingly they would post holidays from yesterday in order to consistently keep posting as opposed to posting everything within the holiday itself. Everything was always so ****ing perfect, every little detail and I feel bad for myself because I envied some of these people and now I Just find them downright annoying. Some of the ladies were incredibly attractive but I've come to find them unattractive through their narcissism.

When people choose to post something negative, or a bad experience, the only thing they are seeking is a sympathetic response. While not overly a bad thing in a private setting with a conversation, actively seeking it out publicly doesn't really help.

I've discussed this before, and had personal thought sessions with myself about the power of experiencing and living in the moment as opposed to capturing those moments for later. I'll agree there is still a time and place for very special moments, but I feel those moments are the ones you keep sacred to you and your family and not to post online. I see time and time again at sporting events, concerts, live performances, special performances etc and people are lost in their phones recording something they're missing out in reality. In the end, those people never really appreciate the full experience.

I also think when you constantly publicize your amazing and perfect life, you quite selfishly while perhaps inadvertently make others feel bad about themselves, whether it be self worth, or rubbing peoples faces in the wealth you have that they don't.

One of the biggest reasons I got offline especially from Instagram is that in reality nobody gave a **** about what I did. People tend to follow and like influencers and really is no different to the way we acted in high school. Most of the time people liked my stuff I felt like it was out of habit, or obligation. Additionally, I didn't feel I wanted to share my personal stuff with a bunch of ****wits from work in which I didn't even really like anyway. I think in the last two years, I've had two people tops asking me how I've been. People also have a tendency to lurk on profiles without offering anything. Facebook's become a cesspool of everyone fighting and arguing with each other so it's not even worth my energy.

Bigfooty and REddit are usually good forums to have civilized discussions but even here you have to deal with people starting shit fights. Even the song constest here which is SUPPOSED to be fun turns into a shit fight.

In the end I'm already seeing a better version of myself which started with no caffeine and no alcohol but overall I've got more time to invest in myself and live in the moment.

 

[Caesar]

the biggest difference I have noticed hiring kids out of uni these days is that they have zero attention span

not sure if that is a social media thing