Forum Summary
"Don't Be Fooled" By Mr. DeSimone - Head of TV and Media Department
By Kaleb Johnson Mr. DeSimone—the head of the TV and Media department—brought a dose of reality about social media. It is no shock or surprise that social media addiction is growing to be a serious problem, especially in the United States. This forum summary will briefly cover the three topics addressed by Mr. DeSimone: the addictiveness of social media and smartphones, the traps of social media and smartphones, and the steps we can take to have a healthy relationship with the digital world that is the palm of our hands.
It's highly addictive—and it's not by accident! Mr. DeSimone began with a fascinating principle found in Proverbs 7. This passage specifically refers to a “crafty harlot” convincing a “young man devoid of understanding” to commit adultery, but the
principle applies in many other situations, including the smartphone world today. The creators of social media, “freemium” games, and other apps know all the tricks in the book to get us to spend so much of our waking time on their product—to make addicts out of us, because addicts are good customers! If we don’t recognize this, then we become that “young man devoid of understanding” passing by the “crafty harlot.” We simply cannot afford to be ignorant on this subject. Proverbs 7 says this of the harlot: “She has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men.” And we can certainly apply this here; many intelligent, strong, and capable people have become addicts to smartphones and social media today!