The Facebook Fever: The Pandemic That Never Ends

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about how much our world has changed since 2020, and I wanted to share some thoughts on the culture we’ve built here online. The news was buzzing, the fear escalated, and many of us did not know where to turn. “Do I wear a mask?” “How far apart should we stand?” “Am I going to die?” were just a few of the questions that we asked ourselves at this point of history. It wasn’t just an issue here in the U.S. but all across the world.

As scientists globally went to work around the clock to find a cure, our world slowly shut down. We were forced into closed quarters with our families, some working from home, and others being essential to go into the work place. Fully masked, or at least we were being asked to, with very little entertainment. Unlike the snow storms of the early 90s, many had full access to the web. Especially social media. Of course many of us already had accounts with providers like Facebook, but there was a significant spike in new users on all platforms. All seeking to socialize, and be a part of something they longed for now that it had been jerked away. You didn’t know what you had until it was gone you know.

December 11, 2020 was a historical day as the U.S. finally had authorized a vaccine, being administered to the public just 3 days later on December 14th. Many considered this an answered prayer, and hoped that life would soon get back to normal. In some ways, it has. But in others it will never be the same. And the same goes for social media. What was intended to be a building block of connecting with long lost friends, sharing photos with our peers, and creating a gathering place for all walks of life, has really become a viral pandemic of its own.

We find ourselves using social media to compare ourselves to others. We rarely are looking for the good and consistently looking for the latest gossip of the bad. And if there isn’t anything bad, many will just make it up and spread that via a social media post. Things can truly be the best they have ever been and one single miserable human being will throw on their imaginary community hero cape and decide they are going to save the day by making an outlandish social media post that often makes little to no sense.

They find ways to thrash government officials, local schools, their enemies, their friends, and even their family. They want to air out their dirty laundry, talk about their relationships, and pick on people that are truly doing their very best. I am not saying that there isn’t truth to some of the things that are often told, but I can assure you that your Facebook post is not the answer.

Let those keys on your keyboard cool down. Or for many, let’s not be so aggressive with that smartphone keyboard. Don’t just do, think about what you do. Is the war that you are creating actually building something up outside of your own personal ego? Do you really actually know what you are talking about or is it some riffraff you gossiped about and are choosing to believe? Is your post actually going to make any difference whatsoever or are you just letting off steam that transforms into a storm for the next guy or gal? Maybe you should consider just posting some pictures of your family, your dog, or your latest dinner, I mean, why not take it into consideration?

We are being fed a steady diet of digital outrage by algorithms designed to keep us sick because it keeps us scrolling. Life was much more simple before this pandemic took over our world. There is no shot. There is no pill. There isn’t a liquid medication that you can take twice a day to cure this pain. The answer is going back to being a good person.

Find out the true facts, not the imaginary, and go back to living a happy, healthy life. There is absolutely no reason to go through life being so hateful, bitter, or miserable. And there is definitely no reason to always make a post about it.