Social media is making us idiots.

I am EXTREMELY critical of social media because it has made us more shallow, and erodes intimate friendships.

My sister, seven years old, plays with the SnapChat app when my friends (girls two to three years older than me) come over, or whatnot. It’s not like she asks them- that’s the only way they find a way to entertain her.
I can’t hold a decent conversation with my friends. It’s interrupted by Instagram and SnapChat notifications which is starting to become toxic to our friendship.
Social Media allows for stupid people to have their voices heard. Flat Earthers, Anti-Vaxxers gained recent traction because of social media like Twitter and Facebook promoting stories. Aditya Das nailed this. We’re not simply becoming dumber, but the smart people are getting weeded off the Internet.
We’re no longer as connected to people as we were in the past. My parents use Whatsapp religiously. I make fun of them using social media, and I get scolded because I’m not social enough. But we’ve devolved and we no longer keep meaningful relationships.
10 years ago, we memorized their birthday to wish them happy birthday!
5 years ago, we use Facebook to store that info and on the day of, we call them to wish them happy birthday
1 year ago, we texted them “Happy birthday”
Now, in Whatsapp-esque chat rooms, everyone spreads the same damn birthday ballons and we text “HB! [party hat emoji][smiley face emoji]”
Stories, pictures, gifs, and videos spread like a virus. You get the same shit from multiple different groupchats, which has made life into a cancerous hellhole of bullshit.
It’s basically the location to brag, which I’m starting to have a real distaste for nowadays.
Social media has causes public lynchings based on people perceived to have “misused their privilege.” It has democratized justice. It’s a very simple but deadly formula:
Mob Mentality+Mutual Approval+Common Enemy= Salem Style Lynching
Take the example of Justine Sacco, who lost her job as a PR rep for tweeting a misconstrued joke on Twitter, because SOCIAL MEDIA DEMANDED IT. Not trolls, but the ordinary person. We thought we were being the good guys in all this because she made a joke perceived to be racist, but we lost no sleep over ruining the life a woman because of one mistake.
The fact that it now has the ability to influence the workings of justice. We have someone accused of rape or sexual assault without evidence, and BOOM, we can now tweet about it. The media does not even respect the privacy of the accused, until they’re found guilty, which I find morally disgusting. If he’s innocent, the accused’s life is virtually ruined.
The increase of cyberbullying due to social media is another reason why I dislike social media. It has opened yet another medium to get to people, especially in school.
I am immune to this groupthink and bullshit, but I feel for my friends who have fallen through the cracks of social media. I use Facebook, but literally only for two things: Memes and Messenger. I have a dummy Twitter account because my parents forced me to, but like hell I’d use it.