To think social media has had a hugely negative influence on the world…..

[Battical]

….. and it would be better if it disappeared.

I’m not blind to the positives but the negatives vastly outweigh them. Hateful, inane content, served up by algorithms that encourage a skewed view of the world. Epidemic of narcissistic behaviour. Damaging comparison-culture based on dishonest posting of “perfect” lives and bodies.

Or am I being unreasonable?

Social media and the Internet. I read somewhere once that the Internet was like a baby then a toddler and we have grown it up to be this young person (and it is awful). I would miss parts of it of course but I remember surviving happily without it. I know I'm an old fart but I would if possible go back to pre Internet. I would miss the 100,000 people to talk to that ill never meet but I would end up actually knowing 30 people.

Well, you can influence your algorithm. My SM presence, apart from fri3nds, is pretty much entirely arts-based (theatres, galleries, arts festivals, general cultural stuff, artists I like or have night work from etc), so what I see is pleasant and interesting, and useful in terms of planning stuff. I’m not seeing any hateful content, or purportedly perfect lives and bodies.

Nor me, because I don’t seek that content. However, you surely aren’t denying it exists and that some people get it shovelled up repeatedly, and it’s not great for them or society in general?

YABU. It's what you make it, and I enjoy it.

If there is something that’s had a negative effect on the world then it’s humans!

This 👆
My experience has always been almost entirely positive. I've found work, genuine irl friendships, education and love through social media. 😊

Sure. Looking at what other people are doing and saying on the internet then commenting about it is a really stupid thing to be doing. 👍

It has been an absolute disaster for children.

YABU.

Facebook helped me

• find community,
• learn the local language,
• find things to do. It's very accessible in that respect.
• participated in webinars on all sorts.
• given me all sorts of travel tips.
• offered deals that are actually useful to me.
• enabled me to keep in touch with so many people
• sell stuff
• buy stuff

If your feed is dull that's because your friends are. Change your algorithm.

Oh and recruit volunteers.

It’s lovely for the posters who enjoy their curated algorithms. You are not the problem. People who use social media as their primary source of “news”, never fact check anything and then vote accordingly are.

Yeah, I agree. I think one of the biggest issues is that, for people trying to monetise the use of social media, the only aim is to get attention. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad, you just need people to engage with your content. So for the most part, saying or doing something controversial, hateful or just wrong will get more attention than something that's just 'nice'. On the fairly harmless end of the scale are things like people mispronouncing things, getting some information wrong, putting something random in shot - anything that is likely to get commented on. But on the more extreme end there are the people stiring up hate - with racist, sexist, homophonic views. And those will generate even more attention as some will agree and share content while others argue back.

I think it is very hard to change your algorithm once it is set.

Anything that sells you something is monetising your emotions.

I agree with the title of your thread OP

But I voted Yabu because of the first line on your post. One cannot undo what has already been discovered or found, if we could then nuclear weapons wouldn’t exist.

I do think though that the Internet in general has given humans both an incredible power and also a massive hindrance too. The negative effects of SM are a good example of the latter.

It's like cars and weapons useful, essential even, but terrible in the wrong hands.

No people who dont use their own brains is what ia ruining the world they need everyone else to do their thinking for them it appears

Absolutely this. I have teen DCs who has shown me kids from school on tiktok - self harming, emotional meltdown, threat of suicide, dancing in their pants, making money by talking to old men.

Yes as an adult I see the benefit but my life was perfectly fine without it years ago.

Good analogy, so true

And yet you are on it.

I think there are positives and negatives, just like with traditional media.

I think the press have done immense harm to the UK in my lifetime, far more harm than good.

It is the misuse of social media what is the problem.
Today, we can be connected to family and friends all the way across the world and keep up with what they had for dinner. We can see the point of view of a standard citizen on what happened in x part of the world, instead of only reading the newspapers. We can see wonderful parts of the world without leaving a massive carbon footprint. We can cook alongside a native almost any recipe known to mankind. We can see unlimited hours of cute and funny cat videos.
We need to choose what we watched and use it to complement our real life, not instead of. And nope for young children.
I have never used the translating headphones, but that is another barrier that may have come down possibly. @

Social Media, like anything else, is just a tool.

People have made it what it is.

People are the problem.

I totally agree with you OP.

Social media has caused massive problems in schools with young people (you only have to watch Educating Yorkshire for a glimpse into this). I enjoyed the early days of social media when it really was just connecting with old friends, but my feed is now constantly bombarded with sponsored ads and reels and stupid ‘influencers’ trying to push things on me.

Honestly, if I had the power, I’d have FB, instagram, Tik tok etc shut down for good.

Yes I agree, hate and lies are like plagues that spread on social media, whilst the truth is less exciting and gets lost.

I’ve just watched the Netflix program about Gabby Petito - and it sums up what you’re saying totally.

I don’t do Instagram or TikTok and very rarely do YouTube but I would miss FB.

social media itself was fine, it was when it was made possible to monetise it - that shit hit the fan.
if it go could back to the early 2000s when it wasnt possible a lot of people would be happier, but of course it never will. I deleted my social media and im happier for it a lot of people I know have.
People are also addicted to social media & that doesnt help.