A couple of days ago, I wrote Friday Facts About Twitter.
I ended up writing a super long post and decided to cut out the bottom part of it which contained my personal thoughts about social media.
Lucky you. I thought I'd post the part I removed from my Friday post here for Sunday Thoughts.
IS SOCIAL MEDIA TRUTHFUL?
Social media can be fun, but that's what it should be limited to—entertainment. Sure you can gather some interesting information sometimes, but do your own research. Don't blindly take what you see on social media as the truth. Much of it is wrong, completely false, dangerous, or illegal. I'm thinking of the social media challenge to steal a Kia and post the video of doing that.
Serously? That's just nuts, but a lot of people did it. In Texas, there was one that went around a couple of years ago where users were challenged to go into a store, open a container of ice cream, and film themselves licking the ice cream, replacing the lid, and returning the container to the freezer. How gross is that?
Young people who seem to be the target audience for stuff like this don't realize that taking part in stunts like this means manufacturers must incur more expenses in packaging products to make them tamper-resistant which translates into higher prices. Aren't prices high enough?
(1) The AI that "runs" social media feeds you more of what you're already looking at which doesn't mean it's truthful.
(2) No one should use social media as the sole source for news, medical information, or other crucial information.
(3) No one should believe everything they see or hear on social media because most of it is created to bait you, using your interests and emotional response, into clicking on it so don't be a sheep.
(4) No one should think social media "friends" or followers and their opinions are more important than the real people in one's real world.
TAKEAWAY TRUTH
Think for yourself. You have a brain. Use it. Don't let social media do your thinking for you. Form your own opinions based on your values or at least on what's legal and illegal and can ruin your future. Avoid kneejerk responses to content designed to get you upset and angry. That's giving power to a social media audience that it doesn't deserve.
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