I'm begining to wonder if I really 'get' social media.
For a time there, I thought that it was an absolutely fantastic thing. I'd signed upto Friends Reunited (remember that, hey?) and enjoyed looking at photos and stories from my old schools and uni. I wasn't really 'interacting' as such, so I couldn't really say that I was using it as a social tool. That was until someone who I hadn't seen for nearly 30 years posted a message to me asking how I was and wondering if I still had the guitar I used to play when I was in a band at uni (I do indeed still have it!). It was amazing! After all that time, a blast from the past appearing in my Inbox! I typed in a message in reply and waited to get a response. And waited. And waited. And...I'm still waiting. Like a man stranded on a desert island who sees a ship on the horizon, only to realise it is headed away from him, for a brief moment, there were possibilities.
One friend from Uni that I re-established a link with via FR noted that she was using FR less and had moved onto something called Facebook and I determined to give it a go. I dived into Facebook soon after and it proved to be a much more successful adventure in interaction. Lots of to-ing and fro-ing in terms of conversation, interesting things being posted, 'meeting' people outside the local or work environment as well as reuniting with more people from back in the day. After that, I tried Twitter. I set up an account, followed a few famous names and Tweeted my first Tweet (something like "Hello everyone on Twitter!" *cringes*). Of course, I sat around awaiting some interaction with absolutely zero success until, eventually, I connected with a few people that I know in the 'real' world and then, little by little, I found that posting a Tweet would lead to a 'conversation' starting. It was really quite fun and the 140 character limit provided a discipline that made me really think about ensuring clarity in each Tweet.
But (there is always a 'but', isn't there?), things started to change or, more probably, I started to see the downside pretty quickly. Firstly, there are a lot of FB postings and Tweets that still contain mudane information that is seemingly of no interest to the wider world: this is my lunch; I'm going shopping; here is a picture of my cat; *selfie* and so on. Is this merely a 21st Century version of keeping a written diary but utilising the tools and technology of the age, shared with the world but primarily for the benefit of the diary writer? Or is it a way of validating our existence in a an increasingly disconnected life in the 'real' world: as the way we live now - away from the physical community provided by relationships with others in our place of residence, the church, even, for homeworkers, the workplace - removes us from a physical acknowledgement of our existence, so we need to find another way to make ourselves heard in an increasing chaotic and congested world? I'm not really knocking this trend and I have been happy to go along with it: I have posted my share of food/cat/boring items and, no doubt, will continue to do so. After all, it hurts no-one.
Another trend, though, is a nasty development arising from Web 2.0: personal abuse and victimising. Don't get me wrong, as long as the internet has allowed Person A to express an opinion with a view to inviting comment, Persons X,Y and Z have been more than willing to respond by agreeing, disagreeing, counter-proposing or just ignoring them. Originally, it was just like a debate that one might recognise from school or the pub. However, as time has gone on, it seems that two things have happened.
Firstly, comment in many cases has been replaced by personal abuse. It is no longer enough to debate, to argue with someone. Now, it seems to be the norm to start wading in with personal attacks or foul-mouthed tirades almost from the get-go. In some cases this has even been in the form of organised and sustained attackes against individuals who have dared to speak out on a subject, the abuse even spilling over into threats of violence (the case of Mary Beard springs to mind). People feel free to say things that they would never say to their target face-to-face in the real world. The web seems to have become all about 'rights' and screw 'responsibilities'. Personally, I have found myself self-censoring to a greater degree now. I don't post some things I might like to say because I fear the response that it may generate.
The second change is possibly worse. Social media has give platforms to 'professional provocateurs' such as Katie Hopkins to 'say the unsayable'. In the past, when the main media outlets for such 'characters' as Ms Hopkins were TV, radio and newsprint, the rules governing those services would have stopped some of the more extreme views she promotes from reaching us. If she did get something printed or broadcast, we could largely ignore her output by not buying the paper she writes for or not watching programmes in which she appeared. Now, via the facility of Twitter, she is able to promote the most extreme and ignorant views without any handbrake to hold back her juggernaut. The more she provokes, the more column inches she generates and the more TV appearances she gets. Ker-ching! She is not winning friends because, in her view, being 'Britain's biggest bitch' (her description) is a career choice and one that she is successfully pursuing. Unfortunately, she will convince others that this is a viable career path. I, for one, do not want to see any lingering sense of community or decency further eroded by the unthinking, unfeeling "I can say what I like!" brigade.
I thought I 'got' social media. The emphasis was on the 'social' element and all was fine and dandy. Unfortunately, in an age of reality TV where unearned or transient celebrity trumps hard-won and enduring achievement, and in a Britain where the 'haves' now feel free to openly scorn and deride the 'have-nots', the 'media' element is now in the ascendent: Twitter and Facebook let us all star in our very own little reality broadcasts and lets us forget any sense of self-censorship. And, as we become anaesthetised to each new low, what will we need to do to make ourselves stand out from the social media crowd going forward?
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