I’m not sure if we even know the impact of social media on things like politics or the discourse. There are groups of people who think they matter more because they are on social media. My friend, Audrey Mullen, called me in 2024 and said, “You need to be on Facebook. It’s a great way to get content out without a filter.” And it was, for a while. Funny enough, as things have evolved, Facebook is probably the safest social media medium currently. But more on that another time.
By the end of the year, I’m deciding about where I will be on social media. I have a personal Facebook page, fan page and an old page from my congressional campaign. I am on X and Instagram. I did a short foray on TikTok but decided it was a sewer after October 7 and I cancelled them. Social Media is a place to get the message out. It’s a great way to push out audio, podcasts and a great compliment to my program, BUT….
It’s inordinately hurting women and especially girls. The “like me” culture has become a place for young girls to be bullied, literally to death and influenced and a very difficult time in their development to think less of themselves. What girl between 12 and 17 doesn’t feel like an alien in her own body? And among young mothers I’ve seen a disturbing trend of trusting social media influencers over the women in their own family that have their best interest at heart.
Communication is a wonderful thing, but there are two sides. From the comment sections that start out as a free exercise in ideas the devolve into anonymous name calling to the social media of today, it must be measured.
By who? I think it’s two pronged. First in the private. Adults need to take back their lives and start acting like adults who interact with other adults and children. Next, government needs to update regulations into the 21st Century. We can’t keep working on a 1990s platform of rules.
So by the end of the year, I’m making a decision and you will be the first to know.
