Rebuilding Rob

I have a lot of things I would probably “un-invent” if I had the ability to do so. It’s interesting to think about how some inventions didn’t spread to certain parts of the world. For instance, ancient Egyptians built the pyramids WITHOUT the wheel. However I keep going back to the fact that I would un-invent social media if I could.

This is not to say that I would get rid of the internet, or digital photography or even streaming media. If I could, I would undo the kernels of ideas that led to the creation of MySpace, Facebook and the like.

This is not meant to be a slam against people who use social media. I use it everyday. I’m probably addicted to it myself. I used social media to promote this blog. I would be the world’s biggest hypocrite if I was to insult people who use social media. It in my opinion, as I have stated in numerous others posts in this blog, social media creates just as many problems as it has solved.

As a school teacher, I can tell you that at least half of the fights I encounter start with things that one student says about another in social media. For kids, and for many adults as well, social media is another longer just a means by which to communicate; rather, social media has become socialization in general.

This is not meant to be a slam against people who use social media. I use it everyday. I’m probably addicted to it myself.

One would think that after having social media in our lives for the last two decades, we would know better than to trust everything we read there. But we don’t. We take what we see on social media at face value. Even I fall into this trap.

Bogus social media accounts, and bots are everywhere, and they’re getting increasingly difficult to spot. This is why celebrities and other influencer types are having to make videos and statements saying “Hey. THIS is my only account. If you’re getting requests from other accounts claiming to be me, ignore them”.

We live in an age where we have more access to information than at any other time in human history. Likewise, there is also more manipulated, skewed and outright false I formation out there than ever before. As co diners of this information , we have to be more guarded and more vigilant than ever before.

I know it’s natural. for things to become immediately popular, to go viral – to use the vernacular. But the truth is that the newness of social media has never gone away. People are hooked on it. People love to use the platform to share/ brag about what they’re doing. It’s here to stay, and since we can’t put the genie back into the bottle, I wish that we could stop it before it ever got out.

If you could un-invent something, what would it be?

Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier related posts:

• Rob Reviews: Tron Ares (2025)
• Sunday is borrowed time
• Teacher Armor and the Saturday Clearing
• The Extra Day: A Ten-Year Memory
• Of Training Wheels and Christmas Lights

The article “Putting the Genie Back in the Bottle” originally appeared on Rebuilding Rob