More and more lately, I’ve been thinking about maybe we aren’t really meant to be this closely linked together. Like what if everyone just stopped using social media, like it got banned or whatever. Would the world be a better place? Sometimes I wonder if the answer to this would be yes.
My opinion is it would be better in some ways and worse in others. I think it’s worth striving for some Star-Trek-esque version of humanity, where we are well and truly post-scarcity and have outgrown many/most of our more toxic traits as a species, and I think globalisation is the only way to achieve anything close to that.
I also acknowledge that to believe that end result is a certainty rather than a possibility is completely naive. I guess it’s a matter of opinion if the risk that we either wipe ourselves out on the way to that goal, or we just literally can’t overcome tribalism and greed, is worth chancing it.
Either way we’re probably too far gone! I have seen interesting studies here or there though, that indicate the current generation of new parents are far more aware of the dangers of such a technologically enriched lifestyle for children, and that things are turning back in the other direction. So who knows.
I think it’s worth striving for some Star-Trek-esque version of humanity
Every succeeding generation is wiser and more informed than the previous one. So, eventually, we will get there. Perhaps in centuries or millennia but humanity will get there… if we manage to not nuke ourselves.
You may be right. But there is a good aspect to social media - for example, I own a very rare vehicle, with less than ~1,400 made in the 90s (and who knows how many are left). Before social media, we were all isolated from each other, but now we exchange a lot of advice and tips for upkeep and repairs. It has been a lot of help.
A friend of mine uses reddit to keep up with small sub for people with a specific medical condition. Nowhere else was she able to find that kind of support or information.
That’s the great side of social media - connecting people who were otherwise isolated (mostly because of geography). I don’t know if these benefits outweigh the costs, though.
More and more lately, I’ve been thinking about maybe we aren’t really meant to be this closely linked together. Like what if everyone just stopped using social media, like it got banned or whatever. Would the world be a better place? Sometimes I wonder if the answer to this would be yes.
My opinion is it would be better in some ways and worse in others. I think it’s worth striving for some Star-Trek-esque version of humanity, where we are well and truly post-scarcity and have outgrown many/most of our more toxic traits as a species, and I think globalisation is the only way to achieve anything close to that.
I also acknowledge that to believe that end result is a certainty rather than a possibility is completely naive. I guess it’s a matter of opinion if the risk that we either wipe ourselves out on the way to that goal, or we just literally can’t overcome tribalism and greed, is worth chancing it.
Either way we’re probably too far gone! I have seen interesting studies here or there though, that indicate the current generation of new parents are far more aware of the dangers of such a technologically enriched lifestyle for children, and that things are turning back in the other direction. So who knows.
Every succeeding generation is wiser and more informed than the previous one. So, eventually, we will get there. Perhaps in centuries or millennia but humanity will get there… if we manage to not nuke ourselves.
You may be right. But there is a good aspect to social media - for example, I own a very rare vehicle, with less than ~1,400 made in the 90s (and who knows how many are left). Before social media, we were all isolated from each other, but now we exchange a lot of advice and tips for upkeep and repairs. It has been a lot of help.
A friend of mine uses reddit to keep up with small sub for people with a specific medical condition. Nowhere else was she able to find that kind of support or information.
That’s the great side of social media - connecting people who were otherwise isolated (mostly because of geography). I don’t know if these benefits outweigh the costs, though.