Social media - a blessing or a curse?

What are the most bookmarked pages on the Internet? A survey has shown that aside from search engines like Yahoo! and Google, the most bookmarked pages online were social networks like Facebook and Twitter. There is no doubt many of us are exposed to social media, as seen by the hundreds upon millions of accounts created on Facebook alone. That number rises by the minute, as each new generation comes out more and more tech-savvy. This prompts the question - does social media enhance or destroy our technological cocoon?

We cannot deny that connectivity has improved due to social media. As a result of social media, one can have two hundred friends and send every single one of them pieces of news at once. One can connect with different people all over the world to discuss their common interests, which can be anything from video games to quantum physics. One can now create groups and invite related individuals, just so that they can communicate with long lost friends. One can go online and 'Like' a certain pop idol, or 'Subscribe' to keep track of every post he or she makes. Undoubtedly, we all have windows to the world, thanks to social media.

However, this could go the other way. With these two hundred friends all telling the world what they had for dinner, users of social media experience an information overload. Research has shown that this sort of information overload causes a lack of concentration, severe stress or even mental disorders. It is as if all of us are tiny ants stuck in the drum of a marching band. We lose the ability to hear ourselves, causing mental distress. All of us are journalists in a sensational tabloid of our own lives, while having each other's tabloids plastered on our own walls.

Another issue brought about by social media is addiction. Games that modern day teenagers play are forms of social media. My classmate. for example, is addicted to the massive multiplayer role playing game, 'World of Warcraft'. When asked why it was fun, he said that it allowed him to pit his skills against players from all around the world. Social networks like Facebook have addictive qualities too. The news article of a mother who neglected her own family to raise a virtual farm on the Facebook game, 'Farmville', comes to mind. This is undoubtedly addiction brought about by social media.

A very important issue about by social media is cyberbullying. The Internet slang word, 'troll', is used to describe a netizen who enjoys insulting or putting down others. These 'trolls' are often anynymous users who attack others with attacks others with attacks like "you noob" or "[username] is gay". These people abuse the Internet behind their mask of anonymity, knowing that they will not be caught. People have committed suicide because of what these people have said. But nothing is to stop them - after all, nobody knows who they are.

In conclusion, we have established that social media brings about connectivity. Alas, it brings about too much connectivity. When one is online, be careful what one says - after all, "Big Brother" Facebook is watching.

Analysis of "Sam and the SDP"

After watching the above video, here is my analysis.

Firstly, there was one statistic that struck me as unbelievable, namely the statement “[PM Lee] is the highest paid politician in the world today, earning more than the leaders of the US, UK, France, Japan and Germany combined” and the caption says “$10000 a day”. Assuming the “$10000” is in Singapore dollars, I did a bit of research to prove or disprove this. I turns out that different parties have different values of what he earns, from S$1570000 to S$1958000. This is a maximum of $5400 a day, not even close to the “$10000 a day”. As for the “[PM Lee earns] more than the leaders of the US, UK, France, Japan and Germany combined”, it is true that PM Lee is one of the highest paid heads of government. Even though he may not earn “more than the leaders of the US, UK, France, Japan and Germany combined”, he still earns five times more than US President Barrack Obama (US$400000 a year).

I will now move on to the proposed policies by the SDP. Firstly, the SDP proposes a minimum wage policy. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan has refuted this with three reasons – firstly, “if you raise wages overnight, and it is not competitive, the company will close”; second, “if you just raise the wage instead of improving the capability and training and education of the worker, you're just fooling yourself”; and lastly, “a minimum wage does not help the self-employed”. I feel that there is a way around this, by making the minimum wage high enough for the poor menial workers but too low for the average Singaporean. Firstly, most employers would already pay the worker above the minimum wage, even with this minimum wage policy. It will not cause employees to be less motivated, as it is the bare minimum for a salary. But most importantly, it targets employers who mistreat their employees and do not give them enough of a salary to sustain themselves.

Next, the SDP encourages “hiring Singaporeans first before considering hiring foreigners”. However, what is currently being encouraged in Singapore is hiring on merit. I personally agree more with hiring on merit, as this would both benefit employers and employees. Why? Firstly, the employer would be able to obtain the ‘best man for the job’. He would be able to obtain talent to carry out his goal, no matter whether the talent is foreign or local. Next, it is fairer to the foreign employees who truly has more talent but cannot be hired because he is not a Singaporean. Furthermore, this would motivate Singaporeans to work harder.

All in all, I am not convinced by this video. Why? It is blatant propaganda.