A thought that crossed my mind on Christmas Eve, while walking through the Christmas Village here in Philadelphia was this notion of social media’s influence on the masses. I was enjoying my time photographing, watching ice skaters, taking in the sights and smells of this holiday season while a huge group of protesters gathered and marched around the village, exclaiming “Nothing merry, nothing jolly!”
Critical thinkers are the future
So, I have no problem with peaceful protests and protesters as a whole. It is our fundamental right of freedom of speech here in America under the First Amendment of the Constitution. What I can’t help but consider is the influence of social media and how things play out in the real world. I believe you could even consider the election of Trump in 2016 as a result of social media’s influence. A fun thought:
If Twitter did not exist, would Trump have been elected?
This is an important question to ask because in this modern digital age of social media, the narratives that are displayed on people’s screens control the masses. Perhaps people will not critically consider the information that they consume going forward as it is easy to become emotionally charged by the ideas spread online.
Be skeptical about hearsay
Imagine a news article going viral in your local city about a police officer that murders an innocent youth in your neighborhood. Everybody hears about this devastating news, and becomes extremely emotional, hostile, and perhaps even violent because of this. An uprising plays out in the streets, and the city is destroyed. The next day, we discover the news to be false information and did not actually occur.
“Believe none of what you hear, and only half of what you see.” – Benjamin Franklin
What is the solution?
Perhaps the future of artificial intelligence and confirming the validity of information will be critical in this brave new digital world. I say a simple heuristic is to firstly delete all of your social media accounts, and to not consume any media from any platform. Another fun thought:
Just assume all social media users are bot accounts
Disconnect from the shadows and enter the light. Spend less time indoors and behind the screen, and more time outside under the sun with no sunscreen. Focus on spreading kindness in your local communities and making a small impact through your physical presence in the real world. I believe that the future depends on critical thinking, and people that think outside of the box. Don’t be suckered by groupthink and hive minds that exist online. We must be fearless going forward. Go off the grid!