ACWORTH
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Positives and Pitfalls of Social Media BY WAYNE DENNARD
off a couple of months ago. The devious licks trend was Social media has a lot of promise. It has the ability an online challenge that started with students stealing to connect people from all over the world in ways a box of disposable masks and posting the video that were unimaginable in previous generations. It online. It quickly transformed into students stealing has changed the way we communicate, the way we soap dispensers and other major appliances from their handle our finances, and the way we learn about the schools. Our local schools were not immune. Teachers world. Social media enables us to interact with and and administrators were forced to spend valuable time react to each other immediately, in real time, and the and attention on replacing stolen items and ensuring possibilities for positive outcomes are boundless. that their schools were safe from vandalism. It was However, as we all know, social media is a two-sided time consuming and unnecessary. coin. It is only as good as we humans allow it to be. As a result, multiple students were charged with Algorithms are designed to react to our interests, and crimes for the expenses and damages we are typically interested in the most they caused. It was a serious problem sensationalized pieces of information that was entirely spurred on by social We will receive we receive; it’s human nature. Social But, that’s not the end of the media capitalizes on this by drawing only as much good media. story. Despite the damage caused us in closer to this information, and the intrigue of participating in a and positivity as leading to the strongest reactions destructive trend, there were students from us which, unfortunately, are we put into it ... who fought back against the negativity, often anger and disgust. As a result, and tried to help solve the problem. those things that draw stronger Shortly after, another trend started – angelic yields. responses gain a larger platform, and we find ourselves Students began replacing soap and other stolen and consuming more and more negative information. damaged items, and posting videos online. The The information we consume can begin to shape angelic yields trend also went viral. That alone gives our lives and emotions, as our thoughts skew our me hope for the future. I know this generation perspective on the world. When we begin to view our understands the power of social media, and, more neighbors, co-workers and family through the narrow importantly, it recognizes the need to fuel it with lenses of social media, we become more susceptible positivity and kindness. There will always be pitfalls to grouping them, and judging them, based on a few along the way, but our young people are willing and topics or issues. This can cause us to become more able to reverse negative trends with positive ones. judgmental and less likely to be open to hearing This tells me that as a society, we are moving in the differing points of view. right direction. For all of the benefits of social media, we need to remember that it does not exist in a vacuum. It is fueled by human nature and behavior. We will receive only as much good and positivity as we put into it, so Wayne Dennard has served as chief since we have to work to produce positivity. 2012 and has lived in this community for Because of the nature of social media, I was shocked, more than 40 years. but not surprised by the devious licks trend that took
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AROUND ACWORTH | November 2021
