The Benefits of Social Media...and their threat
Posted on Monday, 12 January 2015
The
Benefits of Social Media
…and
their threat
By Apolinario Villalobos
The family is the basic unit of a society. Essentially,
the relationship among the members is by blood, however, tradition and the need
of society extended its scope to include close relationship by affinity and
camaraderie that has been developed within fraternities and sororities, schools,
and the occupational institutions. And the most popular bonding activity of
these “families” is the reunion.
The hi-tech social network has become an
effective venue for members of these “families” to get in touch with each
other. The technology has practically made the limitation of distance, a thing
of the past. With just one touch of a key, “family” members spread around the
world “see” and “talk” to each other, and long lost friends and classmates are
reconnected after decades of separation.
.
There are instances when the hi-tech
facility is used as a tool in distant operations, such that the surgeon doing
the actual procedure to the patient in a certain country is assisted by an
expert via the visual monitor from the latter’s end in another country.
Bloggers who are separated by oceans and get connected with fellow bloggers
compare notes on how deal with certain subjects. And, even the people’s pope,
Francis, is very much in touch with his flock via the web.
The hi-tech social media have practically compressed
the whole world into a “neighborhood”. Through the internet, surfers know where
to find commodities not found in regular outlets. Those confined at home can
have their groceries delivered at their doorstep. Students need not spend
grueling time in libraries to pore over reference materials for their thesis.
Business ideas even for small scale ventures, especially do-it-yourself at home
guides, can be chosen from the horde of proposals in just one click.
Those whose eyes are no longer reliable to
discern the small texts of the Bible can surf the web for passages, even check
the scientific history of mankind, and if not contented, further check the
story of Creation. The health buffs can check seemingly limitless list of
beneficial herbs, dishes that can ensure long life, and non-prescriptive
medicines to prevent occurrence of sickness.
Unfortunately, the evil that is innate in
man drives some of these God’s “intelligent” creatures to exploit the social
media for their selfish motives. These are the hackers whose minds are
practically coated with the thick tar of evil design. They intrude websites and
cause havoc among their users and owners. They steal information from sites,
and go to the extent of even stealing the identities of site owners.
The world is not cloaked with goodness
alone. The negatives are out there to test our mettle, and we should always be
steadfast in facing them. Not only physical strength is needed, but mental and
spiritual firmness, as well.
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