Our culture has created a new addiction, and it affects our young people in ways that they're not even aware of.
I'm not referring to drugs. Or alcohol. Or pornography. Or gambling. Or sex. Or even shopping or video games. Although every one of those represents addictive behaviors that are having a detrimental effect on our society.
I'm talking about the need to get people to LIKE our posts on social media. Sean Parker, part of the team who launched Facebook back in 2004 claims they spent a significant amount of time trying to figure out to consume as much of the time and attention of those who would be using Facebook as possible. Their solution was what is called a "social-validation feedback loop". In simple terms when you have social media and see that friends have posted things that you and others have liked you WANT to post something for your friends and followers to see as well. And when they 'like' it you WANT to post something else. And so on. http://www.newsweek.com/russia-facebook-trump-sean-parker-707964
It's easy to see how posting one thing on Monday morning could lead to posting another that afternoon, and two things on Tuesday, and five things on Wednesday, and soon you no longer have things to post about off the top of your head so you search for things to post about....a trip to the post office, what you had for lunch, what your favorite kind of soup is, and on and on. Before long you've lost count of how much you post and you don't even realize that the more you post the more people 'like' what you post, and that leads you wanting to post more and more and.....well you know where it leads.
Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with using social media to feel better about life. Just this morning I saw a story about a family that reunited with a beloved pet after more than a week because people sharing the story on social media helped the people who found the dog locate her owners. Hard to find something to not like about that. I'm able to stay in touch with family and former students through social media in a way that mere phone calls wouldn't allow. I can see pictures of their children, pets, homes, vacations, cars, and lives and am able to be a part of what's happening in their life from far away. That's a great blessing.
However.
I am disgusted with seeing so many teenagers who are so completely needy for their peers to call them 'pretty' or 'hot' (out of respect for every English teacher I've ever had I can't spell it as 'hawt'!) that they post an almost nonstop stream of selfies, often with manufactured smiles and holding the phone at an angle to make them look thinner than they really are. And can I be completely incorrect politically? It's teen girls who do this. Our female young people are so desperate for people to 'like' and 'love' and provide positive comments on their photos that they spend more time focusing on getting their next picture posted than they do on paying attention to the people they're with in real life.
I've seen teens take over 100 (this is NOT an exaggeration) selfies in a matter of minutes trying to find the one with a perfect angle and light and smile and hair and background to post. And then 12 hours later they delete it and repost it a few hours later, hoping this time it will garner more attention.
And you know what kinds of pictures of young females garner the most attention? Yes you do. The kind you'd least want strangers seeing of your children. But to them the chance to trade a bit of morality or self esteem for a few dozen more people liking and sharing their pictures is worth it.
A story that's in the current news cycle involves a YouTube celebrity who posted a video of a suicide victim, all in the quest for more 'likes' and great popularity.
Many of our teens on social media have already rewired their emotional and social selves in order to maintain pleasure from the computer they carry in their pocket.
And our children that haven't started using social media yet? If we don't start a conversation about how destructive social media is they will be even more lost than we can imagine.
They're racing each other towards the most 'likes'. And the winner gets so addicted that they wake up and reach for their phone first thing.
It's easy to see how posting one thing on Monday morning could lead to posting another that afternoon, and two things on Tuesday, and five things on Wednesday, and soon you no longer have things to post about off the top of your head so you search for things to post about....a trip to the post office, what you had for lunch, what your favorite kind of soup is, and on and on. Before long you've lost count of how much you post and you don't even realize that the more you post the more people 'like' what you post, and that leads you wanting to post more and more and.....well you know where it leads.
Personally I don't think there's anything wrong with using social media to feel better about life. Just this morning I saw a story about a family that reunited with a beloved pet after more than a week because people sharing the story on social media helped the people who found the dog locate her owners. Hard to find something to not like about that. I'm able to stay in touch with family and former students through social media in a way that mere phone calls wouldn't allow. I can see pictures of their children, pets, homes, vacations, cars, and lives and am able to be a part of what's happening in their life from far away. That's a great blessing.
However.
I am disgusted with seeing so many teenagers who are so completely needy for their peers to call them 'pretty' or 'hot' (out of respect for every English teacher I've ever had I can't spell it as 'hawt'!) that they post an almost nonstop stream of selfies, often with manufactured smiles and holding the phone at an angle to make them look thinner than they really are. And can I be completely incorrect politically? It's teen girls who do this. Our female young people are so desperate for people to 'like' and 'love' and provide positive comments on their photos that they spend more time focusing on getting their next picture posted than they do on paying attention to the people they're with in real life.
I've seen teens take over 100 (this is NOT an exaggeration) selfies in a matter of minutes trying to find the one with a perfect angle and light and smile and hair and background to post. And then 12 hours later they delete it and repost it a few hours later, hoping this time it will garner more attention.
And you know what kinds of pictures of young females garner the most attention? Yes you do. The kind you'd least want strangers seeing of your children. But to them the chance to trade a bit of morality or self esteem for a few dozen more people liking and sharing their pictures is worth it.
A story that's in the current news cycle involves a YouTube celebrity who posted a video of a suicide victim, all in the quest for more 'likes' and great popularity.
Many of our teens on social media have already rewired their emotional and social selves in order to maintain pleasure from the computer they carry in their pocket.
And our children that haven't started using social media yet? If we don't start a conversation about how destructive social media is they will be even more lost than we can imagine.
They're racing each other towards the most 'likes'. And the winner gets so addicted that they wake up and reach for their phone first thing.
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