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The Prison Called 'Social Media'

Are you a slave of social media?

By Peter PerryPublished 7 years ago 4 min read
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Facebook begun in 2004, although before the emergence of Facebook, social media like SixDegrees.com (1997), Blogger (1999), Friendster (2002) and MySpace (2003) was already in existence. But Zuckerberg’s App was the network that changed social media forever, it brought the world together, it solved the problem of distance. Yes, Facebook is good, Snapchat as well, Instagram too and Twitter but we ignore the possibility that we could be slaves of these Apps but the question is how?

Here’s a short story: Julius Jones, a 14 years old, was a student in a Junior High school in Texas. He was a very brilliant boy. A genius whose life was simple and sweet but things became different the day he created a social media account. Initially, everything seemed smooth, he was getting the ‘Likes’, the ‘reposts’, the ‘comments’ but, at the end of the Term when he saw his result, it was a nightmare. Julius couldn’t figure out why he had failed, he even challenged his teachers demanding an explanation. Most of his friends sided with him, they were certain it probably was a mistake but it wasn’t. When he arrived home, angry Julius showed his mom the result, he was very upset and even wanted his mom to sue the school but his mom objected. She said; ‘Son, this is your result, this is no fraud. And I think you deserve it; you spent your entire time online chatting with people you know and even strangers. Tell me, how long did you spend studying? How long did you spend planning for your future? You dedicated your time to social media and this is the consequence’. Julius then reasoned and for sure, his mom was right. After that day, he made up his mind to reduce the time he spends online and it paid off. He became a better person, smarter and at age 25, he was the 50th richest man on Earth. How did he do it? At age 20, Julius had developed his own social networking app which turned out to become a massive success. He wrote a book about his life and experiences, this was one of the quotes; ‘I decided to spend more time building my own network than using another person’s creation’.

The story ends here, of course this is fiction but let’s face facts now. Ask yourself, how long do I spend online? Are you a slave or a master of social media? Which are you? Are you in control, have you allowed social media take over your life? Social media is not bad, chocolate for instance is delicious but when you eat it too much, you will definitely become ill. It can ruin your teeth. Same thing goes to social media; it is an app that can become your master. You become addicted to these Apps and you think it is cool, no, it is not. We are human beings not robots. We know what is good and what is bad, why should you allow an App control your Time? You are destined for greatness, Time is money, please don’t waste it online. If Zuckerberg spent most of his time online, he probably wouldn’t have had time to build Facebook.

As an adult, it is easier to make the decision to become a Master and not a Slave of social media but what about the kids, the teens and young adults? They are much vulnerable. However, young or old, all you got to do is make that decision today, become the master.

Well, aside from this Apps consuming our Time, social media is not 100 percent safe, there is some mature content not suitable for teens. And parents might not know what their ward has come in contact with. Your child spends so much time on YouTube and you have no idea what he is always watching, come on, that’s not right. Whether you are married, single or dating, you can create time and advice Teens especially, on the dangers of social media. It better you say something than be quiet. No one is perfect but some people are ignorant. Do you want to be purposeful in life? Do you desire to be rich? Do you want to be famous? Your president didn’t spend his entire time online, Bill Gates did not. Successful people don’t spend so much time chatting, liking, commenting and etcetera. Successful people are productive.

These Social Media sites are non living things, a human being is a living thing, and does it make sense that a living thing is a slave of a non living thing? The answer is no. You are the boss. You are in control. Please make up your mind today to spend most of your time doing productive things. You got what it takes to succeed in life. No one is a loser. Whatever your issue is, be it social media, maybe an illness or whatever it might be, please don’t let it control you. There is strength in you. You are the Supreme, not the Slave.

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About the Creator

Peter Perry

Perry is a 19 years old writer and poet.

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