Jacques Wiesel on Social Media

SOCIAL MEDIA…A 21^ST CENTURY PANACEA?

Jacques Wiesel

                       

            Because of Facebook, Google, texting, MySpace and Twitter, faux-connections are replacing the “human” element in most personal relationships. Using the latest research, which includes but is not limited to the New York Times, AARP, Forbes.com, The Atlantic, TIME, as well as the Washington Post and The Week one learns that the staggering statistics reinforce the fact that “emotional loneliness” is more devastating to our youth than are the artificial benefits of socializing via the media.

            Using social media we can transform ourselves temporarily into the persons WE WOULD LIKE TO BE without fear of being recognized by all those so-called newly found friends, a word which has been completely distilled as well as abused by continued exposure. Hiding behind our persona we feel safe from unwanted criticism. I know people who count these “friends” as a measure of personal ego satisfaction; being a bit old-fashioned I am happy to count a dozen true friends, while relegating the hundreds of “others” to my files marked acquaintances, whether of a personal or business nature.

            My main concern is what this is doing to our children. Being “liked” by complete strangers is as useful to their inner self and personal growth as loading up their scooters or bicycles for a trip to the moon, i.e. totally delusional. According to a recent Good Housekeeping report (March) medical studies show that the more hours spent watching TV or on the computer the weaker their emotional bonds with their parents. Is it any wonder that a National Teachers Magazine had as its headline:

AMERICA’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET:

WE DON’T REALLY LOVE OUR CHILDREN!

Need proof? Last year 3.3 million REPORTED cases of child abuse, adding up to

65 million survivors of C.A. who will eventually implode (via illness) or explode through violent acts against society. (Source: US Govt. Administration for Children)

            The WSJ reports that young teens will text messages back and forth 300 times per day and the American Journal of Epidemiology notes that most adolescents average 28 hours per week using computers and watching TV. A majority of teens and tweens (adolescents between 8-12) own tablets, laptops, iPods, and smart-phones and use them 24-7. When the Kaiser Family Foundation concluded its report it stated that the average American ages 8-18 spends 7 HOURS PER DAY watching a screen of sorts.

            Parents are replacing their love with electronic gadgets, mostly without supervising their content. I went to my grandchild Logan’s 11^th birthday party at the Laser Quest. I watched six year olds manning the “killing electronic guns” and rejoicing at their scores. There were 8 killing stations. At age seven I was running for my life with my brother and parents as the Nazis bombed Brussels, Belgium. What exactly are we teaching our children today?

            Headlines like “DEPRESSION IN TEENS OFTEN RETURNS”…“FACEBOOK:

Are Social Media Making us lonely?”…or ”Teach Your Teen to Say HELLO!” grace most major media outlets. When I first came to the United States in the middle of WW2 we “loved people and used things”. These days the opposite if true, i.e. “we love things and use people!”. The phrase “I love my toys, car, home, shoes, French fries, the Dolphins etc…has replaced the simple, truly emotional “I LOVE YOU!” which when said with proper eye contact becomes a bond of strength between the sender and the receiver, or parent and child. Parents need to replace screen-time with personal time, consistently. Love for things must be transferred back to love for people. I love my dozen or so friends, and I like the rest of the people I know.

            The word educare means to draw forth from within, not what we mistakenly call education, which shovels truckloads of useless data into minds eager to be led, not lectured to “because I said so!”. A family usually consists of 1-2 parents and a child/children. Interference between parent and child via electronics results in weak family ties, as well as future weak relationships they develop as teenagers and eventually as  adults. For the first time in US history divorces occurred more times than marriages.

But then “Que sais je?” …”what do I know?”