Has social Media destroyed the fabric of human civilisation?

When coupled with the moral decline of the 1960’s and the abolition of traditional religious based moral values and discipline (made doubly inexcusable by two world wars) it was a most dangerous, if not lethal combination for our society - given my 30 years in supermarket retailing and my traditional Catholic background, I’ve had to face up to some very harsh truths during Covid 

It goes even further back, to the advent of mobile phones and to the start of computers in secondary schools in the 1980’s, even to landline phones by U.K. council tenants in council houses, even when not connected to the old dialup internet - our grandparents generation, having already been totally opposed to both the TV and everything else, went to great lengths to oppose computers in schools, to us kids learning anything about computer science, etc and they went to the parish priests and the local police in Rural Ireland to put a stop to all of these things - it was only decades after their passing did we finally realise that their instincts were correct all along and their warnings and predictions turned out to be true in our times - we really do have to wonder about the true motivations of those who pushed this onto us, supposedly without restriction (aside from the setup and other costs) and where restrictions and censorship only came in much later on, as it later emerged that the elites don’t allow their children any access to these at all below the age of 21 and this includes the children of royal families - even adult members of the British royal family, even when they have mobile phones or internet, it is highly restricted 

Yes. We have become extraordinarily self obsessed and narcissistic, endlessly taking photos of ourselves and posting our every thought to the world. That's true. We've been dancing with Mr Brownstone. We've been flying like an aereoplane while feeling like space brain loaded like a freight train. Tis true.

I think it's Japan's work culture and lack of status for women as well as lack of childcare that's driving fewer to people have children. I think Japan's work culture where long hours and company loyalty have put people off relationships, from what I gather there's still an expectation that a woman will stop work upon marriage and be a stay at home full time housewife. If this is the case then it's no wonder a lot of women are seriously asking themselves what they want, a career or marriage? I don't know what the problem is with Japanese men, if there is one?

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Irish in Manchester

I'm going to have to disagree with you about this as in so much else.

Social media has obviously prevented people from simply being in the now, but I would be a hypocrite if I condemned that - Twitter/X feeds my ADHD cravings for novelty, despite me being very aware of what a hateful space it can be. And while it is stuffed with horrors, it has influenced politics (for example, revealing the extent of the genocide in Gaza and mobilising people to change things). 

I still persist with Facebook despite it mostly being a means to show off (I'm guilty of this as well). I'm still bewildered by Instagram and TikTok. There's such an endless provision of content and silliness and distraction...And yet, plenty of people have made a living out of it. Imagine paying the bills without having to leave the house. My autistic dream.

IrishInManchesterUK said:

sometimes have to be “cruel to be kind” and “protect them from themselves” “for their own good” in which case they will need “tough love”

Sounds like words used by most abusers to justify their crimes.

Luckily there is little chance society will regress to the days of 60 years ago when ignorance and abuse were so much more commonplace.

I think we will have to respectfully agree to disagree on this matter. If your ideas were to ever become a possibility, I'm inclined to think there would be a lot of resistance, and not just from the under-21s.

It’s a sign that young people are getting sense because they are coming under the right influences demonstrated by their ditching of social media in increasing numbers 

I’m strongly in favour of putting the legal age for everything back up to 21 which has always been the traditional legal age and to teach young people to love and embrace tradition from as early an age as possible - you do sometimes have to be “cruel to be kind” and “protect them from themselves” “for their own good” in which case they will need “tough love” and it is really all about reversing the changes of the 1960’s in particular and returning to traditions pre-19th century - the natural instincts of young adults to “push the boundaries” must always be carefully managed by the use of strict and strongly enforced discipline at every level and in every way, again “for thier own good” and to “protect them from themselves” of which discipline I am a strong advocate, given my commitment to tradition and given where I have seen and experienced where the lack of same leads 

I do sometimes feel sorry for the younger generations, they have the constant pressure of what the ‘ideal’ person should look like.

There has always been ways of controlling the masses, they are now just different.

For under 21s who are deemed to be particularly vulnerable, I would agree, although I would be inclined to lower the age. Somehow, I can't imagine an 18-year-old who is old enough to drive, vote, drink alcohol, have a bank account, etc, taking kindly to being told they are prohibited from using the likes of social media and dating apps.

Young adults can be particularly headstrong. They are known for pushing the boundaries, and it's like a rite of passage that is part and parcel of growing up. If they really want to do something that they are prohibited from doing, they will find a way of doing it. Admittedly, there will always be some who take it to extremes when pushing the boundaries. However, young adults under the age of 21 can be far more knowledgeable about certain things than we give them credit for, and in some cases considerably more sensible than their elders.

