Was life better before social media?

[Guest Scott]

Overall, was life better than social media?  I know social media is both positive and negative, so I intentionally didn't provide a choice for that since everyone would choose it.    It makes the question a little harder to answer.    There are only two answers available, but  of course anyone is free to explain his or her answer.

I'm going with yes, but am curious as to other opinions.    Obviously there is no going back as social media is here to stay.   Most of the people who say life was better with out it will still continue to use it.   The cat is out of the bag.  

Edited May 3, 2019 by Scott

[NeuroTypical]

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

I voted yes because that was my knee jerk reaction. When I did Pres. Nelson's media fast, I realized how much time I waste on social media and how many other more productive things I could be doing during that time. At the same time, I also noticed many very useful applications of social media. So my conclusion was to keep using it but to give myself more restraints to be sure I'm using it and not vice versa. Years ago, I had a friend who taped a note to her cordless phone that said, "I'm slave not master."  Social media is the same. 

[anatess2]

Was life better before <insert leap in technological achievements here>?  No.

Although many will be able to successfully debate a No answer when it comes to things like the invention of Tampons, and Birth Control, and Baby Formula, and Breast Pumps with regards to the ability of women to remove themselves from the house and neglect their children, we can all intellectually agree that the invention of those things were not intended to cause the neglect of children and that the freedom and convenience it affords women (which is its main reason for existence) has been very beneficial to society.

All it comes down to is - with great technology comes greater responsibility.  Ability afforded by technology (or wealth, in general) is neutral - the bad person will be empowered to do more bad things, the good person will be empowered to do more good things, and everybody will be empowered to do good or bad things according to their desires.  Therefore, just because a person couldn't do the bad thing he desired in greater magnitude doesn't mean that the world is better.  Because, in the end, it is what's in the heart of each person that lasts through eternity and not whatever technology.

[Just_A_Guy]

*My* life was not better.  I think most people’s lives were not better.

But I think society as a whole may have been better off.  

Sometimes what is good for us individually can be bad for us collectively.  

[Vort]

1 hour ago, Just_A_Guy said:

*My* life was not better.  I think most people’s lives were not better.

I think people tend to better their lives over time, until they die. Thus, most people alive today will agree that they are in a better position than they were 20 years ago. Has nothing to do wtih social media, but just the natural progression of life for most people in a decent economy. So the mere fact that the lives of individuals today may be better now than they were before the advent of social media doesn't mean much. Is society as a whole more healthy? I rather think not.

[anatess2]

17 minutes ago, Vort said:

I think people tend to better their lives over time, until they die. Thus, most people alive today will agree that they are in a better position than they were 20 years ago. Has nothing to do wtih social media, but just the natural progression of life for most people in a decent economy. So the mere fact that the lives of individuals today may be better now than they were before the advent of social media doesn't mean much. Is society as a whole more healthy? I rather think not.

And it’s not because of social media, that I can guarantee.  Why am I so sure?  Well, after all, it’s prophesied.

[Guest LiterateParakeet]

I just stumbled upon this: The Most Powerful Way to Make Your Life Fantastic  by Eric Barker
https://www.bakadesuyo.com/2019/02/make-your-life-fantastic/

A great article on this topic.  Check it out.    

[JohnsonJones]

This is easy to a degree for me.  Every summer I go off on research and during that time I normally focus specifically on doing that.  It keeps me from much of various aspects of the internet (some areas I am at, access to most communication can be very difficult), and when I do have access it is normally specifically work related.

[mordorbund]

Capital media is so much better than social media.

[Traveler]

I believe I grew up in a time that is far better for youth than today in so many ways.   To name a few - music, intertainment, opportunities for youth to work, and reasons homes and churches were not locked when empty.

 

The Traveler

[anatess2]

1 hour ago, Traveler said:

opportunities for youth to work

Ashley Qualls was only 14 when she made $70,000 creating "skins" for MySpace accounts.  By age 17, she was a millionaire.  

Sean Belnik was only 16 when he started his e-shop business selling sports trading cards.  By age 20, his Bizchair.com business was worth $24 million. 

Felix Kjellberg (Pewdiepie) was only 17 when he started making money out of YouTube.  Many teen-agers, even kids as young as 9 years old, also made money, although not as big as Felix after 2005 by creating Let's Play type videos.  Jordan Maron (Captain Sparklez) was also just 17 when he ditched school to work on his YouTube channel fulltime.  By 22 years old, Felix was a millionaire.  Today, he's worth $20 million.  Jordan Maron today is worth $8 million.

