Social Media the Good the Bad and the Ugly

I have to confess I really don't like Facebook or Instagram. I am sick of people taking pictures of their lunch or dinner. I am sick of people well into their 40s taking selfies of themselves. I am sick of girls constantly posing and posing and posing. It’s not just posing. They are actually getting dressed up in an assortment of clothes and going to different locations for the sole purpose of taking selfies. Now if they were professional models I would get it but they are not. Get a life. Saying all of that makes me feel good but Social media in particular Facebook and Instagram can both be very powerful tools to grow your business online. Time and time again I have seen successful social media campaigns really create awareness for a new business and in turn helping it grow. But is there a dark side to social media. Yes there is definitely a dark side. Fake news is a real problem. So many people online are not analytical, if they read something they will believe it without giving much regard for who the author is, what is the authors agenda and will just accept content online as gospel truth. This is very dangerous. One does not have to dig too far to see content that is totally incorrect or very bias to the extreme left or right. It can cause negative waves and can be harmful. Social media platforms are also tools for Governments. Your profile, what you post, who you reach out to, who you communicate with are all carefully being monitored but governments around the world . Intelligence agencies love Facebook, 90% of the information they need is right in front of them thanks to you. Your profile is being monitored and you are not alone. Recently the world has been in shock due to corona virus. If I want up to date reliable information on this pandemic I will go straight to the WHO. I trust them as they are experts in this area. I will also look at a variety of new channels. BBC, Sky News, ABC, CNN and Al Jazeera They all seem competent and relatively trustworthy, I still view the content with an analytical mind and other popular channels like Fox are channels I stay well clear off. Now when we digest content on Social Media it could be anyone saying anything so it is of extreme importance that content viewed on these platforms is done so with some degree of scepticism. Not too long ago a certain county was being accused of not reporting corona virus or severely under reporting by the WHO and neighbouring countries. The nation in questions Minister of Health was saying some very odd things that just did not make any sense at all. He was however allowed to give an explanation. The same week two women were arrested in this country for spreading fake news about the virus. They were apprehended and arrested in an instant. Now I don’t know what they were saying or who was wrong and who was right. What is interesting is that a govement took immediate action when something was posted and they did not like it. However when they were being questioned by the WHO and neighbouring counties their constituents did not question them on Social Media. If you are going to use Social Media you must be very careful to tell the truth as best you see it and without bias otherwise you are creating more fake New and above all be careful not to step on a governments toes or immediate action may be taken against you. Finally for Social Media Assistance you know who to contact.