Social media: Friend or demon?

Social media has taken the world by storm, and the whole world has been engulfed. PHOTO | KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV | AFP

Summary

• People, young and old, are captivated by the wonder that is held in the palm of our hand.
• One thing that we as a generation have failed to realise is that with great power comes great responsibility.

By NATION REPORTER

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As a Gen-Zer, I acknowledge that I am privileged to have access to certain things that most of my predecessors would not have even dreamed of. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has heard the story of how my parents had to trek five kilometres every day, barefoot, to and from school.
Living in a “modern world” is an adventure. Every day is something new. I still remember the butterflies in my stomach whenever I’d get my hands on a phone and the joyous grin that would appear anytime I would play the mono-pixelated version of “snakes”.  Now, more than 10 years later, the things that can be done with a smartphone are beyond imagination.
Social media has taken the world by storm, and the whole world has been engulfed! Be it ‘lefting’ groups on WhatsApp, going live on Instagram, joining in on the fun TikTok challenges, snapchatting pictures or laughing at ‘Kenyans On Twitter’ memes and tweets. People, young and old, are captivated by the wonder that is held in the palm of our hand.
GREAT POWER
However, one thing that we as a generation have failed to realise is that with great power comes great responsibility. As much as we can say that the aim of creating these platforms was pure —for people to have fun, enjoy and reconnect with friends and family — we live in a yin yang world; which means that even where there is good, there is bad.
What we don’t know, or secretly know and just don’t want to admit to ourselves is that there is darkness lurking in every corner. In every nook and cranny. As much as we want to believe that social media promotes self-confidence and love and light, let’s get real for a second. Social media has brought on a whole new breed of people. Keyboard warriors…These are people who use their anonymity as an advantage to unleash hatred into the world.

A 4.5 inch screen and user376235 as a username, and suddenly they don’t need alcohol to have Dutch courage. They type mocking words with such ease you’d think evolution of technology stripped them of their humanity.
In this day and age, you can find a 50-something-year-old man following a 12-year-old telling her she’s attractive, telling her all manner of things and roasting and insulting her when rejected without even a morsel of fear because at the end of the day, his privacy is protected. Excuse me sir??? Why are you doing such despicable things at your big age?
Our society had already some-what normalised predatory behaviour, whereby we shun it, but when it happens, we just sweep it under the rug. Now with social media, are we not finished? …but people are not ready to have this conversation, are they? Not only does it promote predacious behaviour, but it also grooms this negativity and encourages youth to harbour hatred.
You may think your one “you’re ugly” comment is a harmless joke, or your “lose some weight” is just feedback for them to ‘positively change their body’, but such comments are manifesting inside them, spewing an even more evil concoction for them to spray on someone else, and continue the never-ending gloom cycle. The pessimism spreads so quickly and silently you’d think its coronavirus.
When I was a kid, whenever I was insulted, I used to scream: “Stick and stones may break my bones, but words can never harm me” and stick my tongue out so far, run away and laugh...but I grew up, and the words grew harsher, slowly peeling off my thick skin.
Everybody these days feels the need to express their emotions and tell the other person how they feel. This is only self-satisfying behaviour that sometimes you need to keep to yourself.
So just take a minute to reflect on whether social media is a friend or a fiend.