A sickly form of communication

The Courier-Herald posted an article posted this week on The Dangers of social media, and how Parents Can Help Their Kids Face Them. In this article the reporter interviewed Officer David Gomez who talks with parents and youth about the potential dangers of social media as well as offers suggestions to help mitigate these risks. Some risks he describes are porn, naked photos, scams, predators, bullying, and general social conflicts. What struck out to me the most about this article was how despite the shocking and legitimate negative aspects of social media outlets, it’s still not enough to persuade adults from giving technology to their children. This facet of modern society reiterates what Zitkala-Sa is suggesting is a sickly aspect of Western culture. She identifies this idea in her work American Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings when she proposes the idea that Western society is obsessed with technology when she references telegraph poles. She goes on to explain that how this form of communication represents the sterile, mediated ideologies of Western culture. She highlights how this distant and disconnected form of communication is fundamentally sickly and detrimental to individuals, society, and culture.

https://www.courierherald.com/news/the-dangers-of-social-media-and-how-parents-can-help-their-kids-face-them/

I agree, this is a sad, but truly accurate, connection. Research clearly shows the detrimental effects of technology, especially with social media and its prevelent use amongst young children and teens, but society is addicted. Zitkala-Sa was definitely ahead of her time in identifying the harmful effects of technology in Western society and it is shocking to see how it continues to infiltrate our society and has brought with it irreversible effects, especially impacting our most vulnerable citizens the most.