The impact of Social Media/Media in todays society

[Free Agent]

Just been thinking how it's become more relevant today then ever before, just what a negative impact that media outlets especially social media is having on people in general.

This Covid pandamic has only brought forward what's really been the bigger issue then the pandamic itself. It's how people use this tool today as an opinion and made it into fact. Never before has free speech been so dangerous. The issue is that modern tech has become so mainstream now that everyone can literally become there own journalist. It seems like anyone can write an article or video on the internet and make it seem as it's an actual fact just to suit there own beliefs and cause. Does anyone trust anyone's opinion these days. I mean how can you when bullshit is spread everywhere.

Then there's the main media outlets that's doing likewise. Pushing their own agendas down people's throats using the news and internet outlets.

I for one hate social media sites like TikTok and Facebook. I also hate mainstream media in things like watching the news and how they put there own spin on things.

All I want to say is the best thing you can do right now is turn off the TV especially free to air and news programs. Delete Facebook and Instagram and social media sites. We need to live a life without this toxic environment we are all in. That's the biggest issue right now and that's my opinion.

So the question is and the point of this thread is how do you feel about social media and also mainstream media running today's society. Is too much free speech a good thing especially with how modern tech is evolving.
Can you actually believe what you read anymore. This has become a huge issue I feel. Be interesting to hear thoughts on this subject.


Sent from my CPH2025 using Tapatalk

 

[Lethality]

I know a common criticism is that social media tailors itself to its user, creating an echo chamber for them, but it's also true that not enough people tailor their social media experience, to counteract the algorithm. For example Nadia Bartel has been in the news of late. I have no interest in Nadia Bartel but I must have clicked on an article once and they would keep sending her irrelevant stories to my feed, until I eventually right clicked on one of her stories and chose the option blocking Nadia stories from my Facebook or Twitter, etc. This option works really well, and not enough people use it, to stop articles that are either irrelevant or are bad for our mental state, or are misinformation.

The same can be done with hate speech. There are too many comments in youtube about hanging a politician like Justin Trudeau just because of something like lockdowns or they feel he's too woke, or whatever. We should all be right clicking and reporting such comments.

Of course the first step in all of this is mindfulness. Regardless of your political views, you have to ask yourself whether an article is being dishonest or manipulative, and then proceed on that basis, rather than simply blocking opinions you don't agree with.

 

[Roobs321]

Critique is just as much a personal responsibility of the information receiver as the information giver. You can blame social media, and the media, and other people, but you also have to blame yourself, or at least try to educate yourself to be more independent with the information out there. A lot of people are just so gullible and prone to misinformation, and whilst media companies spin & misrepresent, and algorithms attempt to personalise and manipulate news sources, the onus is always equally on the individual to sift the bs out and not be an undignified ass in how they use information. This ability to be duped by your fellow man goes back millennia. Like with any evidence, the relevant authority and authenticity of the source must always be questioned.

 

[phantom13]

Social media specifically can be a great tool for a continued sense of connection in the modern world (the old "i keep in touch with their lives overseas through facebook" type thing), especially under COVID life where you cant go and see people to catch up but it is also curated and managed and you need to be aware of that when viewing it.

I think the broader media is an issue. So many people do simply rely on 7, 9, 10 or fairfax and get it so so wrong, and its easy to simply dismiss them as uninformed or say they should look into other avenues that challenge their echo chambers but its not always that simple.

 

[Shell]

Never had a twitter account. #bliss.

Fb is nothing now, no one posts anything "good". Is just a tool to keep in touch with mates OS, and here as phantom13 said.

 

[HairyO]

Its only dangerous to stupid people. And without social media they would have still found ways to do stupid things.

 

[phantom13]

Never had a twitter account. #bliss.

Fb is nothing now, no one posts anything "good". Is just a tool to keep in touch with mates OS, and here as phantom13 said.

I also have never had a twitter and i really dont think its impacted me negatively at all.

 

[Shell]

I also have never had a twitter and i really dont think its impacted me negatively at all.

The only twitter I see, is ironically the tweets that are posted on BF.

 

[Coolangatta]

I agree 100%, mate. I like the Facebook messenger app. It's handy for long-distance family and friends (all 9) that I have on my list. Other than that, I agree, social media and the mainstream media dominated by Rupert Murdoch and the Coalition donors and chairpersons is putrid and disgusting. It's *ing sad to see what it's done to so many people.

 

[Gigantic]

I'm able to stay in touch with friends who live overseas who I would not be able to interact with unless but for social media - I'm not just talking about instant messages, but also seeing what they are up to via Facebook and Instagram posts. For me, that's really all social media is good for - to stay in touch with people I have already met.

