Social Media is making people crack

Personally, I don’t think it’s social media. After all, hundreds of thousands have accounts with no issue. My hypothesis is that it’s the “everybody gets a trophy” mentality. If you didn’t “like” my post, I didn’t get my trophy. Even here at ATS you’ll find posts from people whining about their posts lack of stars or how it’s unfair someone else got stars.

Full disclosure, ATS and a couple of other forums are the extent of my social media, so maybe I just don’t get the need to have folks “like” or “upvote” what I’ve written or pictures I’ve posted. Guess I’m just a slacker...

originally posted by: charlyv

originally posted by: mikell
I have a personal and business account and it is really great if you have a fast moving business. My business not such a fast moving type. Fake complaints from ex whatevers and bored people so it's pretty much blocked to most people.

Websites still rule

Is it possible to just have the business account and no access to personal? Also, how much do those business accounts go for?

Not on FB. I own a business. You need to have a personal account in order to have a business one — they are linked. It’s total BS! The only reason I have a personal FB account, is to maintain the business one. The problem is — I absolutely have to have FB for the biz to succeed. Catch 22....

I do a little Facebook. On there I tend to refrain from going in-depth on subjects and put in humor that goes over people's heads or targets one person who I am responding to. Like saying that tonight will be the first night of the new Moo. (We bought a half a cow and got it into the freezer). Even my kids thought I forgot the N to make moon.

Look at the incline graph of the internet and social media' rise, and look at the quality of our society. Look carefully and you'll see they're inversely proportional.

We created a place to let the ego run free. Social media exposes an ugly truth in our cognitive make up.

a reply to: JAGStorm
Wow! Over Facebook? Facebook is cool, for about a 10 minutes or so, literally all I do is just sometimes post things of what I am up to, and that is not even 1% i would be up to on any day to day basis.

Most times I don't even go on there or if I do its for minutes at a time and off. But I see how it can be bad for you if you spend to much time in all that, like TV and all other social medias. Its either entertainment, and really there is nothing much beyond that.

In today's world of ubiquitous toxic group-think I would consider people not liking what you have to say as a positive development. Just keep on saying it and planting those seeds and eventually a shred of sanity will start to creep back into the mainstream.

society is collapsing all around us yet all everyone wants to do is argue about migrant caravan's

the economy is being propped up by central banks, it's over valued, debt is higher than ever, student debt is utterly insane and a travesty and actually it's criminal whats being done, people aren't having babies

our sole focus on making money has hollowed out the soul of our country and we have become a zombie... it's collapsing and you need to wake up

Social media has destroyed the human race

a reply to: Ghostsinthefog

no whats brought us to this point is the ultimate quest for cash

"money hoes and clothes" culture is empty soulless and our society is soulless and empty

originally posted by: toysforadults
society is collapsing all around us yet all everyone wants to do is argue about migrant caravan's

the economy is being propped up by central banks, it's over valued, debt is higher than ever, student debt is utterly insane and a travesty and actually it's criminal whats being done, people aren't having babies

our sole focus on making money has hollowed out the soul of our country and we have become a zombie... it's collapsing and you need to wake up

Part of the reason some people are so focused on the migrant caravan is it gives them a place to vent their anger at, or at least something to focus it on, nobody wants to address the crux of the issue because denial is a much easier path.

But all those other societies, now they’re something to behold!

Right?

a reply to: hopenotfeariswhatweneed

yes because they are empty and have no soul. the migrant caravan may or may not be a problem but that doesn't matter. what matters is that people are focusing on these issues and picking things to be angry about because they don't have a granular understanding of why they feel the way they do

I do. because I'm a seeker of knowledge and truth and i self actualize and because of this I can have revelations about the axiom of how I feel and one of them is that I feel and can see others feeling a lack of real connection to society

this is why people are ODing at record rates, going on murder sprees among all of the other things we are experiencing

I grew up in the 80's and 90's the world was a different place back then. Other then a few message boards I stay off of social media. I had a facebook account for a month then deactivated it. I know people that have complete imaginary lives on the internet. They don't know how to make friends in real life so they create superficial friendships online. Social media is stunting people in real life. This world is going bonkers and people are seriously coming unglued. I could completely disconnect from the internet and the only thing I'd miss is youtube.

