Wednesday, June 5, 2024

Germans And Social Media

 I watched a German news piece (hour-long) last night which got into the 'evils' of social media and things need to be 'cured'.

So....I went back to view the numbers.

The most widely used social media in Germany?  WhatsApp.  Approximately 85-percent (2023 numbers from Statista) use it.  Now, if you asked me how they used it?  Well...mostly to pass pictures around, inform of parties or events, communicate on work or family details, etc.  To be honest, it's hard to find a 'evil' within WhatsApp.

Second place?  Instagram, with 62-percent of Germans using it.  Here....it's mostly influencers, and it's hard to find anything controversial.

Third place?  Facebook/Meta, with around 61-percent of Germans using.  This is probably where you start to tangle with 'evils'.

TikTok?  Fifth place.....with around one out of three having it.  In this case....it's probably around 90-percent being under the age of 20.  

The 'evil' X?  Well....it's only around one out of five Germans who have an account.  

After condensing everything....the chief problem here is that Germans are awful blunt in criticism.  They will discuss work conditions, the boss, the bus and railway system, economic conditions, politics, crime, and the 'demons' of society.  Social media simply gives them a platform to talk from.

Other than dissolving media....I don't see where the 'cure' will go.

4 comments:

Bigus Macus said...

I thought I'd share this, I don't know if you had seen it.

Police Had Better Become Awake instead of Woke | NC Renegades
https://ncrenegade.com/police-had-better-become-awake-instead-of-woke/

Schnitzel_Republic said...

Yeah, I saw that. I probably watched the video of the act at least ten times. It's hard to figure what the policeman was thinking or reacting (he's dead). The Iraqi on the scene...was trying to take down the knife-guy and showed a lot of guts. It's just an odd thing to play out...in some market square, and one of those reminders in Germany that you continually have to focus on what's going on around you...day and night.

Odd factor...the knife-guy was a failed-asylum individual, but over the past ten years...he'd done the language business and he was 'stamped' as integrated and progressing in life. In the past six months...folks around him said he changed in some way (more reserved, more quiet). He had some lapse in judgement and behavior.

Daz said...

Yeah, I think there's an overlooked aspect of child grooming that occurs on Instagram, including blackmail and manipulation that makes it a pretty toxic place. Plus, it's ruining the dating environment for most young people, with women able to get validation from all around the world they start to believe in their own hype and find it difficult to form relationships because they think they have unlimited options forever.

X is racing to become another 4chan/8chan. Won't be overly relevant once Elon ends up in jail for fraud.

Schnitzel_Republic said...

All of them (FB, Instagram, X, and T/T) are built in a way to deliver propaganda. The more naïve you are...the more acceptable of BS inflates.

I sat and read through a HR-related piece yesterday...as job interviews of new college graduates in the past year were evaluated. A fair percentage of the interview crowd brought a parent along (meaning they lacked confidence all the way up to the doorway of the interview). All I could think of in looking at the scenario....was that the 'kid' (college graduate) was handicapped and a burden to hire. Social media developed that trend, and delivered that graduate to the front door of commerce/industry.

As for Elon...clock is ticking on Tesla. I don't see it around in four years, with the bulk of the public turning anti-E-car.