Today, you will find a lot of these kids who went through their youth earning Ad Revenue on social media through blogs, videos, FBAs, etc., grow up to be digital nomads, owning multiple digital-based businesses.  A few of them are currently touring the Philippines (even through the crazy election cycle), gathering material for their YouTube channel that earns $500/month, while selling t-shirts online for another $400/month, and submitting online articles for $100/month, and answering surveys for $50/month, etc. etc... such that by the time they're accounting for their taxes, they are reporting $50,000/year income while couchsurfing the entire time.

And here's an interesting twist to this - Shirley Curry is 82 years old.  She makes more money on her YouTube Channel doing Let's Play Skyrim videos than she does with her Social Security benefits.  How do I know Shirley Curry?  Well, my kids roped me into signing this petition to put Shirley as an NPC character on the next Skyrim edition which Bethesda Game Studios said won't be out for at least 5 years and Shirley expressed her disappointment because she's not sure if she's going to still be alive by then.

 

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by anatess2

[Guest MormonGator]

No, my life was not better. Growing up in a small town was lonely and when I found out that other people shared my interests, it helped me out tremendously. I found some of my best friends on social media, I went bowling with one of them this Sunday. 

Instead of debating if society has gotten better or worse because of social media, it's best to adapt and try to make it better. After all, do you think social media is going anywhere? 

Edited May 6, 2019 by MormonGator

[Anddenex]

In my minds eye, life was not better. What has the ability to connect also has the ability divide/server the same element of life.

I find this question similar to, "Is is better to have loved, or to never have loved at all"?

As a result of social media there are thousands of people who are enjoying independent business opportunities that have been created that would have not been created if not for social media. The opposite is also true, but this doesn't make life worse than before.

It would be similar to say, "Was life better before TV"? Again, I know of specific generations that would say "Yes" and others that would say "No."

[anatess2]

6 hours ago, Anddenex said:

It would be similar to say, "Was life better before TV"? Again, I know of specific generations that would say "Yes" and others that would say "No."

It cannot be No when you look at it from the eternal perspective.  The invention of the printing press paved the way for the Book of Mormon.  The TV paved the way for broadcasting gospel truths.  The information super highway propelled the work of the Lord by leaps and bounds.  So, the answer cannot possibly be No.

[askandanswer]

On 5/4/2019 at 12:46 AM, NeuroTypical said:

This is way too long to read! Do you have a shorter version?

[Traveler]

17 hours ago, anatess2 said:

Ashley Qualls was only 14 when she made $70,000 creating "skins" for MySpace accounts.  By age 17, she was a millionaire.  

Sean Belnik was only 16 when he started his e-shop business selling sports trading cards.  By age 20, his Bizchair.com business was worth $24 million. 

Felix Kjellberg (Pewdiepie) was only 17 when he started making money out of YouTube.  Many teen-agers, even kids as young as 9 years old, also made money, although not as big as Felix after 2005 by creating Let's Play type videos.  Jordan Maron (Captain Sparklez) was also just 17 when he ditched school to work on his YouTube channel fulltime.  By 22 years old, Felix was a millionaire.  Today, he's worth $20 million.  Jordan Maron today is worth $8 million.

Today, you will find a lot of these kids who went through their youth earning Ad Revenue on social media through blogs, videos, FBAs, etc., grow up to be digital nomads, owning multiple digital-based businesses.  A few of them are currently touring the Philippines (even through the crazy election cycle), gathering material for their YouTube channel that earns $500/month, while selling t-shirts online for another $400/month, and submitting online articles for $100/month, and answering surveys for $50/month, etc. etc... such that by the time they're accounting for their taxes, they are reporting $50,000/year income while couchsurfing the entire time.

And here's an interesting twist to this - Shirley Curry is 82 years old.  She makes more money on her YouTube Channel doing Let's Play Skyrim videos than she does with her Social Security benefits.  How do I know Shirley Curry?  Well, my kids roped me into signing this petition to put Shirley as an NPC character on the next Skyrim edition which Bethesda Game Studios said won't be out for at least 5 years and Shirley expressed her disappointment because she's not sure if she's going to still be alive by then.

 

 

You and I have a very different concept of work and why G-d said "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground".

 

The Traveler

[Guest MormonGator]

49 minutes ago, Traveler said:

You and I have a very different concept of work and why G-d said "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground".

 

The Traveler

Technology and our lifestyles change @Traveler. Just because we no longer work on the farms or on jobs that require a lot of "manual labor" doesn't mean we don't work hard.

