Oh dear, oh dear. Social media is a space that, as my fellow blogger Dennis suggests today, we hurtle through at the speed of Starship Enterprise. We really do need to slow down sometimes – although that is the thrill of Twitter, in particular. Slow down? No, sorry, can’t. Perhaps that is why our politicians need to avoid it altogether, until they’ve figured it out.
We’re often led to believe that adults should show children the way, but in the age of social media it may be that adults need lessons from the children–and mistakes they make.
We’ve seen recently what some call the allure of social media on politicians–its magnetism is partly the prospect of immediate disclosure and sharing of thoughts to a world that is almost limitless. Who actually reads or listens or watches is not always known, but a ready audience in there to consume. Sweet populism!
I won’t get into psychobabble about dopamine, but much has been written about the psychological pull of social media.
I’m sure Coleridge had no notions of social media when he wrote Kubla Khan:
What Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms might have become–Pleasure Domes
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree
Let me work with the idea I’ve had for ages…
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