It’s NOT A Challenge – It’s A FELONY!
By Shari Dovale
There is a debate on whether Social Media has driven the youth of our world to extreme attention seeking behavior, or whether the mental instability of these millennials has given rise to Social Media and it’s control of society.
Social media has become a major part of people’s everyday lives. The quest for internet popularity and higher rankings have driven some people to extremes.
News comes to you via your Twitter feed and Facebook timelines, instead of (like your parents) reading the newspaper over your morning coffee.
Jobs can be denied based on comments made online. Facebook posts can be used against you in court. Cyber-bullying, risk of identity theft, physical ailments and addiction are all very real consequences to societal demands for more social media influence. Yet, the trend continues to rise.
Consumers report poor service or quality through online platforms. People look for personal relationships online. Job requirements frequently demand a look at your online presence. Your life can be built around your online ratings.
People around the world have taken the love of “Thumbs Up” and “Likes” to extreme levels. Because of this demand, people are allowing themselves to be led to dangerous behavior.
Calling them a “challenge”, some of these stunts range from hurting themselves in various ways, like eating Tide Pods and lighting themselves on fire, to endangering others by deliberately contaminating food in the grocery stores to driving blindfolded.
There does not seem to be a deterrent with threats of prosecution and jail time, as the incidents of copycat pranks continue.
Self-promotion and narcissism are not only widely accepted but rewarded in the 21st century. Businesses actively promoted the “Tide Pod Challenge” with their own ideas, such as versions of drinks and pizza.
So have the frenzied challenges fueled the Social Media platforms, or is it the other way around? Does it matter? Should the world start taking a serious look at reducing their social media footprint and time online?
Our lives should not be governed by the Cyber-Police. The luxuries offered by the internet are not worth the costs. It is time to reduce our dependence on Big Tech.
There is something to be said for the much simpler life that God offered us.
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I got a kick out of one you-tube video…. a dead mermaid lying on the beach. Quite realistic too !…Social Media is a public forum large enough for a gadzilion podiums, a wild west of information. Not surprising that we’d hear from the mountebanks and snake oil salesmen along with the rest. Caveat Emptor..Web access by Joe Citizen, and by citizen journalists, has made an end run around the lamestream, often leaving the conventional outlets to bring up the rear – that is, if they even give coverage. No more powerful illustration of it’s value could be set forward than Bundy Ranch…On April 9, 2014 I settled in front of my computer with my coffee and coffin nail…The Oathkeepers site showed a video from Nevada, a full on police state in full swing with snarling attack dogs, screaming uniformed goons, and an old lady being thrown to the ground. Within hours I was headed over there. Many others across the country saw the same video, and dropped everything. So…I’ll take the wheat with the tares…