“What is truth?”, a question that Pirate asked during the trial of Jesus. Today, that question needs more answers, especially in the multi-media world. It is a question that anyone who uses a smartphone needs to reflect upon in a world where alternate facts and uninformed speculations sell faster than truth.
Distortions of news mainly carried by social media are the order of the day, and they systematically corrupt minds, especially those of the younger folks. Nowadays, It’s hard to distinguish between stories that are facts from the ones that are fiction, the legitimate, and the wrong information.
These have proven a huge distraction, whether in politics, religion, or social life. There are sensational stories that are blatantly false and are told on social media to systematically corrupt, misinform, and mislead people.
Imagine in 2016, a viral story claimed that Pope Francis endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election. This was an orchestrated campaign strategy aimed at encouraging Catholics to vote in a certain way. And yes, the story did the job of swaying the minds of many. Later, Facebook and Twitter admitted that their platforms were used to spread false information during the campaign and also during the Brexit Referendum and other election campaigns.
Indeed, social media truth has gone bankrupt!
Social media users are grouped into two, casual scrollers and keen observers. The young and the gullible belong to the casual scrollers and are most affected by the lies they read and hear because they don’t bother to verify every piece of information and can’t discern information from mainstream media and mere reporters/associated press.
Since it may be difficult to verify this information, it’s advised that these young folks sieve what they read and hear in the following ways.
Declutter their follower list. The more you follow people, the more information you get and the more your chances of being misled. Every page must not be followed. To know where to draw the lines is to maintain a healthy balance.
To know their limits and set boundaries. Children and young adults who are excessively exposed to social media are vulnerable to a lot of cyber dangers. The risks of cyberbullying, low self-esteem, false expectations, excessive screen time, and a lot of unhealthy practices.
To consciously focus only on pages that are healthy for their personal growth and those that impact them positively.
To attend and engage only in meaningful, instructive, and inspirational posts.
Their social media involvement should be either to learn from people or to impact on people, not to impress people or follow trends.
Alexis Ohanian rightly stated, “It takes discipline not to let social media steal your time.”
Social media is an amazing tool with a double-edged sword, its best, and its worst. It’s only wise for young users to ignore its worst and focus on its best.
✍️ Amara Ann Unachukwu.
