Social media is destroying our humanity

[arthurdawg]

Arthur.....if you're a fan of Alan Alda......if not already done so check out "Same Time Next Year" from 1978 starring Alda and Ellen Burstyn.

A corny romantic comedic drama......and just fantastic, if you like that sort of thing.

I'll add to the list!

 

[Crimson1967]

Arthur.....if you're a fan of Alan Alda......if not already done so check out "Same Time Next Year" from 1978 starring Alda and Ellen Burstyn.

A corny romantic comedic drama......and just fantastic, if you like that sort of thing.

A movie about two crappy people who cheat on their spouses. I bet Alda’s wife and Burstyn’s husband didn’t think it was fantastic.

 

[Tideflyer]

I had a lovely childhood in the 80s... Every generation has its ups and downs... Hopefully not more downs than ups currently.

Yeah, at 77 I’m sure I qualify as one of the “ seniors “ on TF.

 

[Tideflyer]

Arthur.....if you're a fan of Alan Alda......if not already done so check out "Same Time Next Year" from 1978 starring Alda and Ellen Burstyn.

A corny romantic comedic drama......and just fantastic, if you like that sort of thing.

Yes, quite good.

 

[Tideflyer]

M*A*S*H was such a good show. It's still running in syndication. When I was working as a foliage plant grower in Apopka right out of college late 70's, I also held a part-time job as a night clerk at a Cumberland Farms store in Mt. Dora. I was renting the back of a big house on Lake Jem and my whole life consisted on working in my profession during the week and going home to surf on the weekends.

I had a routine every day after my day job to come home, grab a bite, change clothes, and catch an episode of M*A*S*H before heading to the Cumberland Farms job.

We didn't have the Internet back then. No cell phones. Called & talked to people on regular telephones. We learned about humanity (in part) by watching shows like this.....

Under all that superficial bravado, Charles was a very good man. Well played character.

 

[Bodhisattva]

The guy I worked with, who lost his marriage over it, was into some type of war game. Supposedly, he'd use PTO days to stay home and play them all day and on the weekends that's all he would do. His wife would want to do grown-up "married couple stuff," and all he wanted to do was play video games.

Dang. Up to this point in human history, vagina has been undefeated. I guess no dynasty lasts forever.

 

[arthurdawg]

Yeah, at 77 I’m sure I qualify as one of the “ seniors “ on TF.

Approaching 52 rapidly and hoping to be enjoying life at 77... Keep that mature perspective up to hold us whiny immature babes on the straight and narrow path!!!

 

[Bamabuzzard]

Dang. Up to this point in human history, vagina has been undefeated. I guess no dynasty lasts forever.

Or maybe he wasn't getting any, so he decided to just play video games.

 

[Bazza]

 

[CrimsonJazz]

 

[mdb-tpet]

I just had a conversation with my father, who said he was at a conference and Big Foot came by and messed with people's tents and was seen behind a fence. I don't think social media is necessarily the real core of the problem. Social media is more like an interstate where people go to drive with reckless abandon and smash into each other, all the while they blame the other crazy drivers for not knowing the laws they know and then call their insurance company to sue the other guy for damages.

 

[4Q Basket Case]

I've given the title of this thread a lot of thought and thank @crimsonaudio for that mental exercise.

I've come to the conclusion that social media don't destroy humanity. Rather, they reveal humanity by removing any filter.

The outlandish positions, statements and endless provocations are what humans do when they don't think they'll be called to personal account for their actions.

For goodness sake, how many criminals are caught because of what they posted on one forum or another? It honestly never occurs to them that their statements are public record.

There are exceptions, of course, where social media facilitate either physical or mental rescues. But there are far more examples of feeding the maw.

When people are behind a keyboard, not face-to-face with the people they insult, condemn, or otherwise denigrate, they'll say things they'd never say in a different setting. It's exactly parallel to what goes through your mind, unvoiced, in a personal confrontation. Except there is no filter because there are no perceived consequences, real or potential.

To quote the famous philosopher Pogo (for the non-OFC, look him up), "We have met the enemy, and he is us."

It's a crying shame, but social media are not the destruction of humanity. They're who we really are, and always have been, when we think we can get away with it.