I do think social media can bring out the worst in society too. People tend to only post their best bits on social media, and even moreso with influencers. But it creates this void of expectation that life always has to be rosy. And then you've got Tik Tok and its effect on people's attention span. We might one day very well see kids develop a 15 second attention span and struggle to sit down an entire hour and a half to watch a full length movie.

 

[Scotland]

Society created a perfect storm by raising a generation to believe they are all beautiful unique snowflakes and then technology have them a platform that allows them to share every waking thought with the world.

There were always narcissists, but once upon a time we told them to STFU instead of amplifying their horse s**t and getting yourself on TV or in a magazine was much harder than getting your arse out on Instagram.

 

[mr bagcroft]

I'm able to stay in touch with friends who live overseas who I would not be able to interact with unless but for social media - I'm not just talking about instant messages, but also seeing what they are up to via Facebook and Instagram posts. For me, that's really all social media is good for - to stay in touch with people I have already met.

I do think social media can bring out the worst in society too. People tend to only post their best bits on social media, and even moreso with influencers. But it creates this void of expectation that life always has to be rosy. And then you've got Tik Tok and its effect on people's attention span. We might one day very well see kids develop a 15 second attention span and struggle to sit down an entire hour and a half to watch a full length movie.

New genre of music is birthing on Tik Tok. A "song" will go for approx 15 seconds.
That is the biggest load of s**t I have ever heard and plainly demonstrates the extreme dumb s**t intellect you need to be a Tik Tokker.
******* lowest of the Low intellect gravitate to that platform.

 

[phantom13]

New genre of music is birthing on Tik Tok. A "song" will go for approx 15 seconds.
That is the biggest load of sh*t I have ever heard and plainly demonstrates the extreme dumb sh*t intellect you need to be a Tik Tokker.
******* lowest of the Low intellect gravitate to that platform.

Given classical music used to have like 30 minute symphonies maybe it’s just natural progression for songs to get shorter and shorter.

I do always love older people denigrating young peoples music “it’s just bloody noise” or “they don’t even play instruments”.

Popular music is for young people and I’m sure your parents Probably hated what you loved just as mine hated what I loved, by all means you don’t have to like or enjoy it but all the low intellect stuff is a bit much.

Also whilst I’m not on tiktok all the viral trends with songs that I’ve seen include a snippet of a song, not a 15 second song.

 

[the_interloper]

Given classical music used to have like 30 minute symphonies maybe it’s just natural progression for songs to get shorter and shorter.

I do always love older people denigrating young peoples music “it’s just bloody noise” or “they don’t even play instruments”.

Popular music is for young people and I’m sure your parents Probably hated what you loved just as mine hated what I loved, by all means you don’t have to like or enjoy it but all the low intellect stuff is a bit much.

Also whilst I’m not on tiktok all the viral trends with songs that I’ve seen include a snippet of a song, not a 15 second song.

It also depends on where you're looking of course, Tool's recent album had a 17 minute tune and Iron Maiden's album released last week was a double album with a few over 10 mins.

And yes I think a lot of the new popular music today is s**t, this sort of pissweak pop/RnB/hip hop s**t must make Ice T want to spew up. But there is still good music being made and it's more accessible than ever, you just need to find it.

 

[phantom13]

It also depends on where you're looking of course, Tool's recent album had a 17 minute tune and Iron Maiden's album released last week was a double album with a few over 10 mins.

And yes I think a lot of the new popular music today is sh*t, this sort of pissweak pop/RnB/hip hop sh*t must make Ice T want to spew up. But there is still good music being made and it's more accessible than ever, you just need to find it.

There will always be outliers, people are still making classical symphonies as well but i wouldnt classify any of them as popular music, certainly not popular in the TikTok sense.

Again, thinking modern music is s**t is fine, personal taste is what it is but denigrating it "extreme dumb sh*t intellect you need to be a Tik Tokker.******* lowest of the Low intellect gravitate to that platform. " both about music and a modern social media platform is silly. Its not for you, just as Tool wasnt for your parents and Facebook wasnt for the Grandparents. Saying s**t like that makes you look and sound like an old man yelling at clouds.

 

[owen87]

I’m sure your parents Probably hated what you loved

My mum was a cool mum, she liked a lot of the music I listened to. Even took me to a Metallica concert when I was a youth who needed an adult for such things.

 

[Shell]

There will always be outliers, people are still making classical symphonies as well but i wouldnt classify any of them as popular music, certainly not popular in the TikTok sense.

