Social media is now as far from “social” as it’s ever been. If it weren’t for this job and the many loyal followers I have personally, I’d quietly jump off the grid and get my life back. I’m encouraging you to look at what you write and more importantly, what you share.
I’ve dropped dozens of “friends” on my Facebook page because they actually believe some of the crap they post and share, especially share. And I’m talking “real” friends and acquaintances, too!!! Recent studies have found nearly 77%(!) of what’s on the Facebook platform is false or at the very least, misrepresented. Yet people read and spread this drivel even further.
Social media is not social…it’s combative…it’s divisive…it’s cruel and I’m afraid it won’t change anytime soon. Foreign interests are taking advantage of it and having all those gullible people who take everything at face value towing the line THEY want. Manipulators can repackage and/or re-edit interviews to make them appear to support or decry ANY given situation. It’s impossible for John Q. Public to know what’s real or not anymore.
Photos depicting people done wrong, or the young woman that was allegedly abused, or the dog that returned home after four years lost can and many times, have been used before. There’s a really cool online tool to find out. Try it. Copy a given online pic and load it into a program called, TinEye. It will give you all sorts of info on the image, like how many times it’s been used and where. It’s described in one word…fake.
I could go on and on about this but the point of all of it is to actually look into matters yourself. That, too can be difficult because “legitimate” news sources have a bias (shock, I know) and it can be tough to get through a network’s slant on issues. That’s why I rely a lot on the media overseas on many issues. They have no agenda over here and the reporting is not filtered. It helps me when I have questions about what I’m seeing online.
So, if you made it this far, I encourage you to take a few moments and check things out before you share them online. My life is not defined by a meme. You shouldn’t turn yours into one either.
– MM