Social Media: Is it enlightening us or dumbing us down - short.

Recently I have decided to sometimes do short snippets of a Blog post to whatever comes to mind and make a short paragraph on that, whichever receives great interest I shall continue and build upon that (like a to-do list.)

My first short paragraph is on social media and whether its existence is a tool for knowledge or a cause for ignorance.
It can be seen as great, we know what's going on, how to contact someone and what's happening all in the space of our laptops and mobiles. This does seem that our social capacity can indeed expand to a point that could not be imagined a decade or so ago. We follow celebrities, like what we like and get to see what our friends are doing, what could be better?
However, is there really a cost to these benefits we get, and if so, do these costs have serious implications. Well the trouble with all this convenience can make us extremely impatient at times. I admit myself, after I send a text or message, I am expecting a response quickly and it can be frustrating when this is not the case. Secondly, can this get us addicted to social media? If when you refresh Facebook or Twitter and you still have the same, then you are addicted, hooked on the online lives of others.

Now I'm not saying we should all go outside and go play with Kites in that 'ideal perfect' world but rather I ask, should we restrict ourselves from being indoctrinated by the social media lifestyle?

Always wanting more. Why a recession may not be such a bad thing.

By the title you are probably thinking how could you possibly think that? But before I start I would like to say that I empathise with those who are and have been struggling  throughout this hard period. My aim is rather to provide a general overview to why continuous economic growth would not necessarily be best for us.

So wouldn't life be so good if we got more, more and more? Probably not, there inevitably needs to be a limit somewhere and good reason too. If for instance we just kept on growing what are the implications? By imagining a infinitely growing society, there would be greater and greater competition between individuals, so much so there would be a fiercely selfish society that would emerge. Ready to get that extra bit extra on offer, people would become obsessed and disillusioned with no real goal in life.

Following this, it would not only be working life that would be effected but also in our spare time. Continuous economic growth, as shown in the last decade before the credit crisis, would drive people consumerism madness. Without the realisation of risk people would spend without a second thought, saving would be non-existent and consumerism like work would proceed to take over our lives. Sometimes we do need that push back to push us back into reality.

Also, we have to consider that consumer products and growth does not come magically out of thin air, someone and something has to suffer. This would be our environment and developing countries that would suffer. Our quality of life would diminish as we push the lives of those who can be exploited are worked to the death, while our generosity to charities would decrease as we become ever more tight with our money.

Furthermore, while we call it the 'bad times' some of the best ideas and businesses have evolved out of the poor economic climate. Without it we would promote inefficiency as there's no need to innovate and improve. Though this may be short but an important point.

Finally, I shall end by saying that while no one likes the 'bad times', we wouldn't be necessarily better without them. Rather we should take these times as a lesson before we get caught up in the rush of a boom and not to forget that the bad times again may be round the corner. Therefore, growth, work and money isn't everything but it can be over prioritised in the good times and the bad.