Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
In Academic circles and on the comments section of newspapers, social networking (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc) is either shown as being:
A) A new revolutionary tool, helping spread knowledge and uniting people
B) A modern evil, destroying our capabilities for critical thinking and intelligent thought
I would wonder, which of these is true. Is "intelligent thought" something to be admired ? Is this not simply an imposition of values ? What makes a tweet by say Katy Perry less important than a quotation by say HD Thoreau ?
Why is an Instagram picture, less of an artwork than a painting ? Is this simply not an cultural judgement.
Articles of this nature bring up such points,in my mind.
Let's discuss.
Last edited by blacktothefuture; 04-30-2013 at 04:45 AM..
Reason: Elaborating
Since all of it is now monitored by gov't, it is non of the above. And millenials and many people are deactivating FB/fakebook.
jmo social media was overblown, and touted as something it now isn't. And never will be again.
It's a waste of time, unless we have freedom to post anonymously.
It also has little meaning, bcs your true friends exist IRL, when you are ill or need help. Don't count on your 899 fakebook "friends".
Social networking is what each of us makes of it. I judge each communication on its own merits. There's certainly a lot of nonsense out there but plenty of useful info as well.
Intelligent thought is not an imposition of values. I don't see how those two concepts are related.
All artwork, visual or otherwise, including the works of Thoreau, are cultural judgements. As such they are subject to the opinions of whomever chooses to comment on them, and don't necessarily have any redeeming qualities.
Social networks have allowed for connections between people that would otherwise not exist. What we do with those connections is the real issue, not the networks themselves.
I'll just say that I essentially agree with option B. I hate the inane, narcissistic behavior that venues like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram foster for the idiot who poses in front of a mirror for their cellphone camera enough times to capture 50+ self-portraits to share with their 563 "friends" on the internet.
I know that not everyone who uses these sites are such poignant attention-wh*res, so no offense to those of you who choose to utilize social network sites to stay in better contact with distant friends and family members (that's the only reason I've ever considered creating a private Facebook profile, though I've talked myself out of it any time I start toying with the idea). I'll also stress that while social networking has been a great incubator for self-absorbed mindlessness, I'm not here to argue that it inherently causes it.
And lastly, to touch on the OP's question about Katy Perry vs HD Thoreau and their relative value in the culture-at-large, I will unequivocally assert that I don't want to live in a culture that encourages me not to be overly judgmental about the intellectual value of Thoreau's narratives compared to those of Katy Perry's. End of story.
It's instant news. Today's society attention span is about a second and Twitter and the like feed into that. Personally I use social media to keep up with family and friends I KNOW OUTSIDE of social media. I don't care that Justin Bieber licked a strippers....anyway, it's the 21st Century gossiping over the backyard fence.
I got to be perfectly honest with you, it gets kind of tiring when technology gets blamed for people's poor behavior. Most social media sites were invented with good intentions in mind. but like most inventions, there are people out there that will abuse it. Social media is no different. I have a facebook, me and those I'm friends aren't dumb enough to post any drama or personal business on there. Hell I hardly ever post on there.
Constantly blaming technology for people's problems does nothing but discourage self-reflection by promoting this idea that something else is to blame for their lack of social intelligence and awareness. If social media didn't exist, these same knuckleheads would still be making the same social blunders using the phone or in person. They probably already do.
In Academic circles and on the comments section of newspapers, social networking (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube etc) is either shown as being:
A) A new revolutionary tool, helping spread knowledge and uniting people
B) A modern evil, destroying our capabilities for critical thinking and intelligent thought
I would wonder, which of these is true. Is "intelligent thought" something to be admired ? Is this not simply an imposition of values ? What makes a tweet by say Katy Perry less important than a quotation by say HD Thoreau ?
Why is an Instagram picture, less of an artwork than a painting ? Is this simply not an cultural judgement.
Articles of this nature bring up such points,in my mind.
Let's discuss.
Intelligent thought and view on the world may be admired only by an intelligent person. Unfortunately, there is not many of them around. OP, with this said, re-read your Q and determine, what side are you on.
As a teaser, here's definition of a smart person: one that can come to an independent thought based on independent thinking.
Your Q does not appear to be very independent as, otherwise, you'd have not been concerned with what the world says. You are 87%-er.
Social media is a tool, and like any tool, it is liable to be abused or perhaps used to great effect, depending on the author, the context and the audience.
I find the principal downside of social media to be the vapid thirst for brevity and immediacy, the lack of contemplation, the frivolous fascination with the very recent, while dispensing with anything that happened just before that very-very recent.
As the format changes, what endures is the yearning for self-expression. In so far as social media allows people to create and to promulgate quality content, to express prescient thoughts and to write thoughtful things, it matters little whether this is pen-and-ink, typewriter, mainframe terminal, desktop PC, laptop, tablet, cell phone or something else… and whether the content is viewed in a musty and grand library, one's living room, or a city park-bench. But with greater ease and greater quantity, there is also a proportional dearth of quality; by typing more, we're liable to have less of substance that merits being typed. Being inundated with fluff, we become deprived of the genuinely worthwhile. But again, this is less the fault of the medium than of the cultural changes that it induces.
All technology is double-edged. Social media is but one example.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