Caution! Old fart rant ahead!

Back in the pre-Internet days when I was growing up, things really weren't that much different in many ways. Humans are social animals; we want to be around other humans. When young, we are part of a family; as we grow, we develop a circle of friends; when grown, our circle of friends centers around work and home life (neighbors). And so it goes.

Likely, this need for social companionship goes far back in history to a time when one had trouble surviving on one's own. Living out in the country, I have seen this first hand to a smaller degree. Things can happen out here that are simply not survivable without someone else around... a bear attack, believe it or not, is easily survivable if medical attention is quick enough, but rarely so if not. A chain saw accident can open arteries... well, as long as there's more blood to pour in, one can survive, but not very long without it. No one out here is invincible; we are all vulnerable to attacks and accidents, and no matter how tough we are, we all know it.

How much moreso did this apply before modern transportation and modern medicine?

So with our social instincts tied to our survival, modern society evolved as I mentioned above... to include social circles. But then came the Internet, with (as usual) a "better" way to do things. Social media became the norm instead of social circles. With social media, one's circle of "friends" can be many times larger than was ever possible before. We call them "friends" on Facebook... but they're not fulfilling the same role as friends in real life.

Me? I'm part of that weird generation. I came along at the very tail end of the baby boomers and just as Gen X was starting. When I was in my teens and early 20s, there was no Facebook... computers were just becoming available and no one knew what to do with them. The only communication was through billboards, accessed through slow modems using lines designed for voice, and with each having their own phone number. The Internet was no match back then for the social circles, so I was forced to make friends, actual friends, and meet people. Some of those friends I still know today; some are long forgotten. Some have turned out to be loyal and valued lifetime friendships; some ended in betrayal and anger.

Even today, I follow what I learned back then. I use the Internet to make friends, yes. Most I have never seen and likely will never see. Some I have talked to by phone or Skype. A few I have met in reality. That's an awesome feeling when someone I already know through the Internet is standing there face to face. Of course, that's assuming they can be deemed worthy to meet... redneck is country, but he's no fool. Caution is a good thing.

But my generation is coming into that time when they are falling. I have quite a few friends who have died, and most are in poor health. My generation will soon come to an end, and that means those who came after me are now the vast majority. And they have the Internet!

I have watched them, especially my kids. The concept of face-to-face communication is going the way of the dodo. In it's place is this written word, which in itself is an issue... 90% of communication is non-verbal and 90% of verbal communication is non-linguistic. Science still doesn't have a full grasp on human pheromone response, and body language, demeanor, physical appearance all have deep roots in communication. Voice inflection, tone, relative volume... all these are essential to true communication, and emojis are simply inadequate.

So we are left with text. 10% of 10% of our communication abilities. That's all this post is: text. No one is seeing that sparkle in my eye when I make a joke (which for me is most of the time) or the way I am sitting, how my legs are crossed, the look in my eyes, the way my brow furrows, the tiny inflections in my speech... all that is gone. Text. Text that can be read by a program... no human intervention required. I find it amazing we even manage to communicate this way... moreso that so many seem to prefer it.

Maybe it's the convenience?

In any case, today's social circle has been mostly replaced with social media. A friend on Facebook is not the same as a friend in real life, but we tend to treat them as such and expect the same returned. The biggest difference is we have so many more friends now. I don't even use Facebook... I have an account, but I visit maybe once a year or so on average. It is useless to me. It's a total waste of time. And I see the destruction it has wrought. But here's the rub: even I have a few hundred friends on Facebook!

In real life, I can count the number of friends, close friends, on my fingers. I consider myself lucky in that. I think I'm above average. Oh, there's many more acquaintances, probably hundreds, but even those who I will call friend from time to time are not in that circle of close friends I have. My friends are precious to me, because they are so hard to find. A friend on Facebook? Nah, really couldn't care less. I can get another one in the click of a mouse.

