We all know what a Trojan horse is, and if you've ever had a good history teacher, you know to beware Greeks bearing gifts.
But that's an ancient proverb with absolutely no relevance today...right?
WRONG! In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. I'm only ashamed it took me so long to make this obvious connection.
Social media is a modern-day Trojan horse. It looks pretty on the outside (especially on Instagram), and it seems like a gift--after all, it's free!
But what we don't realize (or maybe we do, and we don't care) is that these platforms are robbing us blind, stealing our time, treasure, and future.
When companies like Meta, Google, and Apple donate hundreds of millions of dollars to "tech literacy" programs that provide free computers and iPads to schools, are they doing it out of the goodness of their hearts? Or are they Greeks bearing gifts?
I'm getting way too into this metaphor, but I think the difference between our time and the Trojan War is that, in our heart of hearts, we know enemy soldiers are in that horse. We know social media isn't good for us.
But like Cassandra, our warnings go unheeded. People may believe us, but they don't change their actions, which amounts to much the same thing.
Well, I'd have to be pretty stupid not to listen to my own warnings. That's why I deleted Vocabbett's social media presence over the holidays.
For a long time, I believed companies had to maintain these pages to seem professional in the current era. That may be true. I don't care.
I don't think social media is good for humans. I do think long-form content, whether consumed electronically or on a written page, is good for humans. So by all means, read books, blogs, watch movies. You needn't cut yourself off from electricity. But I really, truly believe the rapid-refresh nature of social media is bad for something in your brain. So that's it...I'm done with it!