Social Media: How is it destroying our young generation?
An invention and innovation that was meant to connect people and a means to share knowledge is literally destroying the generation. I am an IT professional, and I do understand how algorithms of social networks work. Today, most social networks are using reverse psychology to control our reasoning, mindset, ideation, and perspective. The young generation (aged between 15 and 28 years) is the target audience. Just look around you; if you're in a public place, you'll hardly find any young chap not engrossed in his/her phone. Let alone young ones, you might find adults (ageing between 30 to 50 years) too stuck with their phones. When I return from work, apart from me and a few others, the majority of the young folks and mature adults are either scrolling through Tik-Tok, Instagram reels, or YouTube shorts.
There is a rampant increase in the number of young folks who are quitting colleges to pursue the career of a social media influencer. Is this a wise choice? The career of any social media influencer is a short-lived career because there comes a time when people lose interest in your content, and they look for something better. Not every social media influencer has a net worth of millions, and the ones who do, most of them are graduates from good universities.
Open any social media app, and you'll find images and videos of young girls (aged between 15 and 20 years) with enhancement filters and effects, and what are those girls doing? Promoting obscenity. Young boys of the same age group can be seen doing and saying senseless stuff. The worst part is the more obscene and foolish your content will be, the higher the chances of your content going viral. Now, we are in the age of AI, and there are pages on social media full of AI-generated content with millions of followers (mostly young).
Politicians have been using social media to polarise society since the late 2000s. Social media apps are full of such content too.
When was the last time you saw the videos of Nobel laureates, scientists, poets, logical thinkers, retired filmmakers, and other intellectuals when you used any social media app? I am sure most of you will say "never."
I have nothing against the artists, musicians, dancers, gamers, and others who use social media to showcase and promote their talent. However, flaunting your body and doing crazy stuff just for the sake of views and likes doesn't make any sense. Social media algorithms prioritising obscenity and stupidity over videos with great and knowledgeable content are creating problems for our society. Don't make me talk about "OnlyFans," which is just another form of prostitution, not a career, but young people (especially women) see it as a great career option.
Now, some may say that social media projects content based on one's interests and searches. Well, that is right. However, social media algorithms push the content that may not pique your interest initially, but when something is shown to someone repeatedly in one way or another, it eventually intrigues him/her to click and watch it. That's the real test of your conscience: whether you get influenced by the algorithm or you influence the algorithm. Sadly, the young generation today is easily influenced.
There are lots of young folks today who are already on antidepressants because their attempts to receive the desired attention through the use of social media failed miserably. High school kids become crazy and fight over the numbers of likes and views. Students, instead of pursuing postsecondary education and university education, are opting to become social media stars. Some young chaps are aligning themselves with groups that support a particular political ideology (the one that aims to cause havoc in society).
Yes! Attaining further education is not easy today, and governments should do something about it. However, how many students are protesting about it? Only a handful; the ones who wish for a brighter future. Rest, quit the dream, look for means of easy money, and social media.
Where is our society heading? 🤷♂
Teens (aged between 13 and 17) shouldn't be on social media, but they are. How is this possible? Why are parents not keeping a close watch on their child? When the Australian administration decided to introduce some reforms for the use of social media and enforce an age limit thoroughly, I supported their decision.👍
Why don't parents sit with their kids and make them Netflix specials or YouTube documentaries that discuss the effects of social media on young people's mental health? 🤷♂
[media=https://youtu.be/L_432I88eVQ]
[media=https://youtu.be/yJ9oEi3Yyg0]
[media=https://youtu.be/JS86nW40Jq4]
[media=https://youtu.be/KgMdNCob6GA]
[media=https://youtu.be/eD0rKhi17-g]
There is a rampant increase in the number of young folks who are quitting colleges to pursue the career of a social media influencer. Is this a wise choice? The career of any social media influencer is a short-lived career because there comes a time when people lose interest in your content, and they look for something better. Not every social media influencer has a net worth of millions, and the ones who do, most of them are graduates from good universities.
Open any social media app, and you'll find images and videos of young girls (aged between 15 and 20 years) with enhancement filters and effects, and what are those girls doing? Promoting obscenity. Young boys of the same age group can be seen doing and saying senseless stuff. The worst part is the more obscene and foolish your content will be, the higher the chances of your content going viral. Now, we are in the age of AI, and there are pages on social media full of AI-generated content with millions of followers (mostly young).
Politicians have been using social media to polarise society since the late 2000s. Social media apps are full of such content too.
When was the last time you saw the videos of Nobel laureates, scientists, poets, logical thinkers, retired filmmakers, and other intellectuals when you used any social media app? I am sure most of you will say "never."
I have nothing against the artists, musicians, dancers, gamers, and others who use social media to showcase and promote their talent. However, flaunting your body and doing crazy stuff just for the sake of views and likes doesn't make any sense. Social media algorithms prioritising obscenity and stupidity over videos with great and knowledgeable content are creating problems for our society. Don't make me talk about "OnlyFans," which is just another form of prostitution, not a career, but young people (especially women) see it as a great career option.
Now, some may say that social media projects content based on one's interests and searches. Well, that is right. However, social media algorithms push the content that may not pique your interest initially, but when something is shown to someone repeatedly in one way or another, it eventually intrigues him/her to click and watch it. That's the real test of your conscience: whether you get influenced by the algorithm or you influence the algorithm. Sadly, the young generation today is easily influenced.
There are lots of young folks today who are already on antidepressants because their attempts to receive the desired attention through the use of social media failed miserably. High school kids become crazy and fight over the numbers of likes and views. Students, instead of pursuing postsecondary education and university education, are opting to become social media stars. Some young chaps are aligning themselves with groups that support a particular political ideology (the one that aims to cause havoc in society).
Yes! Attaining further education is not easy today, and governments should do something about it. However, how many students are protesting about it? Only a handful; the ones who wish for a brighter future. Rest, quit the dream, look for means of easy money, and social media.
Where is our society heading? 🤷♂
Teens (aged between 13 and 17) shouldn't be on social media, but they are. How is this possible? Why are parents not keeping a close watch on their child? When the Australian administration decided to introduce some reforms for the use of social media and enforce an age limit thoroughly, I supported their decision.👍
Why don't parents sit with their kids and make them Netflix specials or YouTube documentaries that discuss the effects of social media on young people's mental health? 🤷♂
[media=https://youtu.be/L_432I88eVQ]
[media=https://youtu.be/yJ9oEi3Yyg0]
[media=https://youtu.be/JS86nW40Jq4]
[media=https://youtu.be/KgMdNCob6GA]
[media=https://youtu.be/eD0rKhi17-g]
