Of Social Media

When wondering whether or not clothing has benefitted mankind, Montaigne theorizes, “Now, all other creatures [are] sufficiently furnished with all things necessary for [their] support,…it is not to be imagined that we…are brought…defective…and in such a state as cannot subsist without external aid.”

This conclusion has far reaching ideas. If nature gives mankind what it needs to survive, than are we better off by upsetting that order or are we better off by letting nature take its course? Today this concept comes to a head with the idea of social media and modern civilization. Does social media further our civilization or does it hinder it? The way that communication has happened for millennia is that it is face to face, there is a tangible person for every bit of information that is passed. Isocrates noted the importance of speech: “Since we have the ability to [communicate]…we have come together, built cities, made laws, and invented arts. Speech (logos) is responsible for nearly all our inventions.” Nature designed us to come together and speak to one another such that we build relationships, such that we grow, such that we are together when speaking.

But in a world with social media, there doesn’t need to be anyone behind a statement. Anonymity is rampant and other forms of communication are dying off. As a missionary I witnessed this. I entered my mission and was sent out tracting the day I landed. But soon social media was introduced to my mission and we became a Facebook mission. As the days passed Facebooking became a bigger part of missionary life and tracting slunk away to the outskirts. By the end of my mission I had companions who could have message threads with a dozen people going on at the same time, but he could not talk to a new person on the street.

Now, on the other hand there is something to be said of this new way of communicating. As I stated above, you can have personal communication with a dozen or more people all at the same time, something unheard of in previous ages.

 What will the future bring as we explore this brave new world of social communication? Only time will tell, but if history is our guide some people will thrive (like the Europeans of the renaissance) and some will die (like the Native Americans they came into contact with).