Sporadic Sparkly said:

Yes, I too have heard that many young people are turning their backs on social media

I hope they are. I used to be a teacher and the scale of the addiction to social media among my students was mindblowing. I once asked a Year 10 class to write down honestly the amount of hours on a non school day that they thought they spent on their phones. The average answer was 11

Interesting points. I agree with you that it seemed to start around the time of the Brexit referendum, I noticed that too. Although, I noticed the nastiness very much on both sides. I worked in a school at the time where almost all the staff were passionately in favour of remain and the vitriol towards anyone who voted to leave shocked me, teachers shouting at children whose parents were leave voters and then sitting in the staffroom on their phones "defriending" anyone who voted leave. I guess it was the same both way rounds though, I remember remain MPs having abuse screamed at them in the streets by leave voters on the way to parliament. I dont think as a nation we have ever recovered tbh. 

Interesting points about the Japenese. They were also the first culture to wholeheartedly embrace social media and smartphones as well. Indeed, I read an article that the government of Japan was worried about the population decreasing because people were so obsessed with their phones that they wernt having sex anymore. I wonder why that is 

Where social media is concerned, the inability to agree to disagree started long before Brexit. I feel you should consider yourself lucky that social media has never appealed to you, as I believe you would absolutely hate it with a passion.

Yes, I too have heard that many young people are turning their backs on social media. I guess that only time will tell if it's a trend that will continue.

Aside from the internet and mobile phones per se, I do strongly believe and maintain that no child under 21 should ever be permitted to engage with social media in any form, for any purpose, as the risks of social media on young minds are too great - I also feel the same way about “dating” apps and websites for under 21’s and in all cases, these need to be carefully blocked and restricted - as an older and conservative minded gay man, given my own life experiences, I am a staunch traditionalist and therefore I strongly believe that an immediate return to traditional moral and social values in every area of our society is vital for the continued protection of western civilisation 

Apart from here I don't use it and never have, it's just not something that appeals to me.

I did notice that the inability to agree to disagree seemed to start when the Brexit referendum was announced, it also seemed to split ages groups too, with young people being picked on for wanting to "vote the wrong way", i.e they were more pro European than older people.

I think there has always been a well of nastiness swirling around the human psyche, I once looked at medieval local manorial court records and the things that people complained and dobbed in thier neighbours for was simialr in pettyness, nosiness and bullying as we see on social media today. Police have always had to screen the mail of families who's children have gone missing or had fatal accidents, because of nasty letters.

I wonder why people bother going places when all they do is film it on their phones, if I paid mega bucks to go to Glastonbury or somethig I wouldn't want to spend my time filming on my phone, I'd want to be in the thick of it enjoying every momment. But then the Japanese have done this for years, long before social media, they would turn up somewhere, pile out of a coach, photograph everything in sight and pile back on the coach to be whisked away to the next photo opportunity. I guess it's part of a changing culture, but it seems that there's a growing number of young people who are turning away from social media.

I do wonder if there will end with people who do social media and all the tech stuff and those who don't, or who only use it to do things like buy train tickets and stuff like that?

Billy87 said:

I believe social media has destroyed the fabric of civilisation.

I think social media has made us lazy in our communication, inventing a new language that is easy to convey 'surface' information (emojis, I'm fine, a quick SMS) but the effort to go deeper in a conversation, truly listening to someone else, giving them the space to talk and open up, doesn't happen as much. It is when we dig that bit deeper that we start to process our lives and make meaning of our situations, process grief, etc. It is much easier to bully people, and to express unfiltered opinions and ideas online: you can just create a new profile if that version doesn't suit you any more. Of course it is hard to say that this over-simplification fits all, especially as I don't use much social media these days.

Billy87 said:

We have become extraordinarily self obsessed and narcissistic

There is research apparently which shows that narcissism is on the rise, and it is related to the rise in self-esteem. The thinking is that to increase your self-esteem you have to think yourself better than others in some respect, and this comparison you are putting others down.  I watched a really interesting TED talk that mentioned it in passing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IvtZBUSplr4&t=1s

Social media has reshaped societal norms around tolerance, privacy, and happiness, impacting how we engage with real-life experiences.

I agree. It has its good points but it's used and abused-I used it when I was at school but it was so toxic, I wasn't on it for long. I'm much happier since leaving social media, it's improved my mental health. 

it would have to have been the users, no?