Wayne Dennard

ACWORTH

POLICE DEPARTMENT

Positives and Pitfalls of Social Media

BY WAYNE DENNARD

Social media has a lot of promise. It has the ability to connect people from all over the world in ways that were unimaginable in previous generations. It has changed the way we communicate, the way we handle our finances, and the way we learn about the world. Social media enables us to interact with and react to each other immediately, in real time, and the possibilities for positive outcomes are boundless.

However, as we all know, social media is a two-sided " coin. It is only as good as we humans allow it to be. Algorithms are designed to react to our interests, and we are typically interested in the most sensationalized pieces of information we receive; it’s human nature. Social media capitalizes on this by drawing us in closer to this information, leading to the strongest reactions from us which, unfortunately, are often anger and disgust. As a result, those things that draw stronger responses gain a larger platform, and we find ourselves consuming more and more negative information.

The information we consume can begin to shape our lives and emotions, as our thoughts skew our perspective on the world. When we begin to view our neighbors, co-workers and family through the narrow lenses of social media, we become more susceptible to grouping them, and judging them, based on a few topics or issues. This can cause us to become more judgmental and less likely to be open to hearing differing points of view.

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 we have to work to produce positivity. Wayne Dennard has served as chief since

Because of the nature of social media, I was shocked, 2012 and has lived in this community for more than 40 years. but not surprised by the devious licks trend that took off a couple of months ago. The devious licks trend was an online challenge that started with students stealing a box of disposable masks and posting the video online. It quickly transformed into students stealing soap dispensers and other major appliances from their schools. Our local schools were not immune. Teachers and administrators were forced to spend valuable time and attention on replacing stolen items and ensuring that their schools were safe from vandalism. It was time consuming and unnecessary. As a result, multiple students were charged with crimes for the expenses and damages they caused. It was a serious problem We will receive that was entirely spurred on by social only as much good media. But, that’s not the end of the story. Despite the damage caused and positivity as and the intrigue of participating in a destructive trend, there were students who fought back against the negativity, and tried to help solve the problem. Shortly after, another trend started – angelic yields. we put into it ..." Students began replacing soap and other stolen and damaged items, and posting videos online. The angelic yields trend also went viral. That alone gives me hope for the future. I know this generation understands the power of social media, and, more importantly, it recognizes the need to fuel it with positivity and kindness. There will always be pitfalls along the way, but our young people are willing and able to reverse negative trends with positive ones. This tells me that as a society, we are moving in the right direction.