Dumber

I left Facebook back in 2011 already realizing that things were going to get much worse. 

There was something disquieting about the barrage of pablum and the obvious grandstanding by some people who wanted to advertise how well their lives were going. 

The concept of keeping up with friends was slowly turning into over sharing and insipid content which wasn't in any way enlightening. Not long after were at the start of the conspiracy theories and toxic attacks which reversed what was supposed to originally have been fruitful and constructive dialogue. 

Now even LinkedIn is a cesspool of self-aggrandizing and back slapping. 

Social media has helped strengthen the divide between people and emboldened the anonymous to poison the well of discourse. We attack what we don't like without hesitation because there are few consequences. It's a cheap and temporary elevation of self esteem at the expense of someone we consider weaker. 

I don't suspect that Mark Zuckerberg and company thought through the full spectrum of human behaviour when they unleashed this phenomenon on the world; one which is making all of us decidedly dumber.

Too much information isn't always a good thing.