Has social media changed our perception on what is and isn’t appropriate to post online? I think so. Compared to past generations, we have more access to what is going on in the world; it’s all at our fingertips now. We have grown up depending on the Internet, so much so that saying “just Google it” has become an anthem for our generation. The technology we use is more advanced than ever before. For the first time in history the Internet is portable, and maybe that isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by how much I rely on the Internet. I have three reasons why I think too much access to the Internet is unsafe: I think we pay too much attention to it; we rely on it to meet new people; and we forget the large, anonymous component of the Internet.
Each of our phones is filled with apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, and Tinder — all apps designed to share our lives with others. A person can become “internet famous” by making funny Vines or just posting photos to Instagram that people find appealing. Oftentimes people base their lives off of approval on these apps, always judging and keeping track of the amount of followers, favorites or likes they get. It is alarming how much we actually depend on social media for approval. I find it equally disturbing how much people judge others off social media by looking through Twitter or Instagram profiles to try and find out who people really are, instead of just taking time to get to know them. Our minds like organization, and with organization comes categorization. We are always trying to put people in categories, when people aren’t really meant to be categorized. Unfortunately, in today’s world, many people have the misconception that the best way to get to know someone is through the shallow medium of social media.
We rely on social media too much to meet new people. While I am all for making friends, I think social media takes it a step further. On almost every social media app there is a direct messaging option, where anyone can type anything they want, talk to any person and, I guess, “get to know people.” This could be an invasion of privacy. Obviously there is a different atmosphere on each app. If a person is on Tinder, they are putting themselves out there and are truly looking to meet new people, but I don’t find the need to have direct messaging on apps like Instagram or Triviacrack. Personal contact on the Internet needs to be controlled. Sometimes social media should be geared specifically for entertainment, not meeting new people. Apps should design their features off the atmosphere they are drawing, and that shouldn’t always involves a chat system.
Most importantly, Internet safety isn’t being stressed enough. No matter how personal we think the Internet is becoming, there will always be an anonymous aspect to it. As long as a screen remains as a barrier between people, social media can only get so personal.
A video I recently watched was a prank video titled “The Dangers of Social Media (Child Predator Experiment).”
The video is by Youtuber Coby Persin. He makes a fake Facebook profile posing as a 15-year-old boy. He then gains permission from the parents of three young girls to add and message their children on the site. The girls range from 12 to 14 years old, an alarmingly young age to have access to messaging strangers online. He messages back and forth with each of the girls for three to four days, eventually asking them to meet up. All three of the girls agree and actually show up to meet him. They are in for a rude awakening when they find their parents instead of the boy they had been messaging. This video is scary to watch, because it is a realistic situation. People aren’t using enough caution online anymore, and social media is a huge aspect of that. People are under the perception that there is a trust factor online, when there isn’t at all. There is no rule or law that says I have to be myself while online. Being a college student who is dating, it makes me think twice before going out with a stranger. I find it unfortunate that this is a danger our society has today, but it just requires a little bit of safety and precaution.
Social media isn’t all bad. I’m active online and enjoy seeing what my friends are doing and sharing what I am doing with them. It is a conscious decision to make an online profile and post on it. I’m not saying we shouldn’t use social media, but we shouldn’t depend on it as much as we do. I think everyone could benefit from putting their phone down sometimes and just allowing life to live itself, free from online distractions.