13 Comments
Jul 24, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

Social media has helped me become more mindful of what I say when I post or reply to anything. The vitriol on social media of the last few years has influenced my responses. I’m less reactive. I try to read and listen more and say less.

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Jul 24, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

I agree that social media is indeed a double edged sword. I used to spend too much time getting worked up over posts on FB and have abandoned that platform for several years now and am glad I did. I'd probably have had a stroke with all of the vitriol during 45's term.

I do enjoy discussions on Twitter but those too can get out of hand. People are more likely to express vehement disdain/falsehoods/hyperbole behind a veil of internet than in person. I think social media allows for violent rhetoric that wouldn't necessarily occur in "real life". That is one aspect I dislike about social media. Another is that we seem, as a society, to have lost the ability to disagree and still like each other as fellow humans. I do believe social media has facilitated that loss. We can toss out barbs and turn off the responses, we can yell at someone and call them an idiot and close our laptops, we can give our view without having to have discourse with someone holding the opposing view; to me that is sad. We can live in echo chambers rather than fully develop and defend our ideas against others' who differ.

On the positive side, I've reconnected with old friends! So it's a mixed bag in my book!

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Jul 24, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

For many disabled people and their caregivers, social media has been a vitally important resource. We find friends, support, and resources and consequently we are no longer isolated. I’ve been homebound for 7 years now and without it, my world would be significantly diminished.

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Jul 24, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

Social media amplifies the good and the bad. Our problems go beyond Twitter and Facebook. It's all about me and winning (at any cost) now. We forget that life and the competition are better when we try to make it better. When we try to exclude/own others we make it worse for all of U.S. One country one planet in the end we are all in this together.

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Jul 24, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

I love reading your articles….they make me think outside the box.social media has been good and not so good to me. I learned that you can’t take a lot of ppl seriously. Then on the other hand, I’ve met some amazing ppl including yourself.

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author

Thank you, Linda.

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Jul 24, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

I recognize the role they play in dividing us and that is unfortunate. I hope it does not bring about the end of democracy. For me, other than being a time suck, social media has generally been positive. I am a conservation advocate and outdoor recreation enthusiast and my Facebook and Twitter accounts provide me with the means to communicate what I believe are important messages. They also helped me reconnect with the folks that I attended K-8 with. Because of that reconnection, I am going to their 50th high school reunion (a year late thanks to Covid). I actually graduated from a different high school, but I see more of these people on Facebook, than I do the people who were in my actual graduating class.

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Jul 24, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

Social media is a double edged sword. Ever since TFG announced and during his term, I was on a mission to expose the corruption. It damaged me! That eventually led me to make the decision to think before I type. You know what's weird? Growing up, I never knew anyone's political affiliation. Now we all do. What saddens me the most is the brainwashing of the world: conspiracy theories, misinformation, disinformation, lack of trusting science. The lies.

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author

Trump has succeeded in politicizing our lives beyond anything we’ve seen before. And those divisions are becoming increasingly difficult to overcome.

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Jul 29, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

The thing about social media is YOU have to control it, not let it control you.

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Jul 26, 2021Liked by Steven Beschloss

It is refreshing to read something positive about social media for a change, thank you. I'm not one to stay in touch with people as our lives twist away from each other, and Facebook especially allows me to stay in touch. I work for a recreation division in a city in which we use social media alot to get the word out about what we're doing as far as events and happenings. As someone earlier said, everything in moderation - and don't take everything personally!

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Addictions are always depleting. Social Media and the internet, in general, seem engineered to promote addiction.

Social media should be used as a communication resource, with appropriateness and regarded critically.

It is not a replacement for living a three-dimensional well-rounded life. -Everything in moderation.

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My family moved every year or two throughout my childhood. As an adult I knew no one who knew me when I was a kid. When my son turned 13 he wanted to be on Facebook and I thought I should be there with him. So I signed up, and painstakingly entered all the elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools I’d attended. And suddenly there they were: my friend from 5th grade, my first crush, my former teacher. The middle school girlfriends’ messages felt like we hadn’t miss a beat. Once my life seemed linear, with people and places dropping away into the past. Now it feels like, well, a web.

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