There is a generation of kids coming up who can’t even conceive of a world without smart phones and social networking. It has officially embedded itself in our culture.

The question is what exactly are the effects of social media?

This blog is the first to be posted on my new Flip Board Magazine named ( # Silent Witness To The Beady Eye Social Media Washing Line.)

It is my hoped that the Magazine will provide a platform to enable Social Media to present a unified voice to effect change.

Its purpose is to promote and aid communication. 

We now have truly globalized voices. What a privilege!

But is it such a privilege.

Hashtags have grown into a phenomenon of their own.

By providing us with global reach for our voices, social networks enable businesses across the world to amplify their message in a way never thought possible only a decade or two ago. Given all the consolidation of media companies it is pretty easy to question whether the news we get from the major media is the full story or not.

Do you think the world is better or worse off with social networks?

As all social media platforms are subject to algorithms it cannot become our main form of communication and interaction. If we stop making our own choices than we’ve lost what it means to live and be human. 

This type of technology might be doing more harm than good. 

With so much being blogged and written, then curated and shared proactively, the volume of content has grown exponentially but is anyone listing.

What is really happening in the world.

Let’s look at ways that social media improves our life experience, and also a few ways that it uncovers a few of the more unsightly parts of humanity.

Social media are very helpful for expanding our sources of content as a whole.

It’s less important to have a news team interpret it on our behalf.

Today, all you have to do is login to our platform of choice where you can rant, rave, kumbaya, tell jokes, share images, and generally mix and mingle to your heart’s content. You can create a new blog and start putting our thoughts into words. Those thoughts could grow legs of their own once the social sphere grabs hold of them.

Are these voices now ripping the world apart?

In any case, social media is providing a means to have a voice on par with the big dogs for everyone but it is no longer grounded in reality plagued with the narcissistic selfie in front of everything from natural disasters to a sign with a political or social message on it, and a new hashtag of course.

When it comes to politics, religion, or any other very personal area of life, discussion gets contentious almost immediately. Regardless of how those with the other opinion are depicted by the media. Social media is meant to be social, not a boxing ring.

It’s amazing to see how people behave when their true identity is masked.

Facebook is crawling with people ready to go to social media war with anyone on a topic they care about, but what else are they doing to fix the problem?

Venting on social media doesn’t fix a thing; it just stirs the pot.

The ugly underbelly of ignorance is easy to ignore while you’re going about your everyday life but on Twitter, it’s all over the place.

If we are to avoid a world driven by Social Media confusion, with no source of truth we must air our free will and collective voices to effect change.

We must expose and resist Algorithms that are supplying a world of short-term pleasure for profit.

So If you have a genuine point of view, feel free to hang it out on the washing line and see what reaction it gets.