 

[owen87]

So the question is and the point of this thread is how do you feel about social media and also mainstream media running today's society.

Incredibly toxic, in general.

 

[phantom13]

My mum was a cool mum, she liked a lot of the music I listened to. Even took me to a Metallica concert when I was a youth who needed an adult for such things.

How did your grandma feel about Metallica?

Oddly ive come to appreciate my parents musical tastes more as ive gotten older, i thought Fleetwood Mac sucked when i was a kid but now listen to them all the time.

 

[Gough]

My mum was a cool mum, she liked a lot of the music I listened to. Even took me to a Metallica concert when I was a youth who needed an adult for such things.

The last thing I wanted as a kid was for my parent's to like what I was listening to, what's the point of youthful rebellion otherwise?

 

[owen87]

what's the point of youthful rebellion otherwise?

My mum was a cool mum

Why rebel against the cool mum?

 

[owen87]

How did your grandma feel about Metallica?

Oddly ive come to appreciate my parents musical tastes more as ive gotten older, i thought Fleetwood Mac sucked when i was a kid but now listen to them all the time.

I've never asked, but now she's in her 90s and refusing to get a hearing aid so I doubt she'd mind it!

Fleetwood Mac is definitely one those things you probably don't love in your teens. I can't get behind my mum's love of Roger Whittaker though. Google him.

 

[demondavey]

It’s funny it’s called social media. You stand around in the morning after ordering your coffee and see all the other people waiting and looking at their phones. That’s not social at all. It’s an oxymoron because it’s created such an antisocial vibe. People are now more interested in the social aspect of a like or some form of approval rating.

Social media has actually become so anti social and a popularity contest. I think all it’s done is spawn a myriad of insecurities. People wanting to feel positively reinforced when they post a selfie. What are their ‘friends’ on social media going to say? They will only say good things and like it, they won’t necessarily put people down will they?

All these Instagram ‘influencers’ and so called ‘celebrities’ make their living from having their phone in their hand and coat tailing off a name. It’s incredibly sad that people can invest so much energy into another person and what they post about their lives. I mean, who actually cares? They’re just people, they just have things. It baffles me.

As far as news goes, well people use social media to get their news in summarised, blog type literature that often comes a Twitter account or an Instagram post. The reach of social media really encapsulates everything, and now we have opinions that are turning into news type pieces of information. We discount experts because we can, we discount science because we can, we do all this in the name of opinion and a right to have a voice.

It’s better to look like an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

 

[mr bagcroft]

It’s funny it’s called social media. You stand around in the morning after ordering your coffee and see all the other people waiting and looking at their phones. That’s not social at all. It’s an oxymoron because it’s created such an antisocial vibe. People are now more interested in the social aspect of a like or some form of approval rating.

Social media has actually become so anti social and a popularity contest. I think all it’s done is spawn a myriad of insecurities. People wanting to feel positively reinforced when they post a selfie. What are their ‘friends’ on social media going to say? They will only say good things and like it, they won’t necessarily put people down will they?

All these Instagram ‘influencers’ and so called ‘celebrities’ make their living from having their phone in their hand and coat tailing off a name. It’s incredibly sad that people can invest so much energy into another person and what they post about their lives. I mean, who actually cares? They’re just people, they just have things. It baffles me.

As far as news goes, well people use social media to get their news in summarised, blog type literature that often comes a Twitter account or an Instagram post. The reach of social media really encapsulates everything, and now we have opinions that are turning into news type pieces of information. We discount experts because we can, we discount science because we can, we do all this in the name of opinion and a right to have a voice.

It’s better to look like an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

One minute a dick reply to post of mine from 5 odd months ago , to this intelligent well reasoned thoughtful post. Humans are fascinating.

 

[Scotland]

What qualifies as social media? I'm old enough to have had ICQ, MSN, Facebook etc. Do Whatsapp, Signal, Messenger etc count?

The biggest change IMO has been mobile tech. When Facebook started to take off here smart phones were also just starting out. I had Facebook in 2007 and I reckon I had a Facebook app on my phone maybe 2009 or 2010. According to the Google more people starting using Facebook from mobile devices compared to web based logins for the first time in 2012. I'd be surprised if 5 or 10% of logins now are web based.

Like the 'good old days' of the late 90s and 2000s going home from school and going on ICQ on the computer Facebook used to be something I'd check after work on the computer but otherwise go about my day. Now everything is mobile. I don't know what % of people post on BigFooty from their phones compared to computers. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. has become incredibly invasive. People used to just do stuff. It's become second nature to a lot of people that everything needs to be documented then and there on some kind of social media platform.