Checking Out...

It's not that Facebook wasn't a good idea.  In theory, it was an excellent idea.  A forum where folks can go to share their thoughts, photos and updates from their lives and their families.  Here is the issue with it however - there is no filter.  Anyone can share anything.  

Anyone.  This means truly anyone.  Need you have experience in the area you are sharing about?  Nope.  Do you have to have taken a class (or even read an article) about the thing you are commenting on?  Not at all.  Anyone can share anything.

We've always been free to share anything, but prior to social media everyone didn't have a voice.  Now to be fair, it just isn't Facebook's fault.  Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat, blogging, and even the comments section on YouTube or any media site should share equal parts of the blame.  Until these things came to life, not everyone had a platform and information was vetted by some sort of gatekeeper before it was posted (if it found a place to be posted at all).  

Now some good certainly has come from all of this, but more and more I am beginning to believe we, as a society, are worse off than previous generations thanks to the ability given to everyone to share their ideas and beliefs.  The world has always been filled with idiotic, racist, sexist, and other stupid thoughts...but prior to the Internet and social media specifically, many people were unable to share those thoughts because they did not have a platform.

But I suppose this is the price we pay for all good inventions.  They all have their good sides and their bad sides.  

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