SOCIAL MEDIA: WEAPON OF
THE WOKE AND THE WITLESS

Congratulations, folks; we have entered the age of science fiction! The internet has become the fifth dimension of our modern world—a metaphysical space in which anyone and everyone can exist at the same time and place. We transcend physical, economic, and socio-political barriers to connect and share information across the world. For example, social media has proven to be an incredibly powerful tool that grants a voice and a platform for marginalized and discriminated groups that had limited access to the general public before.

Of course, nothing is more of a double-edged sword than giving everyone on Earth a microphone. The nature of social media rewards short attention spans and an impatience for quick and easy answers, not to mention the ridiculous number of ways to spread false or misleading information that influences the minds of the collective. While social media makes a great tool for the advocacy of issues like mental health and mental disorders, this open channel of communication can swiftly warp a well-intentioned movement. In the process of normalizing previously stigmatized medical conditions like autism, PTSD, or anxiety, these words become reduced and watered-down in an effort to simplify our understanding of them. Someone online casually saying “I’m so OCD!” to describe that they like a clean room reduces the very real experience of the girl who pinches her arm three times every day to reassure herself that she locked her house and that she is safe. The normalization of these topics become misconstrued and misused in the hands of the ignorant; however, the desire to use correct language can deteriorate the conversation into petty discourse, and the heart of the issue gets lost in translation. My grandparents and their friends grumble that everything is “too woke” and “words never used to matter before,” while the chronically online adults and adolescents take offence at the smallest slight on every social media platform.

Unfortunately, with the constant debate on what terminology is considered appropriate, it is no wonder these types of topics become convoluted every time we log in. To exist with an opinion invites disagreement and choosing to suspend judgement may bring about judgement regardless. When I looked to see if the Bible had anything to say on debates, I found the following verse: “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless” (English Standard Version, Tit. 3.9). While social media is a wonderful place of connection and communication, it is easy to lose sight of the more important things. We pick apart words and phrasing, sacrifice the big picture for minute details, and forget that the point of speaking with intention is to be considerate towards others.

One only needs to look at the first lines in Genesis to know that words are powerful. In this increasingly digitalized world, we have the incredible ability to manifest reality in the language we use, and we have the power to choose the intentions behind them—to harm, or to heal.