Social Media: Response

When I returned to this site after my holiday break from the computer I was shocked and yet please to find response to my recent blog on social media. The comments brought up an argument on the other side of the coin that I am debating. In my blog 'Social Media: Future or Fall', I question whether social media will be our future or our downfall, the latter being my ultimate decision. The first comment that I will address is Mr. Anderson’s. His main argumentative question is ‘how do you propose we slow social media down?’
While the feat seems impossible, like Mr. Anderson said ‘Technology always prevails and it is our species that must adapt’, it is not impossible. Take the iPod. This is technology that countless people have ‘adapted’ to from tweeners to senior citizens. Think way back to the year 2001 when the very first iPod was put on the shelves. It was easy to get learn to use and the concept was easily understandable. Since then the iPod has evolved, slowly adding more features from pictures to videos to the now ever-popular applications. Granted Apple did this strategically to wean more money out of its customers, but this can be taken out of context and applied to virtually anything. Apple slowly evolved and gave people time to acclimate to the newest model before releasing the next new thing. Could social media not be regulated in the same way? Give people what they can handle. When the consumer learns to take on the task of the latest model, bring out the next new thing.
Now this is the literal answer to Mr. Anderson’s question but I have a feeling that he meant it more figuratively as if to say ‘This is impossible’. But was internet borne of its own accord or did we invent it? Are we not the masters of our own inventions? We can regulate our own actions, what is boils down to is having the proper responsibilities for what our actions spur. Humans need to understand that social media is not ‘out of control’. We are in charge of our own actions and we are letting ourselves and our acquaintances ignore our task to regulate what we do and how much we accelerate what we cannot keep up with.
It does seem forever true that certain humans will never learn to accept and abide by their responsibilities for their actions and so another solution must be made available. Mr. Anderson also touched on this answer; offer some sort of education to those who use social media (i.e. almost everyone) to educate them on their responsibilities. But this also seems like an impossible feat; sure high schools and colleges could require a philosophy class like this but what about the rest of the world? Air the classes on television? I can guarantee you that most will not be willing to take the time of day to learn about the responsibilities that so many ignore. So if people aren’t willing to learn about their responsibilities and it seems apparent that it is human nature to ignore reining themselves in, how can social media be slowed down to a comprehendible and solely beneficial level? The answer isn’t simple nor is it appealing. When situations spiral out of control, who is the responsible one who steps in to regulate what we cannot be bothered to? Government. No, it is not appealing and the word ‘government involvement’ gives permanent wrinkles in people’s brows but what if the government did studies on social media and issued public warnings on the less desirable side of the subject? This could be educational and push people towards looking inward at their own responsibilities when it comes to social media.
The comment from Joshua also is answered in Mr. Anderson’s question. ‘Is it the nature of social media that creates problems, or are the problems due to the behavior of the users?’ Like I said, are we not the masters of our own inventions? Just like we watch our children and stop them from getting out of control can we not also do the same for social media? A product of the people is the people’s responsibility and it is apparent that many people cannot handle this responsibility. This means that those who are the inventors need to help push the people into this. Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerburg, has instilled more privacy options, the ability to make certain status posts and pictures ‘for friends only’ or even for the eyes of certain friends that are tagged. If every website CEO or social media inventor gave these options and informed their consumer’s on their importance, social media would be less detrimental and yet still beneficial.
This links to the final question posed by Mr. Anderson: do the cons outweigh the pros? No, I did start my last blog showing the many benefits that make social media the power house it is. But I feel the cons are increasing in number as social media skyrockets and the benefits cannot keep up. It is up to the creators of social media to encourage its individual participants to regulate themselves and slowly eliminate the cons that tarnish social media’s reputation.