I wouldn’t eliminate the Internet or social media specifically; but I would definitely put some kind of safeguards in place for them. Safeguards against the spreading of inaccurate information and outright lies.
I trust the internet. It is my friend. If something is posted to the Internet, then it must be true. Whether we realize it or not, many of us have thought this. The Internet is a remarkable tool but there have to be some standards as far as truthfulness is concerned. Otherwise, it’s just another tool to spread propaganda in the wrong hands. We need look no further than the 2016 and 2020 election cycles here in the US to see examples of unvetted social media posts, no matter how outrageous they are, being perceived as a truth. 
This mean is obviously meant in jest, but imagine some who doesn’t know if Bob Dylan actually said this. He didn’t. It’s possible they could think he really was the drummer for Metallica. He’s not. Or they may think the man pictures is, in fact, Bob Dylan. It’s Prince. I’ve shown this meme to several of my classes – both middle and high school – over the last few year and thankfully, they seem to get it. But as humans, we generally like to take things at face value. We like to assume people are being truthful until they give us reason to doubt them. When things are presented on the Internet without context, we generally believe them. Context is king, indeed.
Also, I would try to teach people about the dangers of social media. I’ve said this before in other posts here and I will say it again: I think that for a lot of people, social media has replaced the concept of socializing in general. We think because we talk to people on social media that it’s the same as talking to them in real life. We tend to think that interactions we have with others on social media abide by the same norms as actual face-to-face socializing. I’m guilty, as a 50 year-old man of falling into this trap.
Imagine how difficult this is for children and adolescents who don’t have the life experience or wisdom that we adults have accumulated. As a teacher i can tell you that – easily – half of the fights to take place in my school start as a result of things that students say about each other on social media.
Much in the same way that alcohol intoxication gives people a sense of “liquid courage”, I like to say that being behind a phone screen or a keyboard gives some of us a sense of “digital courage”. Some people will say things to other people – particularly total strangers – that they wouldn’t have the guts to say to said person’s face. Digital Courage is what gave birth to cyber bullying. These days, anybody can bully anybody with a few keystrokes, Without an safeguards or training in place, the internet and social media will continue to be as lawless as the wild West.
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:
- My Baseball Kryptonite
- The Boy Who Looked at His Feet
- Even White People Get Ashy
- The Tricorder in My Pocket
- Challenger 40: The Generational Echo
The article “Speaking Truth to Power in the Digital Age” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob.
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