Is Social Media the cancer of the Internet?

Do you think it's harsh for me to use the word "cancer" like this? Probably, but there are few other ways to accurately and poignantly describe modern day social media. Think about it; what is cancer? Cancer is, generally speaking, a condition where healthy cells become mutated into cancerous cells. These cancerous cells then work their dark magic and multiply themselves throughout the body. Turning a healthy body into a dead body. It's grim. It's dark. It's life. But it doesn't have to be that way.

Modern day social media is much like cancer in a few important respects. Social media content often spreads like wildfire. And contrary to the metaphor I just used, that isn't necessarily a bad thing. What makes social media a "bad thing" is that the content is often some of the blandest, most vapid, and poisonous, stuff I have ever seen. And it spreads and infects once healthy platforms. Thus, it is very similar to cancer. Now, that may make me sound like an elitist, but I do have standards. And content spread by social media almost always fails to meet my bottom-of-the-barrel standards.

However, I am glad that social media exists. The cancerous aspect just comes with the territory of social media. Social media is just the technological progeny of a very human desire to be social. Social media accomplishes this, kind of. But this isn't why I'm glad social media exists. I like social media because it is a terribly effective way to spread information. Almost more so than the Internet itself, social media represents the marketplace of ideas that is critical in any free society. The marketplace of ideas is critical for both the fostering of freedom and the preservation of freedom. Endless cat pictures and funny quotes is a small price to pay when compared to the benefit of having all of that information presented to us in a digital format, for our own rational minds to digest and enjoy.

In the end, social media is merely a tool that can be used for good purposes or evil purposes. It's up to the user to produce thought-provoking, interesting, and proactive content. Or not. Truly, it is up to the user to decide what to produce. And it is up to the consumer to choose what to consume. Both bear responsibility for their actions, so create and eat what you like. But, please, no more cat images.

Additionally, this blog was brought to you by social media, so social media has that going for it. If a rotten tree can produce wholesome fruit on occasion, the tree can't be all bad.