Opinion social media

 Hi everyone, the internet can have its good and bad elements. I am seeing that corruption is growing on the internet. During COVID new online clinics opened up which exploited prescribing medication for profit for ADHD which led to shortages worldwide for this medication. 

Social media influencers want fame, subscribers, likes and followers. I can understand as it is their job and they choose to monetise themselves. Children too are being monetised for work that could affect their wellbeing as adults. There are laws regarding minors working that do not always fully appear to be upheld online.

 
COVID made people use social media more, but now it is having an effect where many people want likes, followers and subscribers and if they don't get them it is having an effect on their self esteem and they can inflict this psychology of why it is needed on others sometimes too when they ask people to give them likes.

If somebody reads something if interested that is what it is meant to be for, but basing self worth on likes and follows is not good for self identity and a sense of self worth. I know some people may use social media for friendships, but there is this culture growing where we are moving in the direction where people are becoming destabilised in their self esteem from its use. A balance is needed for me.

Then you can get people who make themselves a spokesperson for something when they are not trained for the role and can do harm, such as Skinny endorsement by social media influencers who give faulty information about dieting and vulnerable people can stumble on this. There has been teenagers who got worse by looking at some of this information. One was called Molly Russell.

 

 Children too can do copycat things which they learn from online that are dangerous to do in the real world. Such was the case of a 17 year old who murdered three young girl's triggered partly by being influenced online. You can see the case from the following link. Alina Burns also was impacted by her social media use online and attempted to murder a man at 19. Within months of getting a computer she became radicalised by an extremist group.

https://www.cps.gov.uk/mersey-cheshire/news/teenager-jailed-killing-three-children-dance-class-and-trying-kill-ten

Then with some people it is hard to read their motives why are they sharing, go with your instincts. 

 

Australia, the UK and some other countries will be implementing some laws to protect under 16's online.

What are you being sold?

Some people can troll online because it is more unregulated and behind a screen. The internet has the potential to be toxic at times.

Groups that are extreme, terrorist or violent and a threat to health and safety should have a limited platform online which is in line with counter terrorism.

Schemes are growing to about faith. Wanting to get rich from God and God to intervene in your personal business accounts when you are not destitute. For me my faith is about comfort and not material wealth and Jesus said that he would offer comfort and not material wealth in (John 14). You can see this need for material wealth through faith on social media now.

Remember idols of the heart and we should guard against them. Try to have a spiritual world view and not worldly.

Like I wrote, the internet can have good and bad elements and it can be used responsibly, but we should always be careful of following the herd and not the voice and path of Jesus Christ.

Let us put back into this earth and others and take care of it as God asked us to do and reflect and take breaks from the internet if you need to.