Rein In Social Media

I have long been in favor of, if not banning social media, at least putting stringent controls on it.

Way back in the 1990s, when a geek friend extolled the world wide web’s promise, I warned him that the then fledgling internet would soon be turned to the darkest purposes of our imperfect race. He dismissed that prediction but lived to see it fulfilled.

Certainly there are positive aspects of social media, but I’m convinced they are outweighed by its dangers.

Consider the hours so many people, especially young people, waste on meaningless and pointless voyeurism. When I look around, almost everyone I see is glued to a phone, paying no attention to their current reality. That time could be devoted to so many more productive and worthwhile activities, not the least of which would be to quiet their minds and to think about and observe what’s really happening in the world. (Including whether a car is coming toward them while they cross the street.) The surgeon general proposed a warning label on social media on the basis it adversely affects mental health. On average, teens waste five hours a day, hours in which they could be learning something useful, on these sites. Think of how making better use of some of that time would benefit them, the nation and the world.

The culture wars rage thanks in part to the fact that social media gives an instant bully pulpit to any half-cocked extremist who wants to spout off their lame-brained ideas. Before the advent of the internet, they never would have had the ability to reach so large an audience.

The media are controlled by a small number of big money interests, mostly ultra-conservative, who use them to divide and distract us as they fill their coffers. How can there not be laws that prevent people from controlling information simply by virtue of being wealthy enough to own a company?

One reason misinformation is so readily accepted as fact is the very medium it is delivered in. In his 1935 essay, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction,” German philosopher, art critic and social commentator, Walter Benjamin, warned of the dangers inherent in films. The rapid mass reproduction of visual information, he claimed, strips events (and art) of authenticity. Viewers cease to exercise critical analysis of what is visually presented to them. The suspension of disbelief we employ when viewing movies is applied to the “movie” version of real events. This is evident in much of what we are fed by visual media today. One example is “reality” TV, thanks to which Donald J. Trump was enabled to ascend to power and launch his assault on American democracy. With the help of media, he may well see it through to fruition.

When I read Benjamin’s essay, it dawned on me why I had long avoided getting news from TV, preferring print or radio sources. Visual stimuli produce visceral and emotional, rather than rational, conclusions. Were he to have been aware of the way “news” is disseminated and consumed today, Benjamin would have been astounded and dismayed at how prescient his theories turned out to be.

The ability of humans to invent technologic wonders is mind boggling. Their ability to turn them to evil purposes is even more so. There is precedent for banning some uses of technology. Some kinds of scientific research are illegal because of ethical concerns. Why not apply this to social media which can be equally dangerous? The emotionally disturbed, the young, the naive, the lonely, the just plain stupid, and millions more who should know better enter, through their phones, the dark world of the greedy, the criminal and the sadistic.

I doubt that the misuse of media can be interdicted by any means other than outright blocking and banning them. Yes, there is this thing called the First Amendment. Still the fact remains that just as young children should not have access to guns and sharp objects, perhaps people should be denied access to dangerous uncontrolled disinformation.

Trust me, I have no illusions that this article will lead to the control of or the abolishment of social media. With the addition of AI, it will only get worse. But it is pleasant to fantasize that a hundred years from now, amid the rubble of civilization, someone may stumble on this essay as I stumbled on Benjamin’s and say, “Wow! That dude knew whereof he spoke.”