Blog Post #17
Effective communication is a key component of our ability to survive in society and is one of the basic resilience skills. Unfortunately the pandemic has limited our ability to communicate with each other and has forced us to rely on the Internet and social media. We are thankful that these channels of communication have been available during the pandemic and because of the pandemic have been advanced but they are not perfect. In some cases they can create more problems than they solve. Concerns regarding how these platforms have been used has resulted in lawsuits and congressional investigations. Recently, researchers have shown, in many cases research conducted by these platforms themselves, that utilizing them in communicating can actually make things worse for individuals who are depressed or concerned with body image.
Mental health providers have been forced to rely upon these platforms for communicating with their clients. Most mental health providers realize that they are a mixed blessing. Most of the providers. I know would prefer to see patients face-to-face. There is no real substitute for sitting down with someone in the same room. We can see more accurately the expressions on the persons face and hear more accurately the tone of voice, etc. As the pandemic has subsided many providers have returned to face-to-face visits, although many are still using telehealth techniques.
The general public has been forced to use these methods of communicating because of the pandemic. But emails and social media aren't the best to deal with each other when a motion is involved. Unfortunately, social media platforms have learned that people, in many cases, are more attracted to conflict than kindness and that they can sell more advertising by pairing it with controversy, in some cases creating more controversy. More advertising sales means more revenue for the platform.
I would agree that there needs to be regulation of social media. A completely free market with profit as the only incentive will damage individuals in our society as well as damage our society. Freedom is a good thing but so is social responsibility. The latter is necessary for democracy to exist. When we exercise our freedom we need to be concerned about how what we do or say impacts others in our community. If we live in a community, we have responsibilities to the other members of our community. When we exercise our freedom to not be vaccinated in the pandemic we may be limiting the freedom of others in our community to live healthy and productive lives. When we use social media to target and bully others in our community. We are restricting their freedom from fear. Like it or not. When we use social media or the Internet, we are participating in a global community. What we say and do matters. We can either have a positive impact or a negative one on others and indirectly ourselves. It is our choice.
Ron Breazeale, PhD