We have become hollow and empty inside because we have lost that closeness in favor of popularity. But I have seen in my lifetime, the kids who were so popular in high school, even those who maintained their popularity, still lacked the closeness I have with my circle of friends. Quantity versus quality. Quality is what matters, but quantity is what the Internet offers.

As it is now, I stay on ATS. It's my go-to social media outlet. I have friends here, in every category I outlined above. There's a difference between ATS and Facebook, and something happened just yesterday that illustrates that difference perfectly: before I found ATS I was a part of another Internet community which I treated back then the same as I do ATS today. I made some actual friends, many of whom I have met in real life. One of them called me up, out of the blue... he wants to do another get together. It's been over a decade. I want to go. I want to see them again, sit around and talk about old times and new times and the future. Maybe I will get to go; I hope so.

Would I have taken that call, gotten that excited, from someone on Facebook? Nope... not important. Busy, sorry. You're quantity. I want quality. I don't want that hollow, empty soul.

Hopefully some day others will see what I am talking about. Until then, just ignore the old redneck fogey. He obviously doesn't know what he's talking about.

TheRedneck

a reply to: JAGStorm

The latest is a woman, in her sixties, that absolutely went on an unbelievable tirade/rant about how nobody is liking her posts on Facebook. She goes on and on about family and friends that don't like her posts can go ahead and delete her as a friend. The way she wrote the rant almost seemed almost suicidal. Now here's the weird things, I went back and looked at her posts and all of them had tons of likes!!

Can you say with 100 % certainty that it was indeed her that posted that ? How do you know for sure ? Maybe she can't even see that rant done on her behalf about herself ... but u can ... I dunno

leolady

a reply to: blueman12

Yeah.. that's always been a side-effect of the internet in general. People get too attached and forget that it is simply a tool.

I think it was built that way by design, and not a natural evolutionary process of the internet. ATS is set up this way as well with the stars and flags.

a reply to: TheRedneck

I don't think I'm as old as you, but getting there as everything you said totally resonated with me.
Let's just put it this way I remember bell bottoms and dot matrix printers! LOL

I've highlighted things you said that I really think hit the nail on the head!

A friend on Facebook is not the same as a friend in real life

Quantity versus quality. Quality is what matters, but quantity is what the Internet offers.

a reply to: wantsome

I want to give a different perspective about Facebook.


I grew up as a military child. I graduated from High School overseas. I don't think most teens can imagine what that was like. We knew that there was a chance we would never see our classmates again. We were all very very close, like family since we were all strangers in a strange land. When it came time to graduate it was like tearing our heart out. When I graduated it still costs money to make a phone call. It was not as easy as just make a call. I remember one phone bill exceeded $500. That is a lot of money today, so just imagine how much it was back then.
Eventually Facebook came around and one by one, we all re-connected. It was amazing. We have all kept in touch and when anyone is traveling near anyone else we have mini reunions. We are able to see our dear friend and their families.

I know our circumstances are totally different than most. I truly do still see that there is good on Facebook. I see elderly relatives able to keep up with family that lives far away. It makes me sad when I see my friends go crazy over likes and if they think people are ignoring them.

For the first example, there are some studies I believe where people not receiving enough notice, feedback, likes, etc on social media can experience psychological problems.

It makes sense if one views it as just another social medium, albeit electronic.

I actually experienced this mildly at one point when friends would swamp virtue signallers and selfie posters with likes and comments, and then not for things like posts celebrating my kid. I felt like they didn’t give a damn.

However, this feeling got mitigated when FB admitted its algorithms basically create echo chambers and don’t highlight posts by every friend.
It still bothers me though that some of the biggest virtue signallers and self promoters seem to get a lot of positive attention.

Social media has become so toxic now though that I use it less and less.
a reply to: JAGStorm

a reply to: TheRedneck

yes the every man for themselves mentality that's the pervasive culture in America is breeding loneliness and sorrow. as I said, people feel disconnected, kicked out of their houses at 17-18 years old with no help or real guidance, not taught how to buy homes or invest or manage finances really not taught much of anything anymore. socializing is a chore anymore. everyone is out for themselves now you have to be super careful who you associate with