In fact, want to know a secret? Our lives have become unbelievably better since we've left the farms and moved into a different kind of work. We like to romanticize working on farms or other blue collar jobs from the past, but the reality is that kind of work was brutal, incredibly time consuming, and terribly inefficient. 

[Anddenex]

12 hours ago, anatess2 said:

It cannot be No when you look at it from the eternal perspective.  The invention of the printing press paved the way for the Book of Mormon.  The TV paved the way for broadcasting gospel truths.  The information super highway propelled the work of the Lord by leaps and bounds.  So, the answer cannot possibly be No.

The question is an opinion poll, so if a person feels it is "No" then that is how they feel. We don't disagree as to how these tools have benefited the Church and the world.

[Guest MormonGator]

4 minutes ago, Anddenex said:

The question is an opinion poll, so if a person feels it is "No" then that is how they feel. We don't disagree as to how these tools have benefited the Church and the world.

I understand where you are coming from @Anddenex. It's true, the question is based on a personal opinion, which is incredibly subjective. 

However, one thing to remember-we're posting on social media (Third Hour is certainly a type of social media) about our opinion of social media. If it's negative, that's fine, but it's obviously not that detrimental to you because you have 5,149 posts. So complaining that you somehow view it negatively is a bit flawed. If it was that negative in your life, you wouldn't be posting so much. 

(before someone says "Hypocrite! Gator you'e posted double that!"Right, but I'm not complaining about how bad social media is.)

[Anddenex]

6 minutes ago, MormonGator said:

I understand where you are coming from @Anddenex. It's true, the question is based on a personal opinion, which is incredibly subjective. 

However, one thing to remember-we're posting on social media (Third Hour is certainly a type of social media) about our opinion of social media. If it's negative, that's fine, but it's obviously not that detrimental to you because you have 5,149 posts. So complaining that you somehow view it negatively is a bit flawed. If it was that negative in your life, you wouldn't be posting so much. 

(before someone says "Hypocrite! Gator you'e posted double that!"Right, but I'm not complaining about how bad social media is.)

I don't remember saying it was negative. I said I find the question similar to "Is it better to have loved than to never have loved at all." It is, my opinion to have known love than not at all, which means, I think social media has benefited and we are better off with it now than before.

I also shared how it is similar to questions about TV. and then said how some people will say yes we are better and other generations would probably say "No" we aren't.

So, why you think there is any "complaining" about social media and how I view it is the only thing flawed.

Here is one of my statements from my first post, "As a result of social media there are thousands of people who are enjoying independent business opportunities that have been created that would have not been created if not for social media. The opposite is also true, but this doesn't make life worse than before. "

My response to anatess was simply this is a poll and if a person thinks we were better off without it -- even though they are posting on social media (or have a Facebook account) -- it is there opinion, thus the answer can be yes or no.

Edited May 7, 2019 by Anddenex

[Midwest LDS]

I voted yes but I would have picked maybe if it was an option.

On the positive note, I enjoy how much closer I am with distant family members and friends who, before the internet, I probably would have little to no contact with. I also enjoy discussing my opinions with others such as what we are doing here. In that sense social media is a blessing.

I don't like how much anger and contention is thrown around social media though. I've had far too many family members and friends say insulting things to me on social media over opposing political opinions that they never would have said to my face. Twitter to me is a prime example to me of people hanging out and flinging pointless insults at each other. In addition, I don't like how mistakes and bad decisions that used to be something you learned from and moved on from can go viral. Now teenagers can be haunted for life by one bad decision.

Anyways those are some reasons I believe social media, like the internet in general, is a mixed blessing.

[Guest MormonGator]

4 minutes ago, Anddenex said:

I don't remember saying it was negative.

Okay, but you did say : 

19 hours ago, Anddenex said:

In my minds eye, life was not better.

Sorry if I misread. 

[Anddenex]

1 minute ago, MormonGator said:

Okay, but you did say : 

Sorry if I misread. 

Yes, true, my opening statement was given in light of the Subject question, "Was life better before social media?" Then I said, "In my mind eye, life was not better."

 

 

[Guest MormonGator]

Just now, Anddenex said:

Yes, true, my opening statement was given in light of the Subject question, "Was life better before social media?" Then I said, "In my mind eye, life was not better.
 

Understand. Sorry if I sounded rude or snarky. I wasn't trying to score points or make you look foolish. And I freely admit that it's a bit of pet peeve of mine when people complain about social media....on social media without seeing the premise is at least, slightly flawed. Fifteen years ago you (generic!) wouldn't have been able to complain about social media from your Twitter account. 

Sorry again.