Blog #4: Social Media & Music

Life is the experiences we have while we are face to face, everything else is suspect!

When I was young there was no internet. My social network was the people directly in my life and those who had provided me their phone number. I absorbed news from my local newspaper and even the news on television was far more balanced than the news networks of today. There is certainly value in global connectivity but there are also so many negatives to this new way of living.

In my life, I tread a fortunate line. On one side of life's fence, I have been raised in a highly intelligent, libertarian, Christian family with traditional views; And on the other side, I exist in a progressive, liberal music scene. Most of my friends are musicians and they are the people I spend my time with. My social media is, for the most part, an eclectic mix of incredible people, from all walks and from all political and social standpoints. However the narrative I see on social media is, and has always been from a liberal and leftist viewpoint.

Fortunately, my background allowed me to hear from people on both sides of life's most poignant issues, political or otherwise, but what if I didn't have my family? What if I didn't have my years of knowledge that was achieved before most information came from the web? Would I have any real world understanding of anything but the liberalist perspective?

Like most, I was fully aware that there were biases in social media and that you see what your algorithms decide, but I started to wonder how strong these invisible decision makers were. So one day I decided I would spend a few hours looking up only conservative, right leaning information online and then go back to my social media to see what (if anything) changed. The results were shocking to me!

I had expected to see some differences of opinion but the stark difference across the board were extremely upsetting. I saw, in my news feed, the exact same story, featuring the exact same photo, with complete opposite headlines. One painting the politically left as the innocent victims and the other painting the right leaning as the victims.

This stark difference was throughout my feed. It was as though I was reading about two parallel universes, playing out the exact same way but being interpreted in completely opposite ways. So my obvious assumption was that, depending on the people in your social media, the world can be one of two completely different things. Are we to assume then, that there isn't an intentional division happening?

I grew up in a small circle and having a small circle keeps you focused. It allows you to create and nurture real relationships. In a world where everything is now documented and shared, there is real value in limiting your public exposure especially when you are young and still trying to discover who you are and what your place is in this world. However, that's not the way most of us do things anymore.

We are in the middle of a global pandemic. It's been an adjustment for everyone but the thing I found most interesting was the speed of it's spread. We are so physically connected that an outbreak on the other side of the world reached us so quickly that no one was ready for it. Now take that information and apply it to the social networking platforms. Obviously nothing can physically harm us through our computer screens but what about our psychological health? And what if there really is an intentional effort to divide and conquer?

Much like this virus, social media has happened so fast that we were all "infected" by it's side effects before we even realized it was happening. If you're anything like me, you don't even think about it but there are many things happening in your mind even while scrolling "mindlessly". Even former Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya said "Social media is tearing society apart". (I'll add a video link at the bottom)

When I release a new single, one of the many promotional tools I use is paid Facebook advertising. I can create a post, decide what age group I want to see it, decide what areas geographically I want to promote to and send my ad instantly to any demographic I choose. This function is available to everyone. There is no limit to the opinions that can reach us.

Obviously, we can see a post and decide for ourselves if we agree or disagree with it's premise, but what is happening while we scroll mindlessly? We're seeing a narrative, and if you see enough posts about the same narrative without taking the time to discern each post, you can easily be persuaded to believe there is an important issue that is being discussed and it can easily inflate that issue far beyond the real world reality. I genuinely believe that this is what is happening in the world today.

Once we are convinced of a narrative and our emotions are engaged, it really isn't difficult to see a post and immediately spread that narrative before even checking it's validity. I've definitely done it in the past!

So considering you can pay to spread information and you can convince the public of narratives that are really minor or complete lies, it isn't a far stretch to assume there are devious individuals and organizations that will use this tool to push an agenda that benefits them.

So what has been the result of all of this misinformation? Division, hatred, depression, anxiety, terrorist groups masquerading as virtuous freedom fighters, cancel culture, death, and an uncertain future.

Social media isn't going anywhere but unless we learn to discern before reacting, our future is in serious jeopardy.

It may seem like impossible odds to stand against such powerful opponents but here's what I've figured out from my experience. Firstly, if you haven't read up on an issue from both sides of the argument, you don't know enough to have a black and white opinion about it. This often means finding a non mainstream source for your information and then fact checking. Which brings me to my next suggestion, never rely on anyone that doesn't provide proof and statistics to back up their claim. (say so means nothing!). And lastly, don't let your emotions spread lies!

An individual is so much more than left or right, so much more than conservative or liberal. There are people who want us divided and are profiting from our division, but we don't have to exist on these over simplified, exaggerated lines in the sand. We can choose to learn from each other and treat each other with love and respect.

Life is the experiences we have while we are face to face, everything else is suspect!

...and I'm afraid we've said all we can say

and walked into the fire that was never in our way

and I don't know, did we ever learn a thing?

Did our victories take us higher, or did we seal our fate?

Walk Into The Fire by With A Fox 2019

https://youtu.be/5zyRpq2ODrE